subject: Plausible Steps In Overcoming Problems Faced By Students In Maths [print this page] A successful system of education must inculcate in the students flexibility and confidence to deal with any situation of uncertainty through the use of various mathematical tools for problem solving. To combat the stress and inability of the secondary students the education system has to launch the following measures:
1 There needs to exist a better understanding and interaction between the students and the educators to recognize the underlying problems faced by the students that discourage them from thinking mathematically to solve the various situations and problems. The teachers need to focus on the obstacles faced by the students while dealing with various mathematical problems.
2 Measures have to be initiated to contribute to the cognitive skills of the students by engaging them in mathematical activities that create a superior way to interpret the problems.
3 Greater emphasis has to be given to the Mayer"s model of problem solving. According to it, a student has to employ four types of knowledge into the problem solving technique, namely:
" Linguistics and factual knowledge
" Schema knowledge
" Algorithmic knowledge
" Strategic knowledge
Typically, the level of distress in solving a mathematical problem can arise at any stage from reading and comprehending the question to the proficiency to transform the process skill into a plausible solution. Introduce these various techniques into the curriculum and pave the way for stress-free and intelligent ways to problem solving. While the linguistics and factual knowledge aid them in encoding the problem, the schema knowledge assists them in expanding and identifying their domain knowledge through the recognition of problems with common structure that demands similar techniques for problem solving. The algorithmic knowledge directs the attention of the students to present the various the procedures related to the particular mathematical problem effectively and the strategic knowledge teaches them on the best way to approach the problem.
4 The teachers have to start the process from the root tackling the mathematical problem solving processes, concepts, attitude, skills and metacognition. Begin the process by providing a thorough knowledge on the various concepts like algebra, and geometrical, analytical and statistical techniques of reaching math solutions. Then, they have to concentrate on widening the manipulative and analyzing capabilities of the students by working on their reasoning, thinking, heuristics and application skills. This has the power to generate automatically the interest, appreciation, confidence and perseverance into problem solving. An awareness and understanding of one's thinking and cognitive technique of problem solving can bring in the desired impact into the education process and makes the task of decoding and completing even non-routine, open-ended and real-world problems easier.
5 Concentration on teacher training programs that can encourage them to be more willing to teach mathematical investigation is essential to make the program an overall success.
Conclusion
The reason for reaching a better understanding to the problems faced by the math students in Singapore can be concluded through the words of Ms. Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State, Ministry for National Development & Ministry of Education:
"The reason is because the learning of Mathematics will imbue you with problem-solving skills such as the ability to understand a problem, identify the relevant information, look for relationships and patterns, make your own conjectures and apply mathematical knowledge and tools to solve or prove them. Mathematics, thus, provides good opportunities for the training of the mind to think critically and adapt to new situations, something that will be valuable to your future careers."
