In my field, I work with students with various learning disorders and learning challenges. Therefore, there are many concepts that students find difficult to understand on a day-to-day basis; there is not just one or two in particular. Not only do my students have challenges learning mathematical material anyway, but it is difficult for any student to understand new content when it is not connected to their prior experiences or knowledge. They are also faced with the challenge of understanding new content when they may already have a developed idea in their head of how something works. So changing this thought is a challenge in itself.
In primary/elementary mathematics, I find some students have an issue with understanding fractions. I also find this exists into the junior high years as they do more challenging problems with fractions.
| Teacher
Strategies |
Student
Processes |
|
| Teacher provides background information on whole numbers and builds on students current knowledge of halves, thirds, fourths. | ||
| 1
Generate |
Allow students to use various ‘real-life’ materials (ie. Pizza/pie) to demonstrate the relationship from going from a whole, to portions of a whole. | Students generate relationship |
| 2
Evaluate |
Have students use other materials to create a certain number of parts vs. a whole. The focus here should be on the relationship of beginning with a whole and the creation of parts from this. | Students evaluate relationship |
| 3
Modify |
Students modify their thought process of fractions due to developing an understanding of creating portions of a whole. | Students modify relationship |
References:
Khan, S. (2010). New pedagogies for teaching with computer simulations.. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 20(3), 215-232.