Dear Nairalanders,
Good evening readers, I am currently very disturbed and here is my story.
I am a class teacher in a primary school and I recently discovered that my pupils have a challenge in Mathematics, I am determined to change their situation so I have been employing different teaching methodology known to me, recently I discovered, through the feedbacks from their parent, that this has not been working.
When I give them class work they do it correctly in class with little assistance, but in the case of assignment they hardly can do it on their own. These are pupils who perform well in other subjects, I cant point out where the problem is whether its with me the teacher or them the pupils. Pls any one with an idea on methodology that can be used should please help. I really feel for them, I have my own children.

MODs can help push this to the proper place, it's some peoples life at stake. Lalasticlala, seun, OAMJ4 thanks o,

Chiamakah:
These are pupils who perform well in other subjects, I cant point out where the problem is whether its with me the teacher or them the pupils.

My dear, the problem is not from you. Mathematics is Boring, I can bet my birthday cake that 85% of us here are victims of this situation .. Who takes mathematics serious

If the problem applies to all the students then its definitely from you..but if some students actually gets it right then maybe it has to do with their background.

Davash222:


My dear, the problem is not from you. Mathematics is Boring, I can bet my birthday cake that 85% of us here are victims of this situation .. Who takes mathematics serious

It's not boring

And it's very important because
Math is important in everyday life for several reasons, which include preparation for a career, developing problem-solving skills, improving analytical skills and increasing mental acuity. On a daily basis, people are presented with different forms of data that must be organized and absorbed in order to make decisions. Daily activities such as making purchases, saving money, planning for retirement, choosing insurance and calculating expenses require math skills.


And OP change your teaching method, try to break it down bit by bit and as you teach ask them if they understand and what they don't understand they should ask

And also let them know why they should learn maths.

Its like the foundation of life, foundation of almost everything else.

If u re good, u re good.

Let them start from multiplication table and take maths lesson daily.

use typical examples they can relate with. breaking it down simple will do the magic

Open their skull and put maths textbook in it.

Incentives. Tell them that you will buy them bobo. Them go get am once.

Mathematics That subject that made me cum in 2001, when i heard pencil up.......
Madam i am very sure ur class is made up of Art inclined students, dont worry yasef they would do fine being Artist and footballers...

Sugarcious:
If the problem applies to all the students then its definitely from you..but if some students actually gets it right then maybe it has to do with their background.

What if all the students are dumb heads Will u still blame the teacher

Use patterns and more visible items to teach them. Incorporate maths in their every subject..its possible.

Employ teaching aids to make them understand better. Pair the brighter ones with the struggling ones in class.

And finally make learning fun. Insist on repetition at this stage. No matter how easy a sum or solution is, make them repeat it over and over till they learn it completely.

Hope it helps

Davash222:


My dear, the problem is not from you. Mathematics is Boring, I can bet my birthday cake that 85% of us here are victims of this situation .. Who takes mathematics serious

Lolz... So on point... I ran away from science class cos I was afraid of calculations.. Got admission to study accounting... I come meet am there. Hmmm. Na to just do am o. Thank God I graduated with a 2:1. Awaiting service now.
@op. Please use instructional materials. Especially visual aid. This will go a long way in helping them.

You're a blessing to your employer. Keep it up that's all i have to say.

Use the co-operative learning strategy.
Effective teachers are increasingly using a student-centered approach. Cooperative learning sparks engagement in classrooms by encouraging interaction among the students themselves. The teacher, rather than calling on one student at a time, allows children to discuss class materials with buddies or in groups, thus maximizing the level of participation. The students work just as hard as the teachers. No longer a one-man show, the teacher’s role becomes that of a facilitator instead. This, in turn, leads to higher achievement, while promoting both team and class building

Other strategies you may use are
Goal setting strategy
Assessment strategy.

matimaatics?

This helped me later in life I went back to the classes I had passed and surprising to me, I could understand them. So OP try taking them back again to some kind of revision.

if this does not help, let me park and watch comments over my lunch

Mathematics is the simplest of the subjects! The logic is this: Mathematics can never be taught telegraphically! You must learn to transfer the idea as simpler as possible for the kids to be able to assimilate. Here, I will highlight some key process for you to benefit.

Though, It all depends on the mode of the explanation of the concept in question. And the level of the students matters too. Your teaching methodology and behavioral aspects count too. I have taught in schools and colleges before, across different age brackets. For instance, The procedures use to teaching a primary 6 is not applicable to teaching those kids in Nur. 1, vis-a-vis.

Here are some activities for your classroom to add a bit of sparkle and creativity. As children work, ask critical questions such as "Did you try this?" "What would have happened if?" "Do you think you could?" to enhance children's understanding of mathematical ideas and vocabulary.

Use dramatizations . Invite children pretend to be in a ball (sphere) or box (rectangular prism), feeling the faces, edges, and corners and to dramatize simple arithmetic problems such as: Three frogs jumped in the pond, then one more, how many are there in all?

Use children's bodies. Suggest that children show how many feet, mouths, and so on they have. When asked to show their "three arms," they respond loudly in protest, and then tell the adult how many they do have and show ("prove" it. Then invite children to show numbers with fingers, starting with the familiar, "How old are you?" to showing numbers you say, to showing numbers in different ways (for example, five as three on one hand and two on the other).

Use children's play. Engage children in block play that allows them to do mathematics in numerous ways, including sorting, seriating, creating symmetric designs and buildings, making patterns, and so forth. Then introduce a game of Dinosaur Shop. Suggest that children pretend to buy and sell toy dinosaurs or other small objects, learning counting, arithmetic, and money concepts.

Use children's toys. Encourage children to use "scenes" and toys to act out situations such as three cars on the road, or, later in the year, two monkeys in the trees and two on the ground.

Use children's stories. Share books with children that address mathematics but are also good stories. Later, help children see mathematics in any book. In Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey (Penguin, 1993), children can copy "kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk!" and later tell you the number as you slowly drop up to four counters into a coffee can.
Use children's natural creativity. Children's ideas about mathematics should be discussed with all children. Here's a "mathematical conversation" between two boys, each 6 years of age: "Think of the biggest number you can. Now add five. Then, imagine if you had that many cupcakes." " Wow, that's five more than the biggest number you could come up with!"

Use children's problem-solving abilities. Ask children to describe how they would figure out problems such as getting just enough scissors for their table or how many snacks they would need if a guest were joining the group. Encourage them to use their own fingers or manipulatives or whatever else might be handy for problem solving.

Use a variety of strategies. Bring mathematics everywhere you go in your classroom, from counting children at morning meeting to setting the table, to asking children to clean up a given number or shape of items. Also, use a research-based curriculum to incorporate a sequenced series of learning activities into your program.

Use technology. Try digital cameras to record children's mathematical work, in their play and in planned activities, and then use the photographs to aid discussions and reflections with children, curriculum planning, and communication with parents. Use computers wisely to mathematize situations and provide individualized instruction.

Use assessments to measure children's mathematics learning. Use observations, discussions with children, and small-group activities to learn about children's mathematical thinking and to make informed decisions about what each child might be able to learn from future experiences. Also try computer assessments. Use programs that assess children automatically

What class In primary do u teach? Have u checked the background taught? Is it peculiar to one or all? Do they ask questions when u teach? Are they understanding or cramming? So many questions my dear.maths is easy esp wen d background is sound.

Davash222:


My dear, the problem is not from you. Mathematics is Boring, I can bet my birthday cake that 85% of us here are victims of this situation .. Who takes mathematics serious

Maths is fun as it can be easily applied to our daily activities.

@OP

Embed logic into your questions so it will make them think rather than asking them to do straight addition and subtraction at all times.

Without exaggerating, mathematics is the easiest, the best and the simplest subject for anyone and any child.
You don't need to cram it or jack it, once you understand the principle, it's always the best.

I may not be able to give you all the tips but these suggestions will greatly help..

Positive Motivation...
One of the things that made me admire mathematics so much in secondary school was the way my mathematics teacher always emphasised that mathematics is the easiest subject in the whole world.
Even when I was struggling with quadratic and almighty formula, he'll simply bring it down to its simplest terms.
Always sing it like a song that mathematics is like eating, drinking, singing..
1+1=2
2+2=4
Oya try 4+4=what do we have, aunty 8, you see, clap for him, you're brilliant scholar..
Positive validation inspires pupils to attempt the question again.

Get visual aids... Since they're still in primary school, get counters for multiplication, oranges or apple for division, broom for tally system and the likes.

Always begin from the least and always revise your previous lessons before introducing new lessons.

If it means adding extra class to help them, please do but also focus on helping them understand the mathematics is not something to be afraid of.

Mathematics is in their fingers, toes, teeth, and all around them.

This advise is for you...
Because you have the passion to help these children understand mathematics, suggest extramural lessons for the children who are struggling with mathematics to their parents and use the opportunity to teach them more and make some cash for yourself.

Your passion should pay your bills..
Parents are meant to help their children understand their studies but where they can't, you can charge for the service and make money from it.

I know that others have suggested visual aids, it's actually helpful for kids.

These are my suggestions!

All the best!

For counselling visit www.amaraofficial.com today!

who else loves yam and iceblock...very nice combo

jhydebaba:


What if all the students are dumb heads Will u still blame the teacher

No student is dumb.

They just don't understand it for some reasons maybe because its not broken down properly and most of them are not told the reasons why they need to learn maths they just see maths as irrelevant after high school which is wrong.

This students need to be talked with, it will be easier to diagnose where the fault is.

But most Nigeria teachers are too lazy and don't even have time to talk with their student thru expect it to just sink in.

There are some people born with talents and some with talents but hidden, without work those without already activated talents from birth can't function well.

Demigods666:



It's not boring

And it's very important.

Odiegwu.

I'm still waiting for the day I would actually use 'simultaneous equations' In Real Life.

Teach them with pictures

Dear OP, you have to be good "IN" English Language first.

Edit the subject to ...to be good AT Mathematics then thank me later.

I wonder the kind of Moderator that pushed it to front page with the same subject SMH

Now back to your question. The first thing you should ensure is that the said pupils love you, if they dont, they wont like what you're teaching them not to talk of getting your explanations.

#PEACE

One of the things that help me then was learning through fun.

You could download some videos on YouTube.

Learning mathematics could be fun it we deploy the right channel.

Some questions were solved using rhymes, fruits, shapes etc.

This would also help their reasoning abilities (verbal and quantitative).

It is not everytime (in FrankDonga's voice) that you use hardcopy textbooks, even till date when I get tired of hardbooks, I switch to eBooks when I get tired of ebooks, I switch to audio or video with all media (books, video and audio) discussing the same topic, with that I do not have any valid reason not to study as rarely would you be tired of all the media at the same time except your village people are very busy on top your matter.

I have used this to manage my professional exams too, with ACCA and ICAN in the bag (all Glory to GOD)

Get coconut water and share to them in the class

Yeah I remember I faced same situation. Some pupils can be funny. A case study of one of my pupil (in 2012) whose parent came to me on a monday morning trying to show my incompetency. I called the child and set the same questions (both maths and quantitative). To the awe of his parents he attempted all in few seconds. In anger, his mum gave him a slap and I told his mum how pupil's psychology are at times. My dear teacher, keep doing your best and let time with prayer give u wings.

PLEASE TRY USING PICTURES AND IMAGES TO DEPICT CONCEPT. ALSO, INCREASE AND VARY THEIR CLASS WORK.GOD HELP YOU

Op solve this maths and you are good to go

Mathematics is all about practice. Give them many examples as possible and many assignment as possible then make corrections of their wrongs.