Listening to Children - Research Paper Example

Title: Listening to Children Introduction Learning and teaching of mathematics especially in children in primary schools has been a big challenge globally. Baker (1990) has underscored children’s inability in understanding the use of decimals and fractions as their main challenge in learning mathematics. Since mathematics has been lauded as one of the door openers to a range of career options for our children, it therefore calls for concerted efforts to make its learning and teaching a success. It therefore becomes the concern of this research to outline the various methodologies used in attempting to achieve this goal (Killen, 2003). Through review of the related literature, the author of this report sets out to bring to fore various research work done in this area in the world to support the findings of this research. For easier understanding of the report therefore, the author has presented a short review of the related literature, the research methodology used, and a discussion of the results, a conclusion and recommendations for future research in this area. Review of the literature It is inherent in young children to be very curious of their surroundings and have insatiable desire to explore and experiment. They use games they play with adults and their peers to influence their interest in learning mathematics and science during their growth phases as reported by Reys (2006). Because of this, young children have been considered to be natural mathematicians and scientists due to their use of discovery methods in learning (Forte & Schurr, 1996). Available documentary evidence indicates that young children are capable of learning important concepts from their natural environments as well as their inquisitive nature (Forte & Schurr, 1996). Several research findings have been able to conclude that children who have had exploratory experiences when very young develop an enjoyment for and a confidence in mathematics and science that pays off as they get older (Baker, 1990). Apart from having problems in learning mathematical concepts, available research findings also indicate that the concept of time in young children is quite unformed and much clouded. Majority of children may only describe time in relation to certain activities performed at that particular time (Scott, 1998). For instance, one may relate time with an activity such as playtime, bedtime or even mealtime rather than the exact time in hours and minutes. It thus becomes very necessary to teach children to tell and record time correctly at an early age. To learn this easily will require some knowledge of mathematics skills which are very necessary to a child's success both at school and in everyday life (Zevenbergen, 2004). Moreover, we handle everyday situations in our lives dealing with numbers such as in the use of money to solve problems and make key decisions. Based on this therefore, it becomes clear how important it is to possess mathematical knowledge for easier living (Reys, 2006). An indication from a study by (Killen, 2003) show that an important part of learning mathematics in children is learning how to solve problems. Accordingly, children are encouraged to use trial and error method to develop their ability to reason and to learn how to go about solving problems. This method is sometimes referred to as brain storming where children search for answers through engaging their brains (Reys, 2006). Through research, it has been found that children learn to express themselves clearly when left to brain storm as they try to explain their solutions (Scott, 1998). Consequently, Forte & Schurr (1996) have concluded that children learn easily when they can connect mathematical concepts and procedures to their own experiences especially in observing everyday events such as counting cars in a highway or common household items. In their study of children’s ability to tell time, Aldridge & White (2002) reported that these skills improve with the age of the child. Recognition of the minute markers has been found to be identifiable in older children from the age of seven years and above according to the same study. The same has been strongly supported by Boulton, Wilss & Mutch (1997) in their study where they concluded that abilities to read and record time from analogue and digital clock in children improved with age. Moreover, Long & Kamii (2001) have underlined the importance of having some knowledge of telling time in the pre-school child. They explained that time reading is best learned at home from peers and family members because at school, the children are confined to the curriculum and only learn the concepts and skills identified for each grade. This denies them enough interactive time to hone their skills better. It is further explained that as children advance in years, they become capable of conceptualizing the importance of the presence of the two hands of the clock as well as the minute markers (Boulton, Wilss & Mutch, 1997). The two pointed out that children are capable of reading time but with difficulties regarding the minutes at the ages of five to seven years. They further concluded that telling time from digital clocks is easy for children of six years since the time is only in one dimension. Similarly, Long & Kamii (2001) explained that the concept of minutes before or past the hour has been a tricky one to majority of children. To teach the concept of using minutes to tell time in children, they suggested that it can be best done by presenting the two types of the clocks at the same time. Finally, research has indicated the necessity of encouraging all the teachers to participate in education and training that will enhance their knowledge of the subject matter being taught and at the same time gain more skills in teaching young children (Zevenbergen, 2004). This calls for the restructuring of the curriculum to bring on board all the relevant materials for facilitating inclusive learning and teaching in young children. Since learning and teaching of mathematics is a tedious and rigorous undertaking, it requires a lot of patience. For this reason, careful crafting of the curriculum for both the teachers and children is mandatory (Clarke, 1998). Methodology Sample population This study involved interviewing orally four children who included two girls and two boys for the purpose of gender balance. The subjects were aged between four years and seven years, hence having a single child in each age group. Each subject was interviewed individually for approximately thirty minutes which was enough time to complete the three tasks. There was no sound recording as it was found that the sound produced by the recording equipment was a great distraction to children (Scott, 1998). Procedure Each of the four children was interviewed separately by answering the questions read out by the researcher from the instrument. The instrument was constructed by the researcher by modifying the original one developed by McDonough (2002) and was therefore used to investigate three tasks in the children. Each of the subjects was subjected to the instrument with additional prompting questions from the researcher. The results of each subject were analysed as explained below. Data analysis In scoring the responses from the children, the researcher used “1” to any child who made an attempt to respond and “0” to any child who kept silent or responded “I don’t know”. Also, in the analysis of the data, both the child’s drawing and description were considered as one body of data (Scott, 1998). Results In all the three tasks, it was found that children of young ages were not well versed with the items of the interview especially in drawing their situations (Aldridge & White, 2002). This was attributed to the fact that they might have been frightened by the presence of the researcher who appeared a stranger to them. Consequently, the two youngest children in the ages of four and five years did not cooperate when requested to close their eyes and think of a situation in their minds. As a result of this, they did not have any representative drawing for the situation. However, they appeared to have had some experience of the clock and were able to scribble some sketches that passed off as drawings of a clock as illustrated in the appendix (Clarke, 1998). As far as describing their situations was concerned, the researcher scored the subject aged four years with “0” since she made no attempt to respond but gave a score of “1” to the one aged five for attempting to respond (Scott, 1998). Similarly, the two subjects did not impress when it came to the task of computations. The subject aged four years answered “I don’t know” to the figures given even after being prompted while the one aged five gave an answer although could not say how it was arrived at (Scott, 1998). It was different with the older subjects of the sample population where both subjects aged six and seven years respectively scored “1” for all the three tasks. It was observed that their drawings as well as descriptions of their situations improved with their advancing age (Clarke, 1998). The seven year old had some understanding of the use of the minute markers as opposed to the six year old (Boulton, Wilss & Mutch, 1997) as illustrated in the appendix. These results are shown in the table below. Table showing Scores of the subjects by age for the three Tasks. Task Age and score 4yrs 5yrs 6yrs 7yrs Helping me learn math Description “0” “0” “1” “1” “0” “1” “1” “1” Draw a clock Description “0” “1” “1” “1” “1” “1” “1” “1” Computations Description “0” “1” “1” “1” “0” “0” “1” “1” Discussion of the results The results obtained from the study were found to be in line with most of the findings of studies done in this area. For instance, it was found that children learn mathematics best through observation of events taking place around them in their natural world as reported by (Reys, 2006). Based on the findings of this study therefore, the researcher was capable of concluding that parents and the community at large has the responsibility of exposing young children to discovery methods to heighten their interest in mathematics and science even before joining school (Killen, 2003). From the results of this study, the researcher also found that younger children did not have a definite concept of time although they portrayed some earlier knowledge of the clock. Despite the fact that they could not read time off clearly from the analogue clock, at least they were able to relate time with a certain activity done at that particular time (Aldridge & White, 2002). It was too dismaying to notice that none of my subjects in the study was capable of drawing a digital clock but only the analogue. This was a significant indication that the school concept of a clock is the analogue type basically because they are the ones displayed on walls in school and at home (Scott, 1998). The purpose of the hands of the clock and even the minute markers was also not very clear to most children who took part in the study (Clarke, 1998). This was evident from the type of drawings provided where the hands were not really representative of the right ones displayed on real clocks. Where present, the minute markers were varying in their numbers but the misrepresentations eased with advancing age (Boulton & Mutch, 1997). Lastly, those children who indicated some experience with numbers during their pre-school days particularly in games with peers and adults were found to have little problems in computations (Reys, 2006). This observation is in agreement with that of (Forte & Schurr, 1996) who pointed out that mathematical games and discussion were fundamental factors that help children learn mathematics and science well. Moreover, mathematics is a very practical subject and it was therefore the contention of the researcher to underline the importance of play involving mental calculations in children. Conclusion The findings of this study have been found to be consistent with the literature reviewed. It is clear that children learn through out their growing ages particularly from observations made in their natural environments. The common household items such as balls and toys play a crucial role in providing a learning opportunity to the child at home well before attending school (Reys, 2006). Teacher education and training has also been another area that need concentration to equip the teachers handling young children the needed skills to practice child-centered teaching as opposed to the teacher-centered. The study finally concludes that positive attitude change towards the learning and teaching of mathematics in young children is paramount. Recommendations for future research The researcher wishes to recommend the adoption of the findings of this study for future research. Hence, more research need to be conducted on the area of teaching young children on how to tell and record time from the clock, both digital and analogue. The study further recommends that student teachers need to go back school to gain more training that focuses on how young children grow and learn (Killen, 2003). Due to the growing number of immigrant and limited English proficient children in our schools, the teachers should therefore be equipped to deal with the prevailing cultural and language diversities as proposed by (Zevenbergen, 2004). Finally, the researcher recommends that all players involved in handling young children to positive in their talk especially about mathematics so as to help the child learn the subject effectively. References: Aldridge, S. & White, A. (2002). What’s the time Ms White? Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, 7(2), 7-12. Baker, A. (1990). Mathematics in process. South Yarra, Vic.: Eleanor Curtain Publishing. Boulton-Lewis, G., Wilss, L. & Mutch, S. (1997). Analysis of primary school children’s abilities and strategies for reading time from analogue and digital clocks. Mathematics Education Research journal, 9(2), 136-151. Clarke, D. (1998). Children’s understanding of the clock in digital age in primary Educator V4, n3, pg9-12. Forte, I. & Schurr, S. (1996). Integrating instruction in maths: strategies, activities, projects, tools, and techniques. Highett, Vic.: Hawker Brownlow Education. Killen, R. (2003). 3rd ed. Effective teaching strategies: lessons from research and practice Katoomba, N.S.W.: Social Science Press. Long, K. & Kamii, C. (2001). The measurement of time: Children’s construction of transivity, unititeration, and conservation of speed. School Science and Mathematics, 101(3). McDonough, A. (2002). PPELEM: Pupil perceptions of effective learning environments in mathematics. Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, 7(3), pp. 14-19. Reys, R. et al. (2006). Helping children learn mathematics, 8th Ed, John Wiley and Sons, Brisbane. Scott, C. (1998). An exploration of the development of young children’s understanding of time concepts. Australian journal of Early Childhood, 23(2), 6-12. Zevenbergen, R. et al. (2004). Teaching mathematics in primary schools. Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin. Appendix 1 Name: Lynn Grade: 1 Age: 4years 0months Duration of the interview: 30minutes. Most helping me to learn maths was . No response. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . because . . No response . .. . . . . . . . . Name: Innocent Grade: 2 Age: 5years 2months Duration of the interview: 30minutes. Most helping me to learn maths was . . . . No response. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . because . No response. . .. . . . . . . . . Name: Charity Grade: 3 Age: 5years 11months Duration of the interview: 30minutes. Most helping me to learn maths was . .Joy my seat mate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . because she helps me with math. . . .. . . . . . . . . Name: Brian Grade: 4 Age: 7years 3months Duration of the interview: 30minutes. Most helping me to learn maths was . the teacher and text books. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . because . they are very nice and helpful. . .. . . . . . . . . Read More