Teaching and learning are closely connected with comprehension and the concept of knowledge. How we understand these two concepts, determines how we organize our work in school (Vidmar, 2011). Knowledge is the result of learning and assimilation of knowledge starts with school’s curriculum. The final result then depends on the teacher and their teaching style (Bečaj, 2011). Teachers are autonomous in their choice of learning approach, they decide which learning methods and forms of learning to use for a particular teaching content. In the process. they can relay on various psychological and didactic discoveries, based on different theories of learning and teaching. Recently, constructivistic theories of learning have been widely mentioned, alongside with tendency towards more challenging learning objectives aimed at developing creative, critical thinking with the ability to solve more complex problems, to integrate knowledge and to apply it in new situations (Marentič Požarnik, 2008). In the master’s thesis we were therefore interested in the extent to which these contemporary guidelines or teaching models are reflected in mathematics teaching. Since the forms of learning and learning methods are largely determined by the characteristics of the teacher’s teaching and thus their way of teaching, we focused mainly on the teacher’s use of learning methods and forms of learning in teaching mathematics in third grade of primary school. In the theoretical part, we first defined knowledge, presented theories of learning and teaching (behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism) and the models of teaching that derive from them (transmission and transformational models of teaching). Finally, we presented detailed learning methods and forms of learning that are used in mathematics education.
In the empirical part, with the help of our own online questionnaire, we investigate which learning methods and forms of learning teachers use when teaching selected topics in mathematics in the third grade of primary school. We were also interested in whether the choice of learning methods varies according to the years of service of the teacher and whether teachers are satisfied with the choice of learning methods and forms of learning or would like to improve their knowledge in this area.
The result of the survey showed that in the third grade teachers most often use the lecture method, followed by the demonstration method, then the collaborative learning method and finally the text-based method and the problem-solving method when dealing with mathematical content. When deciding on forms of learning, the most common form of learning teacher use in teaching mathematics is frontal learning form, followed by individual learning form, group teaching form and finally pair work teaching form. The results also showed differences in the choice of lecture method, text-based and problem-solving method and in the frequency of group and individual learning form between longer-serving and shorter-serving teachers. Longer-serving teachers are more likely to include all three of the above learning methods and the individual form of learning, while short-serving teachers are more likely to include the group form of teaching in their mathematics lessons. The results also have shown that teachers do not tend to choose any of the selected teaching models when choosing their teaching approach, but rather choose an approach that is a combination of both transmission and transformational models of teaching.
In conclusion, teachers do not feel insecure in their choice of learning methods due to the different orientations for mathematics teaching, but they would still like to receive training in “modern” teaching approaches to mathematics.
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