Response 1: Instrumental and Relational understandings by Richard Skemp

 

While reading this article, I have also been reflecting repeatedly on whether, in my teaching process, I predominantly use instrumental mathematics or relational mathematics. I stopped when l read at “Because area is always in square centimetres.” A similar situation has also occurred in my classroom. I also stopped when l read at “It is more adaptable to new tasks.” and “It is easier to remember.” When I taught new concept, I sometimes connected it to previous knowledge, but students often expressed that they have forgotten the prior knowledge. I believe this is because they haven't fully understood the connections between these pieces of knowledge. Instead, they tend to memorize formulas, which makes it very easy for them to forget what they've learned before.

I prefer to apply relational mathematics when teaching higher-level mathematics. In higher-level mathematics, a significant amount of knowledge is interconnected. If students cannot understand the relationships between various concepts, it will be very difficult to have a great performance in mathematics.

Comments

  1. Qiaochu (Joy)September 21, 2023 at 10:32 PM

    Hi Shawn, it's interesting that you had a similar experience when you read the statement, 'Because area is always in square centimeters.' It sounds like you've encountered a situation in your classroom that relates to this idea. Could you please share more about your classroom experience or any thoughts you have on this topic? Regarding relational teaching, how would you introduce these concepts in your classroom?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Susan GerofskyNovember 12, 2023 at 6:57 PM

    I consider that this post together with the following post now gives a reasonable response to this first reading.

    ReplyDelete

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