In the past, the phrase ‘Math phobia’ was the launching pad for describing students and other individuals who actively disliked Mathematics. The root cause was fear but that is not all. There were also people who had restricted abilities in one domain of Mathematics but not in others. For example; some students had a fear of Geometry but not Algebra and for some it was the other way round. Some students were scared of Business Mathematics and some could just not comprehend trigonometry. As there were selective phobias within the umbrella of a vast subject, educators became curious and identified that these students had difficulty in specific cognitive abilities and needed help in these areas. Read more
Progressive Platform for Learning Algebra
Algebra is associated with abstraction to an extent that it is thought off as a breeding ground of fear. It is in truth a delightful and harmless subject. G.H. Hardy, a British Mathematician said that Mathematics is a harmless profession. Going by the way it is perceived, we get a different picture loaded by fear and prejudice. Our own fear exaggerates the difficulty of Mathematics. In fact, a Mathematics teacher should play two roles- teacher and a psychologist. The psychology of fear of Algebra is in itself a subject of voluminous data and content. Given a progressive climate in which Algebra can be learn the irrational fears get challenged and in many cases do not return at all. Read more
A Phrase Can Say it All
A phrase is a single unit that functions as a single unit of a sentence. Any group of words, in simple parlance, can be called a phrase. In a sentence there are many stops which can serve as indications of the complete meaning of a sentence. This happens in speech very often. For example; Peter asks Jim, ‘Why don’t you come out more often?’ Peter just replies, ‘a huge wall’. Peter immediately understands that Jim is saying that he has built a wall and is unable to come out of it figuratively. This is something a human being can do as he/she has world knowledge. Computers would struggle to complete sentences as they go purely by what is in the syntax of the text/speech. A phrase is enough to indicate what the speaker wants to convey. Read more
Shakespeare in the Mind
As much as Shakespeare was an artist, teaching Shakespeare is an art. The language used by Shakespeare is archaic and this is one of the reasons why students encounter difficulties while reading his plays. There are other reasons as well. In a paper on the difficulty with Shakespeare one finds that devices like hyperbole’s reveal a high degree of contradiction. This tends to make it difficult for readers. In this area findings reveal that even students who are avid readers find Shakespeare’s plays a bit difficult to get through. There are three challenges broadly for a teacher while teaching Shakespeare. One is the language. Here the context of Shakespeare needs to be explained so that knowledge of the times in which he lived would make it easier for young readers to appreciate his language. The second challenge is the devices used by the playwright. The teacher needs to explain the various literary devices so that Shakespeare and poetry in general become easier to unravel. The third challenge is that the context is different from the books that readers are normally familiar with. Read more
Jumping Off the Polynomial Rings
The word ‘polynomial’ was introduced by Franciscus Vieta in Latin. Polynomial equations in Mathematics are of finite length constructed from variables and constants. The words ‘variables’ and ‘constants’ are concepts that have implications in Physics, language and Metaphysics (beyond space and time). A variable is a linguistic form of variation. It is the thing that varies and is therefore identified as a variable. A variation of the word ‘variable’ is a ‘variant’. If a trend deviates from the normal range it is called deviation but if it is an acceptable variation, it is called normal variant. Variables can be dependent or independent. Variables, on the whole are also called ‘indeterminates’. A constant is a thing that does not change and is fixed. In English, the phrase ‘constancy of purpose’ comes to mind. In Mathematics, the constant term is the constant coefficient of an expression. Read more
Self-Expression Flowers through Poetry
Creative writing is primarily about crafting a form of expression. The four aspects that nourish creativity are thought, emotion, idea and experience. Rather than focus on how to write, focus on how to make someone write. Explore online tutoring techniques to nourish your means to self expression.
It is admittedly difficult to teach learners how to write creatively. The reasons for this difficulty are that creative writing is primarily expression. This means that in order to express creatively, the writer uses a form and gives shape to a new thought, emotion, idea or experience. The four aspects that nourish creativity such as thought, emotion, idea and experience are not common to all of us. We function at different levels in these aspects. However, they can be explained as part of the poetry classes. Rather than focus on how to write focus on how to make someone write. This leads to the question of stimulation which is essentially a creative urge. There has to be a facet of experience to provoke the learner to create a form. This is why there are no fixed ways of making learners write poetry. Read more
Resolve Your Trigonometric Identity Crisis
As puzzling as it may seem Trigonometry is a mantra for advanced Mathematics. It trains the mind to comprehend and analyze complex data with rigorous symbols. Some students tend to naturally like this branch of Mathematics while some are driven away from it. Let us consider the latter. Students who fear the subject tend to feel that it requires powerful memory. This is a subconscious fear as a reaction to the number of symbols that need to be internalized. It is alarming to note that this pattern of fear has lasted for generations. In every class when Trigonometry is introduced there is always a new set of students who dislike the subject. It might help to grasp what exactly is a Trigonometric identity. Read more
It is All a Matter of Arithmetic
A learner has to be taught to deal with learning events before absorbing lessons. This aspect of learning cannot be taken for granted as you cannot predict on many occasions what events you would face in life. It is the same with learning. If you wish to be able to predict, it is only to make your experiences manageable. If you wish to be in command of your situations then you need a combination of insight and calculation. This is what the learner needs to be trained on. When we come to the subject of calculation we tend to think that it is a numerical activity and the ability to be quick on one’s feet helps in developing this faculty. This is a rather narrow view. First, what has to be understood is that you need to know the ‘why’ behind what is taught. This indirectly helps in developing the logical faculty of the brain. It is therefore important to ask questions spontaneously. Read more
From Pebbles to Breakthroughs
We come across different students in a classroom. Some students demonstrate brilliant abilities to grasp but have difficulty thinking out of the box. Some have wonderful artistic skills and are very imaginative but do not do well in standardized tests. There are students who have very interesting ways of thinking but do not fit in the traditional classroom scenario. There is this difficulty among teachers as to how to handle and stimulate creativity and unorthodox thinking. Did you know that it is possible for imaginative people to do well in standardized tests as well? Teachers need to teach students how to use their strengths to crack exams. For long it was thought that as students have their unique strengths they cannot do well in subjects that require other faculties which are perceived to be weaker. This is mistaken as there are umpteen examples of individuals learning to use their strengths in areas where they have difficulty successfully. Read more
The More Inclusive Theory of Multiple Intelligences
Whoever said you can’t think is mistaken for intelligence is not the monopoly of one faculty of the brain. If you thought that intelligence was merely the ability to acquire knowledge and skills you are not being specific enough. There are many domains that require intelligence. Children have different skills and the reason is that they have easier access to certain faculties. This again does not mean that if a child is mathematically sharp he/she cannot necessarily relate to subjects, which needs imaginative thinking. Likewise if a child picks up a language fast and struggles in Mathematics it does not necessarily imply that he/she cannot master Maths. All it means is that the teacher needs to identify this differentiation so that individual strengths can be used to the advantage of the student even while teaching a subject that requires different faculties. Read more