Multiple perspectives
Ma’s Multiple Perspectives of not only having the ability to adopt different strategies but to know the advantages and disadvantages of them to differentiate for the students is something of difficulty to ask for teachers. Although I do see the importance of multiple perspectives, sometimes there is just an easier way of doing this and over complicating things for children obviously has its disadvantages. Some teachers may use that type of attitude as a cop out however the following examples prove to me the importance of a teacher to know and when and where to apply multiple approaches.
During placement there were a small group who did not understand BODMAS. This was a mixture of ability groups also so it was not down to a less able group not grasping this. We were doing brackets and adding really simple numbers in two brackets first then adding those together. I found it really difficult find a different way to explain what we were doing, especially as the majority of the class understood just as I had intended. Ultimately, they did show understanding and proved this to me using mini white boards and making up their own equations. However, I think lack of experience of having a different/multiple approaches to what we were doing contributed to both mine and the student’s frustration. I think especially because with something like BODMAS, as I mentioned in a previous post, there are rules surrounding the process which is as difficult to explain as grammar.
Another example during my school placement was a pupil whose parent, at home, was showing them how to do a mathematical problem differently to the teacher. The way they had been taught was not only resulting in incorrect answers they were also unable to explain their thinking process behind it. I cannot imagine how stressed this student must have been feeling as they perhaps their parent did know a better way. However, due to the incorrect answer and inability of explanation this caused great confusion because the teacher was progressing this topic further it caused more confusion (It would be helpful to myself and others reading this if I could remember the topic to pick it apart but I can’t – sorry!] Looking at this now, I see that perhaps the parent and teacher’s fundamental mathematics did not correspond which could simply have been from the language they were using right down to the understanding of the basics. Now I wasn’t there long enough to see this through and I am not sure how this would have been resolved. However, this does highlight the ability to adopt multiple approaches/perspectives is important but in order to be able to justify you must know the advantages and disadvantages of your own and other approaches.
References
Ma, L. (2010) Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics. London: Routledge.
