Teachers Attitudes Towards Mathematics Teaching

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Table of Contents

Abstract
Background of the study
Theoretical framework
Conclusion for the study
Reference List

Abstract

People’s attitudes and beliefs influence people’s tastes and at the same time people’s likes and dislike about different notions. The factors, which influence pre-service teacher’s attitudes and beliefs towards mathematics, are the main consideration of the paper. A lot of questions are answered in this paper and among them is the influence of lack of knowledge on people’s attitude to mathematics, how the experience may increase or lower the people’s desire to learn and teach mathematics.

The paper also gives the analysis of some printed sources about how attitudes and beliefs influence people’s attitudes towards mathematics. The paper also identifies the limitations of this investigation, which consists of the fact that the results of the investigation are general, and cannot be restricted to any country in particular. The factors which influence pre-service teacher’s attitudes and beliefs towards mathematics are not analyzed according to validity and amount; these factors have just been taken from the articles without any evaluation and analysis. The paper also provides the methodological analysis of the methods which may be used while researching.

Background of the study

Mathematics is an exact science and to provide some changes inside the curriculum of this subject may seem to be a waste of time. The world has changed and the previous curriculums do not fit. The problem of what factors influence students’ and teachers’ attitudes and beliefs towards mathematics teaching and learning opened some new spheres for investigations. The environment inside the class, society, and country is the least part of the factors which should be taken into consideration while comprising the mathematics class programs. Considering these factors is the crucial aim of the investigation.

These factors may also be considered as the background for changing the curriculum to make the learning process of mathematics more variable and creative. The prior investigations showed that teachers’ attitude to the subject, their beliefs about this subject may be regarded as the starting points for considering the methods which teachers use to provide some knowledge into students’ heads.

The factors that influence the educational process, and the process of mathematics learning, in particular, have changed, so new approaches should be considered to provide effective and successful classes of mathematics. These factors should also be noticed while curriculum comprising, as this curriculum is the starting point for methods used in the classes for teaching mathematics.

Theoretical framework

This section is about the theoretical framework for the research study about the two theories: didactic model and Ernest model. The explanation is going to be given by using the above models to

what sort of attitudes and beliefs are involved in teaching mathematics;
pre-service teachers beliefs and attitudes towards mathematics, mathematics teaching and learning of mathematics.

The didactic model is “a specific model of constructing the concept of function… which plays two roles together… on the one hand a role of a model of the concept of function and on the other hand a role of a model of physical phenomena that functions can represent” (Shternberg & Yerushalmy, 2004, p. 185). Didactics discusses the following features,

pupils are enabled to acquire specific knowledge of the subject in different conditions and forms,
mathematics, as any other subject, is related to the background science, in our case mathematics as a science,
relations between teachers and students, the attitude to the teaching and learning plays potential role in establishing the relations of the students and teachers to mathematics (Winslow, 2007).

The Ernest (1989) concept deals with fact that practice of teaching development with the beliefs, which are considered to be the primary regulations for the professional teachers of mathematics in the classrooms. The creativity and teachers’ desire to work in the classroom depends on the teachers’ attitude to students and mathematics and their belief in mathematics. Ernest (1991) also provides the description three philosophies which deal with beliefs about mathematics that is Platonist, instrumentalist and problem solving.

Teachers’ attitude towards mathematics education depends greatly from knowledge of mathematics and knowledge of teaching mathematics. These concepts go closely with teachers’ attitudes and beliefs to mathematics as the subject. But still knowledge is the main factor, which prescribes what is going on the classroom from the points of view of methodic and approaches (Liljedahl, 2008).

The purpose and use of didactical concept is fully described in the Shternberg, B. and Yerushalmy, M. article “Didactic Model- Bridging a concept with phenomena” (2004), “An attempt to use the didactic models of mathematical concepts — to address the complexity of establishing a meaningful formal language”.

The collaboration between beliefs and their impact on teaching mathematic are introduced by Ernst (1994) and may be considered in the following scheme.

View of nature of mathematics. — *View of nature of mathematics (Personal Philosophy of mathematics).*

This scheme show that teachers’ beliefs, their view on the initial meaning of mathematics are the main base for the class activities which teachers may implement on his/her students. The views on the nature of mathematics are the fundamental issue of all further activities which are provided in the classroom.

Considering the question of pre-service teachers’ beliefs and attitudes influence on mathematics, mathematics teaching and learning of mathematics, it should be mentioned that teachers are the main pushers for students. Teachers effect their students, motivate them and the better they do it, the higher their desire to improve their educational activities (Zacharos et al, 2007). The problem of teachers’ pre-service education is more valuable, the reason is that if the pre-service teacher maintained bad attitude to the student, he/she will provide the same influence on his/her students and situation will move in a “vicious circle” (Zacharos et al, 2007, p. 314).

Wilkins (2008) in his article stated that a teacher with big amount of knowledge and with a conceptual understanding of mathematics will never maintain negative attitude on the students in reference to mathematics.

Conclusion for the study

In conclusion, the research paper was concentrated on the topic of the exploration of the factors that influence the attitudes and beliefs of pre-service teachers towards mathematics achievement. Mathematics is the exact science and the attitude and views about it are very important. The investigated problem of factors which influence the students’ desires to learn this subject has managed to prove that teacher and his/her views are the fundamental issues in students’ opinion formation about mathematics. Health environment in the classroom, society and country is the least enumeration of the factors which influence students’ attitude to mathematics.

The problem of curriculum comprising has been distinguished and the named factors should be considered while correcting these curriculum and planes for lessons originated. The notions of attitude, belief and mathematics attitude were investigated, and the correlations of these notions were checked. Motivation is the basic concept which unites attitude to the subject and belief in it into one common concept which influences the students’ desires and abilities to study mathematics. Teacher is the main factor who provides either positive or negative attitude to mathematics, and provides the further way of learning process.

Those teachers, who possess big amount of knowledge and those who had enough practice in mathematics teaching will never implement negative attitude to the subject. The provided investigation showed that meta-analysis is one of the main research methods, which should have been inserted into the research study, as it is the most significant and effective method, if the investigator is cut of time. The factors which were enumerated in the paper were not analyzed in the paper, they were just taken from the articles, what is one of the limitations of the study, but still, the paper has a very important goal which gave its results.

The considered factors which influence the attitude and beliefs of those who are aimed to study mathematics showed that the present curriculum does not include these factors, which are very significant in this question. The research paper shows that these factors influence not only the curriculum, but also the process of education, the methods of education and student’s behavior during the classes. The methods which are used in the mathematics classes should be more creative and interesting, as only this motivation may attract students’ attention and form a positive attitudes and beliefs about the mathematics classes.

Reference List

Shternberg, B. & Yerushalmy, M. (2004). Didactic Model- Bridging a concept with phenomena. Proceedings of the 28th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. 4. p.185–192. Web.

Ernest, P. (1994) ‘The Impact of Beliefs on the Teaching of Mathematics’, in Bloomfield, A. and Harries, T. Teaching and Learning Mathematics, Derby: Association of Teachers of Mathematics. Web.

Liljedahl. P. (2008). Teachers’ Beliefs as Teachers’ knowledge. Symposium on the Occasion of the 100th Anniversary of ICMI. Web.

Zacharos, K., Koliopoulos, D., Dokimaki, M. & Kassoumi, H. (2007). Views of Prospective Early Childhood Education Teachers, towards Mathematics and Its Instruction. European journal of teacher education. 30 (3). p. 305.

Wilkins, J. L. (2008). The Relationship among Elementary Teachers’ Content Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs, and Practices. Journal of mathematics teacher education. 11 (2). p. 139-164.

Winslow, C. (2007). Didactics of mathematics: an epistemological approach to mathematics education. Curriculum Journal. 18(4). p. 523 – 536.

Ernest, P. (1991). The philosophy of mathematics education. Hampshire, UK: The Falmer Press.

Ernest, P. (1989). The knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes of the mathematics teacher: A model. Journal of Education for Teaching, 15, 13-33.

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