Maths phobia affecting Ghana’s growth – Anku

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Tekonline.org 8 years ago

"...The students are also part of the problem; they are always on WhatsApp,” he lamented..."
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WhatsApp and cellphone use in general have become a pervasive fad and that undermines ...
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"...The students are also part of the problem; they are always on WhatsApp,” he lamented..."
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WhatsApp and cellphone use in general have become a pervasive fad and that undermines motivation.

In such cases, incentives are needed.

Create very cool math clubs in schools, with nationwide contests and on-TV quizzes.

Organize inter-school mathfairs all over.

Broadcast TV documentaries about the presence of math in our daily lives.
EVERYONE HAS MISSED THE POINT 8 years ago

There's no nonsense phobia among students.
Bad teachers with no or little knowledge about maths is what is creating this crisis.

Equip the teachers with the knowledge and 'skills' to teach maths.

There's no nonsense phobia among students.
Bad teachers with no or little knowledge about maths is what is creating this crisis.

Equip the teachers with the knowledge and 'skills' to teach maths.
Brain rejuvinator 8 years ago

Very true prof. Ghanaian only focuses on dirty politics.

Very true prof. Ghanaian only focuses on dirty politics.
Prince Awuah David 8 years ago

Prof. You are right. Even in 2015 about 100,000 SHS student failed WAEC maths and science in Ghana.

I have a great solution to this chronic problem and have proposed with the MOE, so I need recommendations from great peop ...
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Prof. You are right. Even in 2015 about 100,000 SHS student failed WAEC maths and science in Ghana.

I have a great solution to this chronic problem and have proposed with the MOE, so I need recommendations from great people like you and concerned stakeholders to get my proposal approved, so I can help solve the maths and science problem using quality education in the SHS. I will discuss my conceptual approach in detail, if it becomes necessary to meet any of leadership at the Maths Society.

Thanks

Prince Awuah David.
Tatiana 8 years ago

Are U yet to get a job 5 months into 2017? Between 18-50 yrs?Are U a graduate or secondary school leaver?Are U retired, sacked or tired of salary work? U want a biz with high returns, skill as capital, lowest startup costs? 1 ...
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Are U yet to get a job 5 months into 2017? Between 18-50 yrs?Are U a graduate or secondary school leaver?Are U retired, sacked or tired of salary work? U want a biz with high returns, skill as capital, lowest startup costs? 1.Make average $30-$50 or more daily2.Meet high net worth individuals[opportunities in people]3.Grow in IT knowledge 4.Be highly sought after [Money looking for U].5.Employ others! Just get "Mobile Phones & Tablets Repairs : A Complete Guide for Beginners and Professionals" from Amazon marketplaces, Barnes & Noble, eBay etc today & LEARN HOW TO EARN thru this bestselling book! Don't waste 1 WHOLE yr waiting for a (THAT) job !
Afutse 8 years ago

Your suggesting is very good. I hope the authorities will take this to heart.
In addition to that, Ghana directly or indirectly have discouraged Ghanaians in foreign lands from investing in Ghana. A typical example is land ...
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Your suggesting is very good. I hope the authorities will take this to heart.
In addition to that, Ghana directly or indirectly have discouraged Ghanaians in foreign lands from investing in Ghana. A typical example is land issues. There is no clear cut rules concerning land acquisition in Ghana, as such Diasporas are discouraged in investing in Land and Real Estate in Ghana. I bought a piece of land in Ghana. I have paid for the land four times, to four different owners. There is no guarantee that I am the legitimate owner. This story is being repeated by most Ghanaians in Overseas. This scenario is discouraging many Ghanaians in investing in Ghana. This is a serious issue that need to be tackled as soon as possible. Ghana need all the help it can get from Diasporas.
Fine Boy 8 years ago

There are so many uneccesery topics in maths which are causing the students failure this topic has no use but it can give a brilliant student barrier to enter tetiary . They should be remove.

There are so many uneccesery topics in maths which are causing the students failure this topic has no use but it can give a brilliant student barrier to enter tetiary . They should be remove.
Tekonline.org 8 years ago

Certain topics might seem "unnecessary" only because the teacher probably fails to relate the topic to the real world.

Math is so pervasive (but often hidden) in our lives. Just name one topic you think might be unnecessa ...
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Certain topics might seem "unnecessary" only because the teacher probably fails to relate the topic to the real world.

Math is so pervasive (but often hidden) in our lives. Just name one topic you think might be unnecessary and you would be surprised the number of applications in the real world, as even Google can show.

Also, the purpose of education is to prepare the student for ANY eventuality. Instructors cannot foresee every student's future dream occupation and therefore must expose all students to as much as possible.

The rapid changes in the technological world also dictates some changes in educational strategy. A decade ago, computer programming was destined to become everything, and all that was needed for coding proficiency was a sense of logic. With today's full-steam embrace of artificial intelligence and machine learning, advanced topics in mathematics will soon become the rule rather than the exception, rather unfortunately.
Tekonline.org 8 years ago

Although the majority of parents wouldn't be able to effectively handle the subject.

But for even the minimally literate parent, there is so much that can be done.

THE LOVE OF MATH STARTS DEVELOPING IN THE FIRST FOUR YE ...
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Although the majority of parents wouldn't be able to effectively handle the subject.

But for even the minimally literate parent, there is so much that can be done.

THE LOVE OF MATH STARTS DEVELOPING IN THE FIRST FOUR YEARS OF LIFE.

For the very young, many studies have confirmed that the most important thing that would determine proficiency in later years is the RELATION OF THE NUMBER SYMBOLS TO QUANTITIES. Parents can be using treats to promote the association: "Esi, come for two biscuits", while showing a card with the symbol "2" and a plate containing two biscuits. The understanding of QUANTITIES cannot be overemphasized. (See the article below).

In latter years (3-6), children must be made to play math-related games: OWARRI, TU-MA-TU, DAM, LUDU, and many more that need to be invented and created (entrepreneurs, are you paying attention?).

Any fun activity involving counting and quantities would lay the foundation for math proficiency and more importantly the love of the subject.
Tekonline.org 8 years ago

Science News from research organizations

Playing with blocks may help children's spatial, math thinking

Date:
September 24, 2013

Source:
Society for Research in Child Development

FULL STORY

Playing with blo ...
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Science News from research organizations

Playing with blocks may help children's spatial, math thinking

Date:
September 24, 2013

Source:
Society for Research in Child Development

FULL STORY

Playing with blocks may help preschoolers develop the kinds of skills that support later learning in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Playing with blocks may help preschoolers develop the kinds of skills that support later learning in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), according to a new study by researchers at the University of Delaware and Temple University. And for low-income preschoolers, who lag in spatial skills, such play may be especially important.

The study is published in the journal Child Development.

More than a hundred 3-year-olds of various socioeconomic levels took part in the study. Children who were better at copying block structures were also better at early math, the study found. Among the skills tested were whether children could figure out that a block belongs above or below another block and whether they aligned the pieces.

The study also found that by age 3, children from lower-income families were already falling behind in spatial skills, likely as a result of more limited experience with blocks and other toys and materials that facilitate the development of such skills. And parents of low-income toddlers reported using significantly fewer words such as "above" and "below" with their children.

Blocks are affordable and enjoyable, and they're easily used in preschool settings. Giving children -- especially those from low-income families -- such toys to play with can help them develop skills that will have long-lasting effects on later STEM-related educational outcomes, the researchers suggest.

The children's spatial skills were assessed using a block-building task. Math skills were examined using a measure developed for 3-year-olds that focuses on a wide range of skills, from simple counting to complex operations like adding and subtracting.

"Research in the science of learning has shown that experiences like block building and puzzle play can improve children's spatial skills and that these skills support complex mathematical problem solving in middle and high school," explains Brian N. Verdine, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Delaware and one of the study's authors. "This is the first research to demonstrate a similar relationship in preschoolers."

Tekonline.org 8 years ago

Don’t Teach Math, Coach It

By JORDAN ELLENBERG
JULY 24, 2014

MADISON, Wis. — PEOPLE ask me all the time how they can get their kids excited about math. That ought to be a softball for me, because I teach math f ...
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Don’t Teach Math, Coach It

By JORDAN ELLENBERG
JULY 24, 2014

MADISON, Wis. — PEOPLE ask me all the time how they can get their kids excited about math. That ought to be a softball for me, because I teach math for a living. I wake up excited about math.

But it’s not that simple. With the college students I teach, it’s a straightforward transaction. They’re paying me to teach them math, and my job is to cajole or incentivize them into doing the work that’s necessary to learn the subject, whether they feel like it or not.

It’s a different story with your own children. None of us want to be Leo Wiener. Yes, Wiener helped shape his son, Norbert, into a child prodigy who got a Ph.D. at Harvard at 18, and who later became a groundbreaking mathematician. But this was how Norbert recalled the process:

“He would begin the discussion in an easy, conversational tone. This lasted exactly until I made the first mathematical mistake. Then the gentle and loving father was replaced by the avenger of the blood. ... Father was raging, I was weeping, and my mother did her best to defend me, although hers was a losing battle.”

No parents want this story told in their child’s memoirs. But how can we encourage kids in a difficult task like math without doing so in a way they’ll come to resent?

I found an answer in something my 8-year-old son, C. J., likes even better than math: baseball. Let me be clear here. My level of skill at baseball — actually, with every kind of ball — is pretty much the opposite of my mastery of math. I’ve reached 40 and I still throw in the way that we used to call, before they started showing college softball on TV, “like a girl.”

But C. J. is a baseball fanatic. He lives and dies with the Milwaukee Brewers and he’s pretty set on being one of them when he grows up. He plays Little League with a fierce concentration I seldom see at home. And I’ve learned a lot about what kind of math parent I want to be from an unexpected source — his coaches.

Baseball is a game. And math, for kids, is a game, too. Everything for them is a game. That’s the great thing about being a kid. In Little League, you play hard and you play to win, but it doesn’t actually matter who wins. And good coaches get this. They don’t get mad and they don’t throw you off the team. They don’t tell you that you stink at baseball, even if you do — they tell you what you need to do to get better, which everybody can do.

What does it mean to coach math instead of teaching it?

For C. J., it means I give him a “mystery number” to think about before bed. “I’m thinking of a mystery number, and when I multiply it by 2 and add 7, I get 29; what’s the mystery number?” And already you’re doing not just arithmetic but algebra.

For his little sister, who’s 4, that’s too formal. But say we’re at the grocery store and we need four cans of soup and she brings me two, and I say, “So we need three more, right?” and she says, “No, Daddy!” That’s really funny when you’re 4. It’s a game, and it’s math.

Lots of games are math. There are the classics you know about: chess, which builds the ability to follow a series of logical steps; Monopoly, which demands basic arithmetic and probabilistic reasoning; and Rubik’s Cube, which is fundamentally an exercise in geometry and group theory.
Tekonline.org 8 years ago

Number Sense Series: Developing Early Number Sense

Article by Jenni Way
Published October 2005,February 2011.

You can read an updated version of this article in our Number Sense and Place Value Feature.

What is n ...
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Number Sense Series: Developing Early Number Sense

Article by Jenni Way
Published October 2005,February 2011.

You can read an updated version of this article in our Number Sense and Place Value Feature.

What is number sense?

The term "number sense" is a relatively new one in mathematics education. It is difficult to define precisely, but broadly speaking, it refers to "a well organised conceptual framework of number information that enables a person to understand numbers and number relationships and to solve mathematical problems that are not bound by traditional algorithms" (Bobis, 1996). The National Council of Teachers (USA, 1989) identified five components that characterise number sense: number meaning, number relationships, number magnitude, operations involving numbers and referents for numbers and quantities. These skills are considered important because they contribute to general intuitions about numbers and lay the foundation for more advanced skills.

Researchers have linked good number sense with skills observed in students proficient in the following mathematical activities:

mental calculation (Hope & Sherrill, 1987; Trafton, 1992);
computational estimation (for example; Bobis, 1991; Case & Sowder, 1990);
judging the relative magnitude of numbers (Sowder, 1988);
recognising part-whole relationships and place value concepts (Fischer, 1990; Ross, 1989) and;
problem solving (Cobb et.al., 1991).
How does number sense begin?
An intuitive sense of number begins at a very early age. Children as young as two years of age can confidently identify one, two or three objects before they can actually count with understanding (Gelman & Gellistel, 1978). Piaget called this ability to instantaneously recognise the number of objects in a small group 'subitising'. As mental powers develop, usually by about the age of four, groups of four can be recognised without counting. It is thought that the maximum number for subitising, even for most adults, is five. This skill appears to be based on the mind's ability to form stable mental images of patterns and associate them with a number. Therefore, it may be possible to recognise more than five objects if they are arranged in a particular way or practice and memorisation takes place. A simple example of this is six dots arranged in two rows of three, as on dice or playing cards. Because this image is familiar, six can be instantly recognised when presented this way.
Usually, when presented with more than five objects, other mental strategies must be utilised. For example, we might see a group of six objects as two groups of three. Each group of three is instantly recognised, then very quickly (virtually unconsciously) combined to make six. In this strategy no actual counting of objects is involved, but rather a part-part-whole relationship and rapid mental addition is used. That is, there is an understanding that a number (in this case six) can be composed of smaller parts, together with the knowledge that 'three plus three makes six'. This type of mathematical thinking has already begun by the time children begin school and should be nurtured because it lays the foundation for understanding operations and in developing valuable mental calculation strategies.

What teaching strategies promote early number sense?

Learning to count with understanding is a crucial number skill, but other skills, such as perceiving subgroups, need to develop alongside counting to provide a firm foundation for number sense. By simply presenting objects (such as stamps on a flashcard) in various arrangements, different mental strategies can be prompted. For example, showing six stamps in a cluster of four and a pair prompts the combination of 'four and two makes six'. If the four is not subitised, it may be seen as 'two and two and two makes six'. This arrangement is obviously a little more complex than two groups of three. So different arrangements will prompt different strategies, and these strategies will vary from person to person.

If mental strategies such as these are to be encouraged (and just counting discouraged) then an element of speed is necessary. Seeing the objects for only a few seconds challenges the mind to find strategies other than counting. It is also important to have children reflect on and share their strategies (Presmeg, 1986; Mason, 1992). This is helpful in three ways:

verbalising a strategy brings the strategy to a conscious level and allows the person to learn about their own thinking;
it provides other children with the opportunity to pick up new strategies;
the teacher can assess the type of thinking being used and adjust the type of arrangement, level of difficulty or speed of presentation accordingly.

To begin with, early number activities are best done with moveable objects such as counters, blocks and small toys. Most children will need the concrete experience of physically manipulating groups of objects into sub-groups and combining small groups to make a larger group. After these essential experiences more static materials such as 'dot cards' become very useful.

Dot cards are simply cards with dot stickers of a single colour stuck on one side. (However, any markings can be used. Self-inking stamps are fast when making a lot of cards). The important factors in the design of the cards are the number of dots and the arrangement of these dots. The various combinations of these factors determine the mathematical structure of each card, and hence the types of number relations and mental strategies prompted by them.

Consider each of the following arrangements of dots before reading further. What mental strategies are likely to be prompted by each card? What order would you place them in according to level of difficulty?

Card A is the classic symmetrical dice and playing card arrangement of five and so is often instantly recognised without engaging other mental strategies. It is perhaps the easiest arrangement of five to deal with.

Card B presents clear sub-groups of two and three, each of which can be instantly recognised. With practice, the number fact of 'two and three makes five' can be recalled almost instantly.

Card C: A linear arrangement is the one most likely to prompt counting. However, many people will mentally separate the dots into groups of two and three, as in the previous card. Other strategies such as seeing two then counting '3, 4, 5' might also be used.

Card D could be called a random arrangement, though in reality it has been quite deliberately organised to prompt the mental activity of sub-grouping. There are a variety of ways to form the sub-groups, with no prompt in any particular direction, so this card could be considered to be the most difficult one in the set.

Card E shows another sub-group arrangement that encourages the use (or discovery) of the 'four and one makes five' number relation.

Obviously, using fewer than five dots would develop the most basic number sense skills, and using more than five dots would provide opportunities for more advanced strategies. However, it is probably not useful to use more than ten dots. (See the follow-on article focusing on developing a 'sense of ten' and 'place value readiness'). Cards such as these can be shown briefly to children, then the children asked how many dots they saw. The children should be asked to explain how they perceived the arrangement, and hence what strategies they employed.

What games can assist development of early number sense?

Games can be very useful for reinforcing and developing ideas and procedures previously introduced to children. Although a suggested age group is given for each of the following games, it is the children's level of experience that should determine the suitability of the game. Several demonstration games should be played, until the children become comfortable with the rules and procedures of the games.

Deal and Copy (4-5 years) 3-4 players

Materials: 15 dot cards with a variety of dot patterns representing the numbers from one to five and a plentiful supply of counters or buttons.

Rules: One child deals out one card face up to each other player. Each child then uses the counters to replicate the arrangement of dots on his/her card and says the number aloud. The dealer checks each result, then deals out a new card to each player, placing it on top of the previous card. The children then rearrange their counters to match the new card. This continues until all the cards have been used.

Variations/Extensions

Each child can predict aloud whether the new card has more, less or the same number of dots as the previous card. The prediction is checked by the dealer, by observing whether counters need to be taken away or added.
Increase the number of dots on the cards.
Memory Match (5-7 years) 2 players
Materials: 12 dot cards, consisting of six pairs of cards showing two different arrangements of a particular number of dots, from 1 to 6 dots. (For example, a pair for 5 might be Card A and Card B from the set above).
Rules: Spread all the cards out face down. The first player turns over any two cards. If they are a pair (i.e. have the same number of dots), the player removes the cards and scores a point. If they are not a pair, both cards are turned back down in their places. The second player then turns over two cards and so on. When all the cards have been matched, the player with more pairs wins.
Variations/Extensions
Increase the number of pairs of cards used.
Use a greater number of dots on the cards.
Pair a dot card with a numeral card.
What's the Difference? (7-8 years) 2-4 players
Materials: A pack of 20 to 30 dot cards (1 to 10 dots in dice and regular patterns), counters.
Rules: Spread out 10 cards face down and place the rest of the cards in a pile face down. The first player turns over the top pile card and places beside the pile. He/she then turns over one of the spread cards. The player works out the difference between the number of dots on each card, and takes that number of counters. (E.g. If one card showed 3 dots and the other 8, the player would take 5 counters.) The spread card is turned face down again in its place and the next player turns the top pile card and so on. Play continues until all the pile cards have been used. The winner is the player with the most counters; therefore the strategy is to remember the value of the spread cards so the one that gives the maximum difference can be chosen.
Variations/Extensions
Try to turn the spread cards that give the minimum difference, so the winner is the player with the fewest counters.
Roll a die instead of using pile cards. Start with a set number of counters (say 20), so that when all the counters have been claimed the game ends.
Use dot cards with random arrangements of dots.
The next article in this series is entitled A Sense of 'ten' and Place Value.

References
Bobis, J. (1991). The effect of instruction on the development of computation estimation strategies. Mathematics Education Research Journal , 3, 7-29.

Bobis, J. (1996). Visualisation and the development of number sense with kindergarten children. In Mulligan, J. & Mitchelmore, M. (Eds.) Children's Number Learning : A Research Monograph of the Mathematics Education Group of Australasia and the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers. Adelaide: AAMT

Case, R. & Sowder, J. (1990). The development of computational estimation: A neo-Piagetian analysis. Cognition and Instruction , 7, 79-104.

Cobb, P., Wood, T., Yackel, E., Nicholls, J., Wheatley, G., Trigatti, B., & Perlwitz, M., (1991). Assessment of a problem-centred second-grade mathematics project. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education , 22, 3-29.

Fischer, F. (1990). A part-part-whole curriculum for teaching number to kindergarten. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education , 21, 207-215.

Gelman, R. & Gallistel, C. (1978). The Child's Understanding of Number. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Hope, J. & Sherril, J. (1987). Characteristics of unskilled and skilled mental calculators. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education , 18, 98-111.

Mason, J. (1992). Doing and construing mathematics in screen space, In Perry, B., Southwell, B., & Owens, K. (Eds.). Proceedings of the Thirteenth Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia . Nepean, Sydney: MERGA.

Ross, S. (1989). Parts, wholes, and place value: A developmental view. Arithmetic Teacher , 36, 47-51.

Sowder, J. (1988). Mental computation and number comparison: Their roles in the development of number sense and computational estimation. In Heibert & Behr (Eds.). Research Agenda for Mathematics Education: Number Concepts and Operations in the Middle Grades (pp. 192-197). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence, Erlbaum & Reston.

Presmeg, N. (1986). Visualisation in high school mathematics. For the Learning of Mathematics , 6 (3), 42-46.

Trafton, P. (1992). Using number sense to develop mental computation and computational estimation. In C. Irons (Ed.) Challenging Children to Think when they Compute . (pp. 78-92). Brisbane: Centre for Mathematics and Science Education, Queensland University of Technology.
JKD 8 years ago

Stop this nonsense!!!! When your children see what you do with the maths, they will surely develop an interest. Ghana has nothing to show for so many years of Maths education!!!! We cant even manufacture a condom with an equa ...
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Stop this nonsense!!!! When your children see what you do with the maths, they will surely develop an interest. Ghana has nothing to show for so many years of Maths education!!!! We cant even manufacture a condom with an equal radius let alone a perpendicular road. Please, lets think!!!.
Tekonline.org 8 years ago

JKD,
Your point is well taken. It is up to the math professionals in the country to "sell" the discipline to the public.

But there is little doubt that math is utilized left and right in the country. Particularly in the ...
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JKD,
Your point is well taken. It is up to the math professionals in the country to "sell" the discipline to the public.

But there is little doubt that math is utilized left and right in the country. Particularly in the financial sector as well as in engineering.

Structural engineering is mostly mathematics and physics, and if you think computers are performing the tasks behind the scenes, please think again. For most specialized tasks, computer programming is done from scratch; the coder must know his math to implement it within software.

A few years ago, I was so confident Africa would soon be at par with the western counterparts in this new "industralization" created by SOFTWARE.

But the recent forays into artificial intelligence and particularly machine learning has got me a bit worried.

These fields are highly mathematical, yet there is no turning back. Software continues to invade EVERY aspect of our lives and artificial intelligence is becoming the "new emperor". Even in the US, fear is mounting about massive job losses as robots, armed with machine learning, take over myriad jobs.

The least we can do right now is to emphasize math education and also make coding very popular among the youth.
JKD 8 years ago

What an amazing write up. God bless you sir.

What an amazing write up. God bless you sir.
Sian Larbi 8 years ago

Mathematics is essential to modern society, from the development of new technologies to the numerical modelling of financial systems.
I tried to instilled this discipline in my children, grooming them with maths from infancy ...
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Mathematics is essential to modern society, from the development of new technologies to the numerical modelling of financial systems.
I tried to instilled this discipline in my children, grooming them with maths from infancy to sixth form and this is the best way to throw the maths at them. You will have to have a good strategy in order to make them love the subject. I don't teach maths direct when i was a maths and physics teacher in the UK. It is good to start the topic from daily activities.
Mathematics is nothing more than how to handle these basic signs +, -, x and ÷. Mathematics is all about these 4 symbols. The top UK private schools, all the students take maths in the sixth form and about more than half of these sixth form students take further maths. More that 80% of Malaysia, Singapore, South Korean students offer maths in Sixth form.
Ghana will become a failed state if nothing is done to curtail this downfall in mathematics
ekuoba gyasi Germany 8 years ago

I think the fundamentals should be creative and lively not the old way of teaching the subject .But Ghana is 80 times better than South Africa in Mathematics pls encourage our students

I think the fundamentals should be creative and lively not the old way of teaching the subject .But Ghana is 80 times better than South Africa in Mathematics pls encourage our students
ekuoba gyasi Germany 8 years ago

The fundamentals must be strong and equip the basic school teachers with the necessary text books regular in services training and regular maths workshops . But ghana is 80 times better than South Africa

The fundamentals must be strong and equip the basic school teachers with the necessary text books regular in services training and regular maths workshops . But ghana is 80 times better than South Africa
KZN 8 years ago

In honesty I think MOST of our Maths teachers are the cause of our woes in the subject. They make the subject look as if it is for special group of people. Some of them are just complete waste. How can you teach 'Venn Diagram ...
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In honesty I think MOST of our Maths teachers are the cause of our woes in the subject. They make the subject look as if it is for special group of people. Some of them are just complete waste. How can you teach 'Venn Diagram' for a whole term?
PADG 8 years ago

When we teach mathematics as an abstract subject that is where we have the problems. The three time we eat daily Is mathematics . The period in women as their bodies are being prepared for childbirth is mathematics. The steps ...
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When we teach mathematics as an abstract subject that is where we have the problems. The three time we eat daily Is mathematics . The period in women as their bodies are being prepared for childbirth is mathematics. The steps we take everyday to workplace is mathematics. All happening around us can be related to mathematics so unless we change the way we teach mathematics is the problem.

Tekonline.org 8 years ago

The purpose of education is not just to impart knowledge and make students acquire skills.

More importantly, education must generate EXCITEMENT, FASCINATION, and even AWE.

A teacher who is teaching a topic, not just b ...
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The purpose of education is not just to impart knowledge and make students acquire skills.

More importantly, education must generate EXCITEMENT, FASCINATION, and even AWE.

A teacher who is teaching a topic, not just because "the curriculum says so and I need a paycheck", but rather to get students INSPIRED to explore math would go to great lengths to bring out the beauty and usefulness of mathematics.

Like many tools presented in math to help students UNDERSTAND relationships, the Venn Diagram is taught so that students can see logical connections in data. For example, how many diabetic patients are also hypertensive? Which tribe is equally represented in all the major political parties?

Teachers must make more effort to let students see the real usefulness of what they learn.
Kofi 8 years ago

Agoraphobia, the fear of open space. What is the fear of Mathematics??

Agoraphobia, the fear of open space. What is the fear of Mathematics??
Johnson 8 years ago

Former student from Kumasi High in the seventies, my Maths master would copy and read from notes prepared years back without any problem solving ..One day some of the students stole his note book ,trust me he could not teach ...
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Former student from Kumasi High in the seventies, my Maths master would copy and read from notes prepared years back without any problem solving ..One day some of the students stole his note book ,trust me he could not teach until the book was given back to him
My solution to this maths problem is the government should employ engineers ,computer programmers and other science graduates to teach in our elementary schools.We must stop relying on the trained teachers most of them are not good teaching Maths.
SOCRATES 8 years ago

WHO SAID GHANAIANS FEAR MATHEMATICS? GHANAIANS VERY MUC
LOVE MATHEMATICS THAT ALLOWS YOU TO ADD ONLY 3 ZEROS TO MAKE TEN THOUSAND $ TEN MILLION $. OF COURSE WE HATE PURE MATHEMATICS THAT ABHORS ANY FORM OF CORRUPTION!!!

WHO SAID GHANAIANS FEAR MATHEMATICS? GHANAIANS VERY MUC
LOVE MATHEMATICS THAT ALLOWS YOU TO ADD ONLY 3 ZEROS TO MAKE TEN THOUSAND $ TEN MILLION $. OF COURSE WE HATE PURE MATHEMATICS THAT ABHORS ANY FORM OF CORRUPTION!!!
GHANAFIRST 8 years ago

That's true but our educational systems must also be blamed. Are they admitting qualified students who have the passion to teach the course and what is the quality of training given to them. Let's be concerned with quality o ...
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That's true but our educational systems must also be blamed. Are they admitting qualified students who have the passion to teach the course and what is the quality of training given to them. Let's be concerned with quality of teachers rather than quantity..
BUKOM BANKU 8 years ago

God is t

God is t
BUKOM BANKU 8 years ago

God is the chief mathematician. He gave Noah the geometrical measurements. The walls of Jericho would not have broken if the 7th round was not met. Figures are more critical in all aspects of development

God is the chief mathematician. He gave Noah the geometrical measurements. The walls of Jericho would not have broken if the 7th round was not met. Figures are more critical in all aspects of development
Mathematician 8 years ago

I agree in toto with the sentiments expressed in the article.

We need to teach our children to think critically and logically, and acquire problem-solving skills. The Mathematics Association of Ghana should take the lead i ...
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I agree in toto with the sentiments expressed in the article.

We need to teach our children to think critically and logically, and acquire problem-solving skills. The Mathematics Association of Ghana should take the lead in advocating a change in the way mathematics and science education is delivered in our country.

Maths and Science should be made interesting, practical and relevant, based on students' daily experiences. Maths and Science clubs, trips to places of interest, investigations must all be part of a broader curriculum aimed at broadening the scientific education and fostering a spirit of inquiry in our young people.

The examination system should be overhauled and geared towards making people think carefully to answer questions. We must do away with the 'chew, pour, pass, forget' system.

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Maths phobia affecting Ghana’s growth – Anku

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