The science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field continues creating superb job opportunities. Thanks to outstanding development in the IT-sphere, IT jobs are the highest paying these days, but the field requires excellent math knowledge.
Ironically, college students today don’t see the need to attend mathematics classes. Learners believe that there’s no correlation between their education and their future careers. These are apparent misconceptions that need to be disproved. Working in the most popular profession requires in-depth math knowledge. The following are tips to get your students to study math better:
Present a Challenge
Most university students react with enthusiasm when they face challenges, especially if it’s an exercise on the topic you used in 3rd strategy above. Therefore, you must be careful when selecting this question. Browse through your textbooks to find Math questions and answers that they are likely to answer. Alternatively, you may check for math problems with answers on the internet. They should be able to solve the question if they really try. Take great care so that the exercise doesn’t diminish the lesson but guides it, in fact.
Subtly Call the Students’ Attention to Inconsistencies in Their Knowledge
Pointing out gaps in a student’s understanding triggers their learning desire to complete their knowledge. However, you’ll have to be subtle with this strategy to achieve results. To do so, you may solve a few straightforward exercises with them before presenting more complex questions. The difficulty that they may face solving the second set of exercises suggests to them that they lack some knowledge on what they hitherto assumed to know. The more drama you display, the more potent your motivational tactic.
Arrange Achievements Sequentially
Getting students to recognize and appreciate sequences in math is the next way to motivate them. However, unlike the previous method, this method targets their desire to increase their knowledge. Special quadrilaterals are a good example of a sequential process. Notice how the topic leads from one shape to another, teaching each of their features.
Establish a Pattern
Creating an artificial situation that requires learners to unearth a pattern can be motivating, as they appreciate finding and owning an idea. This strategy leads the students to believe that they made a discovery. A good example would be adding from 1 to 100. However, instead of adding the numbers sequentially, show them to add the first and last digits (1 + 100), then the second and next-to-last digits (2 + 99), and so on. Then, all that they’ll need to find the final result using 50 x 101 = 5, 050. This experience can leave a lasting motivational effect. Patterns are motivating, particularly if the students discovered them themselves — being led by the teacher, of course.
Demonstrate the Practical Application of a Topic
The general belief among high school students is that math has no application to real-life scenarios. You should correct this misconception with a simple approach. For instance, you may ask a student to find the diameter of a plate by providing necessary values on a small section of the plate. The practical you choose to use has to be brief and straightforward to spur the students rather than bore them.
Engage Recreational Math
The use of fun in math is an encouraged practice. You may use paradoxes, games, puzzles, or nearby structures to facilitate this lesson. Again, these aids have to be simple enough. Straightforward use of this strategy enables quick completion of the activity. Being able to control the fun ensures that students aren’t detracted from the underlying lesson.
Wrap Up
The strategies above may look too simple, but they work for all levels of students, whether elementary school exercises or mathematics for IT professionals. Impress the relevance of the subject upon your students and engage the techniques above to optimize learning.
About the author
Stuart Jones is a student of Information Technology and software developer. He is interested in particular conducting research about the impact of modern technology on humanity.
