 1.

(x+y)2 = x2 + y2

 2. –3(2+x) = – 6 + x

 3. 35–3(2+x) = 32(2 + x)

 4

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 2
 What do you understand by learning?

 What are the differences between

teaching and learning?

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 3
Definition
 Human learning is defined as a relatively
permanent change in behaviour acquired through
an experience.
 Thus learning is normally directed towards
specific goals through organized patterns of
experience.
 There must be a complete change (a permanent
change) in behaviour – [from one involving
(practical) perceptual-motor skills to one
involving purely concept –relationship (recall)].

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 4
Learning mathematics is a means of
developing logical and quantitative
thinking abilities. Mathematics
becomes functional in the lives of
children when they have developed
basic computational skills and can
apply mathematics to their world.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 5
Education must create such experiences and
situations that will enable a learner to
reconstruct his/her behaviour towards goals
desired by both the learner and the teacher.
Learning becomes a change in behaviour
brought about through brain action or
thinking. It comes about through facing
situations that call for making discoveries,
abstractions, generalizations and
organizations in mathematics.
CY/ema406.03.02.2017 6
 It
is problem solving, for, without a
problem felt by the organism and
motivation toward the solution of the
problem, there will be little learning
of mathematics

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 7
Kolb (1984), listed the essential characteristics of
learning as:
 Learning is a continuous process based on
experience
 Learning is a holistic process of adaptation to
the world
 Learning involves transaction between the
person and the environment

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 8
 Learning is the process of creating
knowledge.
 Learning in the conventional sense
is the process of absorption of
knowledge resulting from the
interaction between the teacher and
the learner.
CY/ema406.03.02.2017 9
Learning theories are conceptual
frameworks that describe how information
is absorbed, processed, and retained during
learning.
Cognitive, emotional, and environmental
influences, as well as prior experience, all
play a part in how understanding, or a world
view, is acquired or changed, and
knowledge and skills retained.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 10
1. Behaviourist
2. Cognitivist
3. Constructivist
4. Humanist
5. Social Learning

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 11
 Behaviourism
Behaviourists look at learning as an
aspect of conditioning and will advocate
a system of rewards and targets in
education.
Changes in behaviour are the result of
an individual‟s response to event
(stimuli) that occurs in the environment.
It focuses on the connection between
stimuli received and the responses
displayed by the organism or learner.
CY/ema406.03.02.2017 12
For behaviourism, learning is the
acquisition of a new behaviour through
conditioning.
After conducting laboratory experiments
with animals, behaviourists concluded that
learning is a process by which stimulus and
response bonds are established when a
successful response immediately and
frequently follow a stimulus.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 13
 Early behaviourists in these experiments are
Skinner, Thorndike and Pavlov.
 Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov in 1927
conditioned a dog to salivate to a sound of
a bell (in classical conditioning).
 Classical conditioning was noticed by
Pavlov when he saw that if dogs come to
associate the delivery of food with the
ringing of a bell, they will produce saliva,
even when there is no sight or smell of food.
 This form of learning is the same whether in
dogs or in humans.
CY/ema406.03.02.2017 14
 Laterin 1938 the American psychologist
Skinner carried out experiments where
rats and pigeons were enticed to press or
peck a leaver in order to obtain pellets of
feed (in operant conditioning).
 Operant conditioning or radical
behaviourism, reinforces this behaviour
with a reward or a punishment. A reward
increases the likelihood of the behaviour
recurring, a punishment decreases its
likelihood.
CY/ema406.03.02.2017 15
 Inshort, behaviour changes according
to its immediate „consequences‟

 Thus,a pleasurable consequences

strengthen behaviour while unpleasant
consequences weaken it.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 16
 Behaviourists believed that the
environment plays a key role in learning
– learning takes place in a well-structured
environment. (Structure the environment
well and learning will follow).
 Consider well endowed school with
qualified teachers and adequate facilities
as compared with village schools with
inadequate resources/facilities.
CY/ema406.03.02.2017 17
 Behaviourists
 They hold the belief that the child‟s mind is
empty (tabula rasa) and needs to be filled by
teachers.
 Implication here is that education must
produce changes in children by making them
act in response to situations organized by the
teacher and to act in similar manner to
situations outside school. Learning should be
organized as a series of guided exercises –
programmed learning and Drill and Practice.
CY/ema406.03.02.2017 18
Principles/Believes:
1. Behaviour that is positively reinforced will
reoccur; intermittent reinforcement is particularly
effective
2. Information should be presented in small
amounts so that responses can be reinforced
("shaping")
3. Reinforcements will generalize across similar
stimuli ("stimulus generalization") producing
secondary conditioning
CY/ema406.03.02.2017 19
 Behaviourism
Question

What have you learnt from the

Behaviourists theory as a teacher?

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 20
 APPLICATION
1. Teacher needs to reinforce correct response
and discourage the wrong response.
2. Teacher controls the stimuli, choose the
correct response and provide the appropriate
reward.
3. In the behaviourist perspective, the
feedback to students is seen as a reward and
should immediately follow the learning
process.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 21
4. The teacher can also use marks, prizes
and praise as different reinforcements.

5.This approach can also be used in

programmed learning - the lesson needs
to be then arranged into series of steps
and feed back must follow immediately.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 22
 Cognitivetheories grew out of Gestalt
psychology, developed in Germany in the
early 1900s and brought to America in the
1920s.

 The German word gestalt is roughly

equivalent to the English configuration or
pattern or form and emphasizes the whole of
human experience.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 23
 Gestalt psychology is a school of
thought that looks at the human mind
and behaviour as a whole rather than
attempting to break them up into
smaller parts.
 In perception, “the whole is greater
than the sum of the individual parts”.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 24
 Gestaltpsychologists criticize
behaviourists for being too dependent on
overt behaviour to explain learning.
 They propose looking at the patterns
rather than isolated events.
 Gestalt views of learning have been
incorporated into what have come to be
labelled cognitive theories.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 25
 Two key assumptions underlie this
cognitive approach: that the memory
system is an active organized processor
of information and that prior knowledge
plays an important role in learning.

 Cognitive theories look beyond behaviour

to consider how human memory works to
promote learning, and an understanding
of short term memory and long term
memory is important to educators
influenced by cognitive theory.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 26
 They view learning as an internal
mental process (including insight,
information processing, memory
and perception) where the
educator focuses on building
intelligence and cognitive
development.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 27
 Cognitivism
Principles:
1. Learning consists of changes in mental constructs
and processes
2. Learning is something that happens as a result of
thinking.
3. For meaningful learning to take place, new
information needs to fit in with existing
cognitive structures
4. Learning is a process in which the student is
actively engaged

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 28
 Cognitivism - Application
1. The teacher needs to know about
the student’s previous learning

2. The teacher assists the student in

developing meaning by providing
puzzles and rules for the student
to work through

3. The teacher provides a structure

or helps the student to create a
structure to which is added new
learning
CY/ema406.03.02.2017 29
4. The teacher needs to employ the
inductive-deductive approach of
teaching:
The inductive teaching method
process goes from the specific to
the general and may be based on
specific experiments or
experiential learning exercises.
Deductive teaching methods progress
from the general concept to the
specific use or application

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 30
 Now study the following pattern:
9x1–1=8
9 x 21 – 1 = 188
9 x 321 – 1 = 2,888
(a) Write down the next problem?
(b)What is the next answer in the sequence?
(c) Use the patterns to predict the answer to
9 x 987,654,321 – 1

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 31
The next problem and the answer is
9 x 4,321 – 1 = 38,888

Using the patterns we predict answer to the

problem
9 x 987654321 – 1 = 8,888,888,888

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 32
This type of reasoning – first observing
patterns and then predicting answers for
complicated problems – is an example of
Inductive Reasoning.
i.e. Reasoning based on a variety of cases or
data (i.e. specifics), discovering patterns, and
forming conclusions (i.e. general).
Inductive reasoning should be used cautiously –
there may be a counter example.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 33
Deductive reasoning is a kind of
reasoning that starts from a general
statement to specific statement. A
general statement is made and logic is
used to fit in the specific cases

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 34
Consider the following:
 If x > y and y > z, you will agree that x ˃ z.
Deductive reasoning links premises with
conclusions
 So what is wrong with the following
argument?
(i) Half a loaf is greater than Nothing.
(ii) Nothing is better than Heaven.
(ii)Therefore, half a loaf is better than Heaven.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 35
 The law teacher and his graduate
at court

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 36
1. Briefly explain the following:
(i) Learning is a means to an end.
(ii) Learning is a holistic process of
adaptation to the world.
2. What are learning theories? Give two
examples.
3. Name any two behaviourist and explain
briefly their contributions to learning.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 37
4. Mention four things that a teacher can
do to strengthen the connection between
the stimuli and responses displayed by
the learner.
5. Distinguish between behaviourist and
cognitive learning approach.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 38
Constructivism is a cognitivist learning
theory which states that learning is an
active process in which learners
construct new ideas or concepts based
upon their current/past knowledge.

It refers to the situation where the learner

is actively engaged in constructing both
the knowledge acquired and the
strategies used to acquire it.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 39
The learner selects and transforms
information, constructs hypotheses,
and makes decisions, relying on a
cognitive structure to do so.

Cognitive structure (i.e., schema)

provides meaning and organization to
experiences and allows the individual
to “go beyond the information given”.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 40
 Built on the work of Jean Piaget and Jerome
Bruner, constructivism emphasizes the
importance of the active involvement of
learners in constructing knowledge for
themselves, and building new ideas or concepts
based upon current knowledge and past
experience.

 It asks why students do not learn deeply by

listening to a teacher, or reading from a
textbook.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 41
 To design effective teaching environment,
it believes, one needs a good
understanding of what children already
know when they come into the classroom.

 The curriculum should be designed in a
way that builds on what the pupil already
knows and is allowed to develop with
them.
CY/ema406.03.02.2017 42
 3. Constructivism
 The learning theories of John Dewey,
Marie Montessori and David Kolb serve
as the foundation of constructivist
learning theory. Constructivism has many
varieties:
 Active learning
 Discovery learning and
 Knowledge building, are three, but

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 43
 all the three versions promote a
student's free exploration within a given
framework or structure.
 The teacher acts as a facilitator who
encourages students to discover
principles for themselves and to
construct knowledge by working to solve
realistic problems.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 44
 Given that 3𝑥 + 7𝑦 = 34 and 7𝑥 + 3𝑦 = 46 ,
find the average of 𝑥 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦 .

Add the two equations

3𝑥 + 7𝑦 = 34
7𝑥 + 3𝑦 = 46
10𝑥 + 10𝑦 = 80
⇒𝑥 + 𝑦 = 8
𝑥+𝑦 8
∴ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑠 = =4
2 2

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 45
 If 𝑥 2 = 2, what is the value of
1 1
𝑥+ 𝑥−
𝑥 𝑥

 Recall 𝑎 + 𝑏 𝑎 − 𝑏 = 𝑎2 − 𝑏 2

1 1 1
 ⇒ 𝑥+ 𝑥− 2
=𝑥 −
𝑥 𝑥 𝑥2

 But 𝑥 2 = 2
1 1 1
 ⇒ 𝑥+ 𝑥− = 2 − = 1.5
𝑥 𝑥 2

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 46
 Constructivism - Application

 Viewof Learning: Constructing meaning

from experience (e .g. emphasizes hands-
on problem solving)

 Purpose: Construct knowledge (question

existing knowledge)

 Teacher’s
role: Facilitates and negotiates
meaning with learner.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 47
 Teacher tailors teaching strategies to
student responses and encourage student
to analyse, interpret, and predict
information. Teacher relies heavily on
open-ended questions and promotes
extensive dialogue among students.
 Constructivism calls for the elimination of
grades and standardized testing.
 Instead, assessment becomes part of the
learning process so that students play a
larger role in judging their own progress.
CY/ema406.03.02.2017 48
 Activity 1:

List at least 3 things that the mathematics

teacher should do in a constructivist
teaching and learning environment.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 49
Answers:
 Orchestrate discussion among learners.
 Encouraging learners to verbalize the
mathematics they are constructing when doing
activities.
 Encourage learners to make connections
between different aspects of mathematics
 Encourage learners to explain and justify their
solutions
 Encourage self and peer assessment
 Make learning relevant to everyday life
 Use a variety of resources to cater for different
 learning styles.
CY/ema406.03.02.2017 50
Activity 2:

List at least 3 things that the learner

should do in a constructivist teaching
and learning environment.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 51
 Answer
 Discuss work with peers and teacher
 Pose and solve own problems
 Verbalize the mathematics they are
constructing when doing activities.
 Make connections between different
aspects of mathematics
 Explain and justify own solutions
 Do self and peer assessment
 Investigate own errors.
CY/ema406.03.02.2017 52
 Activity 3:

List at least 3 methods of assessment

that should be used to assess learning
in a constructivist teaching and
learning environment.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 53
 Question and answer
 Observation
 Self assessment
 Peer assessment
 Project work
 Essay
 Error Analysis
 Examination
 Quiz

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 54
 4. Humanism
Humanism is based on the belief
that the key to effective, long
term learning, is based upon
experimental learning. The
features of experimental
learning are:-
◦ Personal involvement.
◦ Stimulation of feelings and
thinking.
◦ Self initiation
◦ Self evaluation.
CY/ema406.03.02.2017 55
Humanists feel that learners
should be trusted to follow
their own learning programme
at their own pace and
direction.

For the humanist, the key to

active learning is by doing and
using some form of reflection
through evaluation.
CY/ema406.03.02.2017 56
Principles:
1. Significant learning takes place when the
subject matter is relevant to the personal
interests of the student
2. Learning which is threatening to the self (e.g.,
new attitudes or perspectives) are more easily
assimilated when external threats are at a
minimum
3. Learning proceeds faster when the threat to
the self is low
4. Self-initiated learning is the most lasting and
pervasive. (Carl Rogers)

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 57
1. The teacher’s task is to
manipulate the learning
environment to provide the best
opportunity for the child’s
knowledge and understanding to
grow in desirable ways. The
following general principles serve
as useful guides to the teacher in
selecting teaching actions.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 58
 2. Children understand a concept when
they can relate it to other concepts
they already know. The learning of a
higher order concept can take place
only after the lower order contributory
concepts have been formed. That is,
the contributory concepts must be
formed before new ones are learnt
(RPK). The examples that the teacher
uses must b e concepts the learners
already know.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 59
3. Children learn best when they are involved in
practical activity and discovering things for
themselves: - drawing, sorting, classifying,
measuring, investigating, etc. (DO mathematics)

4. All children need concrete experiences

throughout the primary school. Older children may
need fewer than younger children and children of
higher ability may need less than children of low
ability but all children should have some.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 60
 5. Teachers must arrange sufficient and varied
experiences for learners to go through.
The suitable examples must possess common
properties to be abstracted that will form the
concept.
Two examples must possess common properties
to be abstracted (i.e. common properties must
be similar but other features not wanted must
differ) e.g. triangles – 3 sidedness for all but
varied in colour.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 61
6. Mathematical thinking is an essential part
of problem solving and children will think
for themselves when they are given the
opportunity to ask questions.

They should be encouraged to discuss

problems among themselves and with
teachers (TALK about mathematics)

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 62
7. Teachers must use the correct communication to
help children form concepts – practical
discoveries, use of suitable teaching-learning
materials and examples.
Methods of instruction should accommodate the
natural thought processes of the child.
Teachers should select appropriate experiences
that will challenge pupil‟s level of thought.
Ineffective work on the part of the teacher leads to
the fear of maths by learners

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 63
8. Trs must:
be inventive – use appropriate examples and further
examples.
use other contributory concepts to explain new
concepts.
have a clear understanding of the concepts himself.
analyse the various contributory concepts on which
to build the new concepts especially for young ones.
ensure that all needed primary concepts are known
to learners and reviewed before introducing new
concepts – the need for review of RPK.
CY/ema406.03.02.2017 64
9. Tr should talk about the usefulness of
maths in both careers and in everyday life.
 Children learn best in a lively and enjoyable
atmosphere.
 The attitude of the teacher reflects the
interest and desire of the children to work.
 Learning mathematics should be devoid of
boredom and coercion and should be
meaningful to the children.
CY/ema406.03.02.2017 65
10. The presence of concrete learning
experiences helps to bring meaning to the
symbolic representations necessary to embody
mathematical concepts.
 The desired learning sequence should be from
concrete, manipulative experiences to semi-
concrete graphical and pictorial experiences and
finally to abstract symbolic experiences.
 In every maths lesson, children should be given
the opportunity to DO, TALK about and then
RECORD their work.
CY/ema406.03.02.2017 66
11. It is observed that textbooks mainly use
definitions (rather than examples only) to
communicate concepts because examples
are specific but definitions are exact and
cover a lot in brief.
E.g. „a rectangle is a four-sided figure with
four right angles‟.

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 67
 REFERENCES
 Bieheler, R & Snowman (2000) ‘Motivation’ in M Bloor & A
Lahiff (eds) Perspective on learning Greenwich university press.

 Minton, D. (2005) Teaching Skills in further and Adult Education.

3rd edn Tompson Learning

 Macleod, F & Golby, M (2003) Theories of Learning and

Pedagogy: issues for teacher development
Teacher Development, Volume 7, Number 3, 345-362

 Reece I, Walker S (2003) ‘Teaching, Training and Learning; a

practical guide’. 4th Ed. Business Education Publishers

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 68
 Examine the following :
 Social learning and elementary
mathematics.
 Constructivism and elementary
mathematics

 THE END

CY/ema406.03.02.2017 69