APPROACHES IN TEACHING MATHEMATICS

APPROACHES IN TEACHING MATHEMATICS

 INQUIRY TEACHING

Inquiry Teaching involves providing learners with content-related 

problems that serve as the foci for class research activities. The 

teacher provides/presents a problem then the learners identify the 

problem.

THE STEPS IN THE PROCESS OF INQUIRY

• Present discrepant event or specific problematic situation.

• Encourage observation for developing a statement of research 

   objectives

• Ask students for observation and explanation

• Encourage the testing of the hypothesis

• Develop tentative conclusion and generalization

• Debrief the process

DEMONSTRATION APPROACH 

Demonstration Approach is a teaching strategy in which the 

teacher engages “in a learning task other than just talking

about it”.

DISCOVERY APPROACH

Discovery Learning is “International Learning” . Both the teacher 

and the learner play active roles in discovery learning depending 

upon on the role that the teacher plays, this can range from guided

discovery (needs strict supervision) to free or pure discovery (very 

little supervision needed)

Steps of lesson planning were adopted as given by Carin and 

Surd  (1981)

1) Statement of the problem.

2) Previous knowledge.

3) Concept to be developed.

4) Specific objectives.

5) Teaching aids.

 6) Presentation.

7) Questions of Discussion.

8) Investigative activities of students.

 9) Observation table made by the students.

10) Generalization 

11) Open questions.

12) Teacher activity.

MATH-LAB APPROACH

The Mathematics Laboratory Approach is a method of teaching 

whereby children in small groups work through an assignment/task 

card, learn and discover mathematics for themselves.

PRACTICAL WORK APPROACH (PWA)

The learners in this approach, manipulate concrete objects and/or 

perform activities to arrive at a conceptual understanding of 

phenomena, situation, or concept. The environment is a laboratory

where the natural events/phenomena can be subjects of 

mathematical or scientific investigations.

INDIVIDUALIZED INSTRUCTION USING MODULES

The application of Individualized Instruction permits the learners to

 progress by mastering steps through the curriculum at his/her own 

rate and independently of the progress of other pupils.

BRAINSTORMING

 It is a teaching strategy in which the teacher elicits from the 

learners as many ideas as possible but refrains from evaluating 

them until all possible ideas have been generated.

BRAINSTORMING USUALLY OCCURS IN 4 PHASES

 1) problem identification,

 2) idea generation,

 3) idea evaluation, and

4) solution implementation and evaluation.

PROBLEM-SOLVING

Problem-solving can best be defined as a learner-directed strategy 

in which learners “think patiently and analytically about complex 

situations in order to find answers to questions”. A problem is 

defined as a “situation in which you are trying to reach some goal, 

and must find means for getting there”.

COOPERATIVE LEARNING

Cooperative learning is helpful in eliminating competition among 

learners. It encourages them to work together towards common 

goals. It fosters positive intergroup attitudes in the classroom.

INTEGRATIVE TECHNIQUE

The Integrated Curriculum Mode (Integrative teaching to some) is 

both a “method of teaching and a way of organizing the 

instructional program so that many subject areas and skills 

provided in the curriculum can be linked to one another”.