EDU431

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METHODS OF TEACHING
MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE IN THE
PRIMARY/JUNIOR GRADES

Required reading N: Analysis and Reflection.
Title: I Hate Math. What We Want Young Children NOT to Learn.

CITATION: Hachey, Alyse C. Texas Childcare. Fall 2009. I Hate Math. What We Want Young
Children NOT to Learn.

ABSTRACT:

Mathematical thinking is embedded in the
routines of daily life. Mathematics at its
essence is the organization of the world
around us. Students approach mathematics
in a natural and inquisitive manner. Math has
been viewed as boring and has had negative
connotations. Educators must teach
mathematics in ways that are positive and
exciting. Alyse C. Hachey states that there
are 5 steps to break the negative cycle of
math being hated by teachers and eventually
students, and how to re-envision
mathematics for students being introduced.
It is the job of educators to stop the next
generation from hating math and moving
them towards enjoying it. These steps are as
follows: acknowledge your mathophobic
feelings, redefine yourselves as competent
mathematicians, carefully examine your past
teaching practice, create a new vision of
what early childhood mathematics should be,
and finally, positively change mathematical
teaching practices.

ANALYSIS/REFLECTION:

To begin, apparently, many teachers do not enjoy

teaching math. I actually believe this to be true
since I can actually recall which teachers of mine
in elementary school thoroughly enjoyed
teaching the class math, and which teachers did
not. This is not necessarily a good thing for
students to notice since it may affect them and
how they feel/interpret math. If teachers have
negative feelings towards math, it can affect their
teaching practices.

Encourage active participation from your
students. From time to time, call students to the
board, or allow them to work in groups. Avoid
giving teacher-directed lessons all of the time.
It should be a teachers goal to educate students
about math in ways that are engaging,
constructive, and appropriate.

The 5 steps mentioned in the article are helpful in
steering math in the right direction. It is
important to respond to cues from the students
and let them explore problems in ways that are
meaningful to them. To help accomplish these 5
steps, we should observe our students and find
ways to continue to spark interest. For example,
relate math questions to their own lives or
experiences, or bring in materials that can be
used to demonstrate learning certain math
topics. For example, geometry and spatial sense
are found in art created by students, and in the
movement when they play sports. We should
present mathematical activities in multiple ways

in order to address each individual learner

(auditory, visual, kinesthetic).

Math is everywhere. As mentioned in the article,
mathematical patterns occur in songs students
sing, in books they read. Seek the fun in
mathematics. When I was a student in
elementary school, one math teacher always
introduced a new unit by playing a game that
always related to the upcoming lesson. It is
thanks to teachers like that, why I have enjoyed
teaching math during my placements.

In sum, the best motivator of all is connecting
math to the real world. This will benefit students,
their learning and views in regards to math. We
want to make sure math is viewed as positive so
that students will be eager to learn. As educators,
it is our job to deliberately build in opportunities
for student success while minimizing the
potential for stress and frustration, (Hachey 4).