Chapter 1: Teaching Mathematics in the 21st century

Reading Reflections

Chapter 1 reveals the series of changes that have taken place in the mathematics education. It is a constant effort by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) to enhance the teaching and learning of the subject matter since the past two decades. It seems change is here to stay and much prominent and excessively discussed in this twenty-first century. In the education sector, change is inevitable in order to achieve and sustain the quality standards that will benefit both teachers and students alike.

As a practitioner in the early childhood education, I am an advocate for a holistic development of the children through a curriculum that is well-balanced and integrated. Therefore, teaching mathematics to these preschoolers takes a paradigm shift and now, we could take reference from the reformed Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM, 2000).

The six principles form the pillars of the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics and I wish to highlight the teaching principle that mentions the critical roles of teachers to provide the learning experiences to deliver high quality mathematics education. Teachers who are equipped with the knowledge of how their children learn mathematics will then “select meaningful instructional tasks and generalizable strategies to enhance learning” (Van de Walle, Karp & Bay-Williams, 2010). Teachers are the catalysts to facilitate the entire learning. “Their actions are what encourage students to think, questions, solve problems and discuss their ideas, strategies, and solutions” (NCTM, p.18). Opportunities for discussion and sharing of ideas should be made available for children to get affirmation of their learning.

That leads me to discuss one of the five process standards that are equally important. The Connections standard has stated that there should be connection within and among mathematical ideas so children will see that each topic is a build on from the previous topic learnt. Similarly, mathematics learning should be connected to the real world thus making it significant to apply in children’s daily activities.

At this juncture, I strongly feel that regardless of what subject or concepts taught teachers must ensure that children are able to make connections and relate to their everyday lives. In this manner, learning will be meaningful for them.