Just because you are not a math person, doesn’t mean it is okay to pay less attention to the subject.

Mathematics is something that does not need any sort of introduction, we all have studied it at one point in our lives and it is very important in almost every aspect of the human sphere.

 

How to raise confidence in a subject with no memorization?

 

Mathematics is a subject that fears many students. Students often try to memorize mathematics which is not at all a good practice. This will create confusion in their mind whenever they’ll try to solve questions. So how to study mathematics? How to raise confidence for studying mathematics? These are some of the dilemmas that are faced by math students and through this blog, we will try to solve the dilemmas associated with the calculative world of mathematics.

 

Teaching practices for building up confidence

 

Yes, you read it right. Teachers play a very crucial role when it comes to subjects like math as it needs in-depth and foundational understanding for anyone who wants to excel the same. So, being a teacher, how should you help your students? Some ways can be implemented to make a strong foundation in the subject and to increase student’s self-confidence. They are:

 

• Students should be told to discuss with their friends and family members how mathematics is useful in daily lives. For example, a view of the formation of 90-degree angles on streets will help students to understand concepts of trigonometry and Pythagoras theorem.

 

• Parents should also be asked to help students in mathematics by making it fun. Like asking their children to calculate the total amount to be paid from the bill in a departmental store and if the children do it right, then parents should reward them with their favourites.

 

• Whenever a teacher is giving his/her students an assignment for classwork, he/she should walk around the classroom to identify students with needs and help. Moreover, questions should be asked from students about how much they know. Teachers should remain patient with answers like “I don’t know anything”. In such cases where a student does not know anything, stress should be laid on building a foundation. But a teacher should not solve the complete question. He/she should try to take such students to that point from where they can solve the remaining question on their own.

 

• Everyone does not possess the same mind and hence, groups of students should be made so that they can figure out concepts together. This not only promotes teamwork but also helps in building the confidence of how to deal with people around. 

 

• Students should not be punished if they answer wrong or make any kind of mistakes while solving questions. Instead, they should be politely asked to recheck their solution as most of the mistakes in math are done because of calculation errors.

 

• An effective pathway should be identified for students to make them understand that their background, gender, class etc. has got nothing to do with an approach towards better math.

 

• The use of probes can be very effective. It is nothing but a short and highly efficient assessment meant for clearing out those misconceptions which students develop while solving math. It is very helpful as it analyses the selected responses and detects the step with a mistake.

 

• Small math competitions can be organized for students with prizes for winners to boost up their understanding and confidence in mathematics.

 

• “Students should be taught how to think, not what to think”, a quote by Margaret Mead is suitable for a subject like Mathematics. Teachers should not force students to solve any question by a single technique only instead, students should be allowed to use their creativity and imagination for solving problems by different methods. This helps a student to tremendously increase his/her confidence.

 

• Use of Memory strategies like mnemonics should be implemented to learn formulas/key concepts etc. Such oral strategies with oral techniques are very effective to master math content.

 

• Inspiring stories of ancient mathematicians like Aryabhata, Brahmagupta, Ramanujan etc. should be discussed in classrooms and students should be told about their dedication towards the subject despite miserable conditions and problems faced by these legends.

 

• A collaborative approach can turn out to be a very useful step in boosting up confidence. Students from various schools can accumulate i.e. an intra-school event related to mathematics quiz, debate etc. can be organised in which students can take part and this will not only help them to raise their confidence but also motivate them for a competitive spirit.

 

Key Takeaways

 

Mathematics is very interesting and is used everywhere. Hence students need to understand this subject. Havoc of mathematics must not be created amongst students and emphasis should be laid upon a better foundation rather than reaching for advanced concepts in the initial phase.

 

 

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Also published on Medium.