UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

ECT3 330: METHODS OF TEACHING MATHEMATICS

Aim of the unit
The course unit shall equip the student with philosophical, phenomenological and theoretical aspects
of teaching and learning of mathematics in secondary schools. Focus will be on mathematical skills,
teaching/learning resources and research and evaluation.

Expected learning outcomes

By the end of the unit the student should be able to:
(i) Understand the nature and scope of mathematics.
(ii) Discuss the role of mathematics in a sociological and technological environment.
(iii) Prepare mathematics lessons for teaching at secondary school level.
(iv) Communicate mathematics content at secondary school level effectively.

COURSE OUTLINE

1. Philosophy of mathematics
- Meaning of mathematics
- Nature of mathematics
- Importance of mathematics
2. History of mathematics
- Introduction
- Development of mathematics in various world communities viz. Egypt, Mesopotamia.
- Greece, India and China.
3. Psychology of mathematics
- Introduction
- Theories of learning mathematics
- Theories of teaching mathematics.
4. Preparation for teaching mathematics.
- Aims and objectives in mathematics
- Scheme of work
- Lesson plan
5. Approaches and methods of teaching mathematics
6. Teaching of some selected topics in secondary school mathematics.
7. Use of media in teaching mathematics
8. Measurement and evaluation in mathematics.
9. Analysis of the secondary school mathematics syllabus in Kenya.
10. Recent developments in mathematics curriculum in Kenya.
11. Contemporary issues in the teaching and learning of mathematics in Kenya.
12. Micro-teaching.
 REFERENCES
1. Benacerraf P and
Putman, H (1984) Philosophy of mathematics, press syndicate of the
University of Cambridge, Cambridge.

2. Bourbaki, N (1994) Elements of the history of Mathematics. Verlag:

Springer

3. Ernest, P (1998) Social Constructirism as a philosophy of mathematics.

New York: state university of New York press.

4. Scopes, P.F. (1973) Mathematics in the secondary school - a teaching

approach.
Cambridge university press.

5. Dean P.G (1982.) Teaching and learning mathematics.

The Woburn press.

6. Marjoran D.T.E (1974) Teaching Mathematics.

Heinemann Educational books.
.

7. Johnson D.A & Rising G.R (1972) Guidelines for teaching mathematics- 2nd Edition.
Wadsworth publishing co.
TOPIC 1: PHILOSOPHY OF MATHEMATICS

Introduction: what is philosophy of mathematics?

It is a branch of philosophy that studies the assumptions, foundations and implications of
mathematics. It aims at understanding the nature and methods of mathematics and finding out the
place of mathematics in people’s lives (usefulness of mathematics)

Meaning of mathematics
Mathematicians and mathematics students usually don’t go back to understand the meaning of
mathematics. They take it for granted thereby taking it as the subject whose concepts they understand
best. However, it is important for the mathematics educator to take keen interest in the subject beyond
its concepts.
The meaning of mathematics is found in reference books like the dictionaries and encyclopedia. In
such books the meaning is described in one or two sentences probably with an example. Let us
examine the meaning of mathematics as described by the books.

(i) Dictionary Definition.

According to the advanced English readers dictionary, mathematics is a science of numbers, quantity
and space of which arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry and geometry are branches.
This definition is not inclusive enough to portray the meaning of mathematics regarding its coverage.

(ii) Encyclopedia definition.

According to encyclopedia Americana: mathematics is a discipline which does not have a fixed
definition. It has been changing/ varying with time. Its elementary portions are arithmetic, algebra,
trigonometry and geometry. As is already stated this definition is not sufficient enough to cover all
that mathematics entails.

(iii) Definitions by various people.

 Mathematics is a study of laid down concepts, rules and theorems in a systematic order and
their applications.
 Mathematics is a science of working with numbers. It states that happens with numbers when
one applies one or more of the signs +, -, /, x.
 Mathematics is the study of logic. Its steps are interrelated and dependent on each other.
 Mathematics is a study of symbols which have their own language to explain real situations.

Each of the definitions above does not provide a comprehensive and inclusive definition of
mathematics. So what is the way forward?

Characteristics of Mathematics
These are common elements that are overlapping among the definitions already discussed.
(i) Mathematics is full of calculations or computations
(ii) Mathematics has a symbolic language with specific symbols.
(iii) Mathematics concepts are systematic and logical.
(iv) Mathematics concepts are based on theorems and rules.
(v) Mathematics is a subject of numbers.
These are some of the characteristics of mathematics. They can be used to describe the
Subject further.
 Common elements from the definitions of Mathematics
i. Mathematics is a subject of calculation or computations.
ii. Mathematics is a language with very specific symbols.
iii. Mathematics is a logical and systematic subject.
iv. Mathematics deals with numbers.
v. Mathematics deals with rules and theorems.
These elements describe mathematics but we need to understand the subject further.
 THE NATURE OF MATHEMATICS
Since it is difficult to define the term mathematics, the nature of mathematics offers assistance in
trying to shade light into the characteristics of mathematics. Understanding characteristics of
mathematics may shade light to help understand mathematics as a concept. Here are some of the
characteristics of mathematics.

1. Mathematics as a subject of abstract concepts.

Must concepts in mathematics have no direct relevance in the real world. They exist as ideas
in people’s minds where a lot of imagination is involved. Concepts like 3-dimensional
geometry, directed numbers, algebra etc do not have direct relevance in the real world. This is
true mostly at high levels of mathematics.
Mathematics at the basic levels like at the pre-school, most concepts there involve concrete
ideas or they can easily be concretized. Concepts in arithmetic for instance are very practical
involving concrete ideas like counting, combining objects, sharing objects etc.

2. Mathematics as an applied subject.

Mathematics concepts are applied within the subject itself. Concepts like probability and
statistics use the concepts of number and counting which are the basis of arithmetic. So
mathematics concepts are useful within the subject itself.
In the real world, mathematics concepts are very useful for example in our kitchens, in
farming, in surveying land, in garages etc mathematics is applied greatly. In school subjects
like geography, history, science, social studies, business and accounts etc mathematics
concepts are readily used. In professions like engineering, planning, economics, education, etc
mathematics is found to be very useful.

3. Mathematics as a language.
Mathematics has its own language which is different from ordinary language. Mathematics
communicates by using a symbolic language. At all levels of mathematics symbols are used.
All numerals as used in algebra are symbols which must be translated into the common
language for one to understand. Branches of mathematics like geometry, algebra, calculus,
statistics etc have their own languages which are symbolic. They have symbols which are
used in a lot of their concepts. So that is the nature of mathematics.

4. Mathematics as a subject of patterns and relationships.

Mathematics creates order and relationships among objects which may seem chaotic and
disorderly. In the real world there are many objects like mountains, rivers, buildings, people,
animals, plants, vehicles etc. All these objects seem to be unique though in a chaotic situation.
Mathematicians are able to think about the objects and come up with concepts that reveal
unity and order among the objects. Mathematicians see objects in their numbers (quantity),
dimensions (sizes), movements (linear, circular, and cyclic), separation (distances),
classifications (groups), shapes etc.
5. Mathematics as a form of inquiry.
Most people somehow, seem to understand what happens in some professions but they don’t
seem to understand what happens in mathematics at all. For example many people understand
that drivers drive vehicles, mechanics repair vehicles/machines , musicians compose and sing
songs, engineers design(machines, roads, houses and buildings), doctors diagnose diseases
and treat them, pharmacists prepare drugs and administer them etc.
Most people understand Mathematics as a subject involving learning and teaching the subject.
They understand it up to the level where problems are solved but this is not all about the
subject. Let us borrow a leaf from science where there’s a better understanding. Many people
understand science as a subject involving laboratory experiments. The same people
 understand science beyond the laboratory. Scientists are understood to explore space, discover
new things like drugs (for AIDS, trying for Covid 19), machines, communication systems
(internet), mobile phones, airplanes, TVs, radios etc. This is very clear in many people’s
minds.
Mathematics beyond the classroom is profession involving research and inquiry continuously.
This involves investigation and discovery, which result into new concepts in Mathematics.
The subject can be characterized as a cycle of investigation that is intended to lead to the
development of valid mathematics ideas. Investigations involve certain processes which are
carried out in bits that add up to a cycle. At the end of the cycle the process is complete. The
process may start again.
An example of an investigation cycle in mathematics is the problem solving technique as
discovered by George Polya in 1957. It involves the following stages:
i) Read and understand the problem.
In this stage one should restate the problem in another way but similar to the original.
Further, one is required to identify the knowns/givens of the problem, and most
importantly identify the unknown(s) in the statement of the problem.
ii) List all the relevant methods of solving the problem.
iii) Solve the problem using the method identified and obtain a solution
iv) Evaluate the solution obtained. If it is correct, stop. If it is wrong start the process
again.

In the classroom situation this is applied as follows:

 Representation
 Manipulation
 Validation

At representation phase some imagination is required. The process of representing an idea by a

symbol is taken by many learners to refer to real objects e.g. let A be the area of a wall, let S be the
surface area of a box, let x be the length of a square etc.

At the manipulation level, there are rules of logic that have been adopted. Use the symbols obtained
at representation phase to see a solution that emerges. Learners have problems of identifying the right
method to use.

Any solution obtained needs to be checked; evaluating its correctness. Students of Mathematics don’t
go this far. They are used to solving problems in which the procedures are pre-determined and only
correct answers are expected. But in the real mathematics investigations, a good solution is one that
results in new discoveries or that which leads into practical outcomes in science, medicine,
engineering, etc. So validation in mathematical is a matter of judgment; not authority.
 Importance of mathematics
The topic seeks to justify the existence of mathematics. The usefulness in life should be addressed.

1. Mathematics is a utility subject.

a) Mathematics for a living.
There are very many people who make their livings out of Mathematics. People in various
business enterprises use mathematics to make money. They make their money by
establishing the selling price of a commodity then take the difference with the buying
price. Mathematically:
Profit = selling price - buying price.
This is how most business people make their money. This includes hawkers, who are
assumed to be lowly educated.
Carpenters make their living out of the furniture they make. Furniture of many types are
made with the help of the concepts of measurement and geometry. In the field of masonry
the same concepts of measurement and geometry are used. Masons lay bricks for making
walls and they fix rafters in making roofs of houses. This is how useful Mathematics is to
masons and carpenters.
b) Mathematics and other subjects.
Many school subjects need mathematics for their survival.
In geography, map reading has borrowed the coordinate system from mathematics to use
for their northings and eastings. It has also borrowed polar coordinates, bearings among
others. Closely related with geography is demography, the study of populations. This area
of study has borrowed fully from mathematics.
c) Mathematics in various professions.
There are very many professions where mathematics is used. In fact in some of them,
mathematics is a requirement of admission. Engineering being the best example followed
by commerce and accounting. Other professions where the subject is regularly used are;
education for measurement and evaluation, pharmacy, medicine, etc.
d) Mathematics at the pre- school.
Pre-school subjects (activities) like social studies, science and physical education use
mathematics concepts in their functioning.
It is clear from the foregoing discussion that mathematics is very useful in many circles of
our lives; it is truly a utility in human life.
2. Mathematics for its own sake.
The subject starts by standing on its own as an independent entity. It claims its own space in
academics on its own. It is able to develop:
i) Basic skills in dealing with numbers among school learners.
ii) The ability of the learner to think critically in his/her lifetime.
iii) The ability of the learner to communicate precisely in symbolic form.
iv) The aesthetic appreciation of the environment

When one walks through a forest, some trees are observed to be having a canonical shape i.e.
they are cone-shaped. The leaves of most trees and grass are symmetrical at their centres;
there’s a line of symmetry dividing it into two identical parts. This is very admirable to a
mathematician.
 TOPIC 2: HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS (Overview)
Introduction.
What is history of Mathematics? It is the study of the development mathematics from its origins to its
present form. Mathematics concepts were discovered in very crude forms. They have been refined
over time to be what they are today; they were not discovered in their present form. It has taken
centuries to be what it is today.
Communities and individuals the world over, participated in the development of the subject. The
developments took place in different parts of the world at different times. Contributions by various
communities and individuals were brought together and organized with the invention of
communication techniques. The content was polished and organized by mathematicians of the day
then passed on to the next generation. That is how we received what we are using now.
Why history of mathematics?
1. The past and the present state of the subject can help us to focus on the future of the subject.
2. History can enable teachers and students of the subject to appreciate the contributions to the
development of the subject by various communities and individuals of the past. It should be
understood that the subject was not discovered in one day and in its present state.
PRIMITIVE ORIGINS OF MATHEMATICS

Primitive notions related to mathematics can be traced back to millions of years. They existed long
before the oldest of all the civilizations. The concepts/notions were number and magnitude i.e. how
many? How much? At that time, mathematics was directly concerned with the man's world sense
experience. It arose as part of everyday life of man. From time immemorial man knew his children in
number, his flock in number, his siblings in number etc. This was true with all communities of the
world wherever they were.
It is clear that mathematics originated from number and counting. It can be argued that primitive
societies of mankind understood the concepts of number and counting. Counting probably started by
employing the principle of one to one correspondence. In keeping account of flock, collections of
sticks or stones were used by matching them with the number of flock though they might not have
had words for the numbers. Each society might have come together to agree how to refer to the
numbers in their own language in a uniform manner.
All societies of mankind had very well developed number bases for counting. They chose one number
as a base such that counting was done up to the chosen number then subsequent numbers were
represented by increasing the base number systematically with the previous numbers. For example
count in your language and notice that you have a counting base e.g. 5 and 10.
CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARDS DEVELOPMENT OF MATHENGTICS BY VARIOUS
COMMUNITIES

1. Egyptians(During the metal age, around 3000 BC)

They did the following within the context of mathematics:
(i) They developed their own numeration system known as hierography. This was a decimal system
(base 10) which can be traced back to about 5000 years ago. As many numerals as a million were
curved out on stone, wood and other forms of materials. Some of the numerals are:

EGYPTIAN ARABIC(CURRENT)
L 1
7 7
∩ 10
⸦ 100
┌ 1000

∥∥
Other numerals were based on the above e.g. ∩∩ = = 28
∥∥

(ii) They constructed the historical pyramids using mathematics concepts. Remember a pyramid is a
mathematical shape. The pyramids of Egypt are still one of the wonders of the world.
(iii) They invented a solar calendar. In their calendar there were 365 days divided into 12 months
of 30 days each. There were 5 extra days for celebrations with a lot of feasting.
The calendar was discovered as a result of their interest in astronomy. They observed that the Nile
river floods were separated by 365 days. This invention dates back to around the year 2773 BC.
This is the genesis of the present day calendar used all over the world.
(iv)They had knowledge of fractions and decompositions. In fact they were the first people to
introduce fractions. Examples:
(v)
1 o
= 1 o
8 ∥∥ , = .
20 ∩ ∩
∥∥

Decompositions:
2 1 1
= +
n n+1 n(n+ 1) .
2 2

2 1 1
= .
p . q p( p+q ) + q ( p+q) Etc.
2 2

Note that they started from the LHS and ended up in the RHS. These works by Egyptians are
found on a transcript from a papyrus measuring 18 ft. x 1 ft. currently lying in a British museum.
These are the discoveries that they are well known for. However, they also known for the
following mathematics processes:
 Area of a triangle as half base x height:
 Perimeters of triangles, rectangles, trapezia and quadrilaterals.
  Area of a circle using π = 3 1/6
 Gradient as ratio of rise to run.
These developments in Egypt took place along the Nile river valley. It is not clear
whether these discoveries took place with the ancient Egyptians, Copts who were black
Africans. They were later displaced by the conquests like Arabs, Romans and Macedonia
etc.

2. MESOPOTAMIANS (Around the metal age ~ 3000 BC)

Mesopotamia is a Greek word meaning “between two rivers. This was the land between the rivers
Tigris and Euphrates. These were Arabs who currently occupy the countries of Iraq, Eastern
Syria, Southern Turkey and the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Development of Mathematics in this area took place along the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys.
Mesopotamians underwent several periods of wars and revolts. These brought about cultural unity
which favored the early discoveries in mathematics.
Mesopotamians wrote on wet clay called the Cuneiform. The wet clay was baked after the
writing. This gave the cuneiforms a long life. Due to this a lot of information on cuneiforms is
still available in the Middle East Universities awaiting to be decoded or translated or deciphered.
Decipheration is a problem because of language which has changed due to the passage of time.
Thousands of Cuneiforms baked around (1800-1600) BC are still waiting for decoding.

Specific contributions.
i. A numeration system anchored on bases 10 and 60.
ii. They developed fractions at a more advanced level that the Egyptians. e.g. 2(60)-1, 3(60)-2,
4(60)-3 etc.
iii. Square roots e.g. √2=1.414
iv. Multiplication tables
v. Table of reciprocals.
 3. CHINESE
Development of mathematics in China took place along the Yellow and Yangtze river valleys.
The developments took place around the year 2000 BC.
Their discoveries were:
i. Pattern formation
They came up with a magic square which they believed was brought to man by a turtle from
river Lo. The magic square was:

4 9 2
3 5 7
8 1 6

It was from this pattern that the concept of matrix was conceived. The Chinese came up with the
concept of matrix and its related sub concepts. They used matrices for solving simultaneous
equations. This is the most prominent of their discoveries.

ii. Numeration System

They came up with their numeration system anchored on base ten (decimal).
iii. Fractions.
They discovered the LCM method of solving fraction
iv. Roots of numerals. e.g.
v.
√ a= √ √ √4 16 a
3
100 a 1000 a
10 , √ a=
3
10 , √a
4
= 2 , etc.

4. INDIANS
Indians were and are still very religious people. Their discoveries in mathematic oscillate
around construction of temples and altars. Their discoveries took place along river valleys.
Their specific Contributions were:
i. Construction of right angles by means of triples of chords of lengths such as: of (3, 4, 5),
(5, 12, 13), (8, 15, 17), (12, 35, 37) etc. They applied the Pythagoras theorem before they
knew about the work of Pythagoras.
ii. Measurement of areas and volumes of Pyramids, spheres, trapezia etc.
iii. The Hindu decimal numeration System.
iv. Others:
  =3.1416
n
 APs using Sn= [2 a+ ( n−1 ) d ]
2
 Solution of quadratic equations
 GPs (for compound interest)
 Long division method known as the Scratch method or the Gallery method.
 Trigonometry e.g. the sine function.

Conclusion: It is clear from the foregoing that all the developments outlined are attributed to the
respective communities. The work was carried out by the community concerned.
 5. THE GREEKS

The Greeks living along the shores of the Mediterranean sea participated in the development of
mathematics more rapidly than any other world community. Greek traders, businessmen and
scholars made their way to the centers of learning in Egypt and Mesopotamia where they made
contact with mathematics scholars. They borrowed a lot from there, but what they borrowed was
later on considered as their own discoveries. Their contributions towards the developments was
based on individual scholars rather than being communal as it was in other communities
elsewhere. Let us outline contributions from few individual scholars considered to be prominent.

Thales of Miletus (624BC-548 BC)

He came up with the following:
i. Thales theorem
It states that an angle inscribed in a semi-circle is always right angled. In other words an angle
at the circumference of a circle subtending a semi-circle is always 90°. See the figure below.
C

A B

Line AB is the diameter

Angle ACB = 90°.

ii. He measured the heights of the famous pyramids of Egypt by observation method. He measured
the lengths of their shadows when the length of shadow of a vertical stick was equal to the length
of the stick. Since the length of a shadow of a stick was equal to the length of the stick at a given
time, it implied that the length of a given shadow of a pyramid was also equal to the length of the
pyramid itself.
iii. He proved the following theorems;
 A circle is bisected by its diameter.
 The pairs of vertical angles formed by two intersecting lines are always equal.

Pythagoras of Samos (580 BC-500 BC)

He was a great mathematician and a religious man with mathematical beliefs. All his beliefs were
based on mathematics concepts. We shall see then shortly.
He joined the Greek traders and travelled to Egypt, Babylon in Mesopotamia, and India. In India he
met the Indian religious leader, Buddha. In all the communities he visited, he met the mathematics
scholars there. However, he lost a lot of his documents while on transit. On reaching Greece from
his trips he established an order where mathematics discoveries were to be attributed to the
community. In his case he established a community of Pythagoreans, people who subscribed to his
school of thought. So, most of his discoveries were attributed to the community of Pythagoreans.
However, some works were attributed to him as an individual. These were:
i. The Pythagoras theorem which states: "The square of the hypotenuse side of a right angled
triangle is the sum of the squares of the height and the base of the same triangle. This is the way
the theorem is being used today
 ii. Method of solving quadratic equations;
x=-b + (√b²-4ac)/2a
a -- the coefficient of x²
b -- The Coefficient of x
c -- The constant in the quadratic equation,
ax² + bx +c = 0
iii. He came up with triangle numbers; 3, 6, 10, 15 etc.
n
iv. He came up with the sum of natural numbers, N = 1+2+3+4+… + n =∑ n¿ ¿ ¿
i=1
v. He came up with square numbers from the sequence: 1+3+5+7+9+11+ ... + (2n-1)
n
n(n+1)
vi. He even came up with the sequence numbers: 2+4+6+8+...+2n = ∑
i=1
❑
vii. He came up with a formula for deriving hexagonal numbers: 1+5+9+13+17+... + (4n-3) = 2n²-n.

Pythagoras as a religious man

As already mentioned his beliefs were based on mathematics concepts. He believed that he could
unite with his God through mathematics concepts. He also believed that anything existing on earth
was associated with number; for it is not possible that without number anything can be conceived or
understood. His motto was "all is number". Some of the umber beliefs are:
i. 1 is the generator of numbers and the number of reason.
ii. 2 is the first female number.
iii. 3 is the first male number, the number of harmony being composed of unity and diversity
iv. 4 is the number of Justice
v. 5 is the number of marriage, the union of the first male and female numbers.
vi. 6 is the number of creation.
vii. 7 has been singled out for special awe, presumably on account of the seven wandering stars
(planets). This is probably where the number of days in a week were derived from.
viii. 10 is the holiest of all numbers, the number of the universe, the sum of all the possible
geometric dimensions.

Plato of Athens (428BC-347BC)

He was a pupil of Socrates in Athens and a teacher of Aristotle in Athens. He was also a
philosopher.
Other than his specific contributions in the development of mathematics, he established a school
known as Plato academy in Athens in 385 BC. The school drew scholars from all over Greece to
conduct research and seminars in mathematics and philosophy.
Specific contributions
i. He inaugurated a mathematics syllabus for his students at the Plato academy. The syllabus is
described in his famous book, the REPUBLIC. It is found in most university libraries.
ii. He taught geometry among other subjects at the Plato academy. An inscription reading "let no
one ignorant of geometry enter here’’ was found within the school 700 years after the school
was founded.
iii. He also taught logic and trained the philosopher kings of the city states of Greece by
indoctrination.
 Aristotle of Athens (384-322) BC
He was one of the greatest of the ancient philosophers in Athens. He was a pupil of Plato and a
teacher of Alexander the great. He established his own school called the Lyceum in Athens. He
wrote in a wide range of subjects including mathematics. His major contribution in mathematics
was logic. He developed the notions of logical reasoning. The active political life of the city states
of Greece encouraged the development of argumentation and techniques of persuasion i.e.
Indoctrination. He believed that arguments should be built on tenets or premises and conclusions.
He believed that logical argumentation was the only sure way of attaining scientific information.
Example:
 t1 : All Catholics are Christians
 t2: No Christians are Muslims.
 C: No Catholics are Muslims.

Archimedes of Syracuse (287-212) BC

He was born in Alexandria but moved to live in Syracuse, He was a pupil of Euclid at Alexandria.
He grew to be the greatest mathematician during the Hellenic age. He was also a physicist noted for
his work in hydrostatics and mechanics. He was killed by the Roman soldiers during the siege of
Syracuse in 212 BC.
In mathematics he did the following:
10 10
i. He estimated the ratio of circumference to diameter of a circle,  to be:-. 3 < π <3
71 70
ii. Area of a triangle K =
sides a, b, c.
√s
2
( s−a )( s−b )( s−c ) where s is the perimeter of the triangle with

iii. He came up with Polar, (r, Ø).

iv. In calculus he came up with:
∅

∫ sinxdx=1−cos ∅
0

More recent Contributors

Isaac Newton (1642-1727) AD
He was an English mathematician and physicist remembered for developing calculus and his law of
gravity and the three laws of motion.
In mathematics he did the following:
 Calculus.
 The binomial theorem.
Note: He was born in England but he moved and lived in Greece.
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) AD
He was a German mathematician and philosopher who did the following in mathematics:
 Generalization of the binomial theorem.
 Dot product of vectors.
 Determinants of matrices.
 Complex numbers
 Boolean algebra.
 Kinetic energy (K =1/2 mv²)

Leonhard Euler /1707-1783) AD - Greece

He was a Swiss who moved to Greece but died in Russia. He was a mathematician and many more
subjects. He did the following in mathematics:
 He came up with notations (pi, ex, f(x), i = √-1 etc.).
 He did a lot in 3D geometry.
 Solution of linear equations

Simon Pierre Laplace (1749-1827) AD

He was a French mathematician, engineer, physician and statistician, mathematician who moved to
Greece.
He did the following:
 The Laplace Transform, L[f(t)] = f(s) defined by:
❑

L[f(t)] = ∫ f ( t ) e−st dt =f (s)

0
This is applied in the area of engineering. He's well known for this (The Laplace transform).
 Area under the normal Curve;
❑

∫ e−x dx
2

Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855) AD

He was a Germany mathematician and physicist who moved to Greece but later moved back and
died in Germany. He did the following in mathematics: -
 Arithmetic progressions.
 The Gaussian method of solving Simultaneous equations. The method is also known as the
augmented matrix method.

TOPIC 3: PSYCHOLOGY OF MATHEMATICS

 Understanding how children learn mathematics
How is mathematics learnt?
This is an important question which mathematics teachers should address. However, it has no simple
answer. Teachers provide their answers through what they do in the classroom. A teacher’s view of
how learners learn mathematics is expressed through every instructional activities carried out in a
class of mathematics. The way in which lessons are planned, topics presented and questions handled
reflects how learning is perceived. This influences what happens in classrooms.

THEORIES OF LEARNING.

Constructivism view/theory
One John Dewey asserted that learning is a result of experience and active learner involvement. Much
later Jean Piaget also asserted that learners construct their own experience. This view to learning
suggests that learners interpret what they see, what they hear and what they do in relation to what
they know. This view to learning is known as constructivism.
Constructivism can be illustrated using a simple example. A young learner can conclude that 0.725 is
greater than 18. This is so because a young mathematics learner knows that a number with many
numerals/figures is greater than one with less figures e.g. 179, 15819 etc. The reasoning of the
young learner is based on his experiences. In this case the learner has constructed knew knowledge
based on his experience. This example is a reminder that constructed knowledge is not always true
but at times it is true. However it is known to promote meaningful learning. Other psychologists who
subscribe to constructivism are Jerome Bruner (1915-2016) and Maria Montessori (1870-1952), an
Italian.
Behaviorism view/theory
Behaviorism has its roots in stimulus response mechanisms and conditioned learning. The view
asserts that behavior can be shaped through punishment and rewards. However the view cannot claim
an exclusive command in mathematics learning, but it has a significant impact. Other psychologists
who subscribed to this view are Burrhus Fredrick Skinner (1904-1990), Edward Lee Thorndike
(1874-1949), Robert Mills Gagne (1916-2002) all American. It is associated more to mathematics
learning than the constructivism view. The psychologist behind this view to learning is Jean Piaget
(1896-1980) a Swiss. He was a constructivist psychologist.
Behaviourism was founded by John B Watson but it is widely associated with Ivan Pavlov and B.F
Skinner.
Cognitivism view/theory
This view to learning focuses on how the human mind processes information. The learner has to think
and reason about a concept. The learner should use his insight to see the point in a given concept.
Cognitivism holds that learning chiefly takes place when the learner is working to break down and
organize new information in his mind. Journaling is frequently suggested as a helpful classroom
exercise that uses the principles of cognitivism.
Jean Piaget, Jerome Bruner and George Miller are advocates of this view.
Humanism view/theory
This view/theory was founded by pioneers like Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers and James F.T
Bongental. This theory is a learner-centered approach to learning. It places a heavier emphasis on the
learners themselves and their untapped potential. Based on the premise that humans are
fundamentally good and will act appropriately if their basic needs are met. The theory prioritizes
meeting the unique emotional and academic needs of each learner so that they are empowered to take
greater control over their own learning.

Connectivism view/theory
This is a learning view that is the most modern and most relevant for learners of the 21 st century.
Critically, this theory/view to learning makes effective use of technology. This is an essential learning
tool particularly among the generation Z learners and future generations.
Connectivism places a strong emphasis on the ability to find and sift through information in order to
conduct reliable research. An example of this approach to teaching might be to have your class write
a blog or launch a podcast together. These are activities that merge technology with group and
community interaction.
George Siemens and Stephen Downes, educational technologists, introduced this view in 2004/5.
They described the view as “The thesis that knowledge is distributed across a network of connections
and that learning consists of the ability to construct and traverse those networks.”

Theories of learning mathematics

Learning and teaching are psychology concepts. Therefore theories on learning and teaching are
borrowed from psychology to be applied in mathematics. We shall consider theories that are relevant
to mathematics education. Mathematics is a subject which deals with very abstract concepts.
Therefore learning the subject is not easy. So psychology should provide theories that can make
learning the subject attainable.

Jean Piaget(1896-1980)
He was a Swiss psychologist known for his work on child development. He developed his theory
known as ‘cognitive development” of children.
Cognition refers to the thinking and memory processes. Cognitive development refers to long term
changes in these processes in children as they grow chronologically. He created and studied an
account of how children gradually become able to think logically and scientifically.
According to him the thinking and memory processes of human beings is pegged to the age of the
child. He suggested that the child undergoes four stages. The stages are correlated to a child’s age
only approximately. The stages are:

i. The sensorimotor stage (age 0-2) years.

This is a stage where children “think” by means of their senses and motor actions. Infants continually
touch, manipulate, look, listen to and even bite and chew objects. These actions allow them to learn
about the world and create some understanding of the objects.

ii. The preoperational stage(age 2-7)years

Memory and imagination start developing in the child’s mind during this stage. Children at this stage
are egocentric, which means that they have difficulty in thinking outside of their own viewpoints. The
main achievement (milestone) of this stage is the ability to attach meaning to objects with language. It
is thinking about objects symbolically. Symbolic thought is a type of thinking where a word or object
is used to represent something other than self.

iii. Concrete operational stage (7-11) years.

Children are much less egocentric than in the preoperational stage. It is marked by more logical and
methodical manipulation of symbols.
The main goal at this stage is for children to start working out things within their minds. This is called
operational thought which allows children to solve problems without physically encountering objects
in the real world.

iv. Formal operational stage (12-adulthood) years.

A milestone of this period is using symbols to understand abstract concepts. Moreover, older children
and adults can also think about multiple variables and come up with hypotheses based on previous
knowledge (experience)
Piaget believed that people of all ages developed intellectually. He also believed that once a person
reaches the formal operational stage, it is more about building upon knowledge (experience); not
changing how it is acquired or understood.

Application
Piaget’s theory is used widely in school systems throughout the world in the development of
curricula. Educators use his knowledge to shape their curricula and activities in order to produce an
environment where children can learn through experience i.e. constructivism.

Jerome Bruner’s theory (1915-2016)

He came up with a theory of instruction where children should learn by discovery. He advises the
teacher to tackle the following factors for the discovery method to be successful:

(a) Environment
The teacher should create an environment where the desire to learn in stimulated and where children
are free to manipulate objects in order to discover mathematics concepts. He advises the teacher to be
friendly to the learners. He should be concerned about their personal problems.

(b) Structure of knowledge.

Bruner says that the teacher should present content in a form that the learner can understand. The
vocabulary, terminology, symbols and examples should be at the learner’s level of understanding.
The teacher should use examples within the learner’s environment (the real world).

(c) Sequence
Bruner advised that the mathematics teacher should consider sequence of content presentation.
Presentation of content should be sequential. Content should be exposed to the learner from simple to
complex, from known to unknown.

Robert Gagne (1916-2002)

A Gagne, an American educational psychologist came up with an instructional design based on
information processing model. The model is based on the mental events that occur when adults are
presented with various stimuli. Focus should be on learning outcomes and how to arrange specific
instructional events to achieve the outcomes. This is a guided learning approach.

He identifies five major categories of learning; verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive
strategies, motor skills and attitudes. In the classroom situation the teacher of mathematics should
identify the end product of instruction i.e. objectives. The teacher should also identify the operational
level of the learner i.e. learner background. It is from there that the teacher should go on with guiding
the learners.

Zoltan Pal Dienes(1916-2014)

He was a Hungarian mathematics educator who was born in Budapest and died in Nova Scotia,
Canada. He was a world famous theorist and tireless, practitioner of the “new mathematics.” He
believed that mathematics should be presented to the learner through a variety of physical concrete
representations though games, songs and dance. He believed that these would make mathematics
more appealing and funny to the learners.
He believed that mathematics concepts should be presented to the learner in progression. They should
be presented in order of complexity. He postulated six stages of presentation:

(i) Free play

Learners should be allowed to manipulate physical representations in any way. The teacher should
present a variety of concrete objects and allow the learners to play using the objects. The play should
not be structured. This offers the learners an opportunity to form intuitive mental structures which
prepare them for understanding the concept required.

(ii) Games
The learners should continue to play with the materials but this time in a structured manner where the
teacher gives them direction.
(iii) Identifying what is common.
They should identify what is common in the variety of materials; they should identify a mathematical
structure common in the materials. The teacher should guide them in this activity.

(iv) Representation
The teacher should help them to identify a single representation that embodies all the elements of the
physical representations i.e. the concept.
(v) Symbolization
The learners under the guidance of the teacher should formulate appropriate verbal and mathematical
symbols to describe the concept. In the choice of symbols, the teacher should help them in order to
achieve consistency with what is conventional.
(vi) Formalization
Learners should be able to apply the concept learnt to solve pure and applied problems.
Burrhus Fredrick Skinner (1904-1990)
He was an American psychologist whose theory is based upon the idea that learning is a function of
change in overt behaviors. Changes in behavior are the result of an individual’s response to events
(stimuli) that occur in the environment. Reinforcement is the key element in Skinner’s stimulus-
response theory. He’s categorized overt human behavior into two categories:
Respondent behaviors
Operant behaviors
(i) Respondent behaviors
These are reflex, automatic/involuntary behaviors which result from environmental stimuli. There
should be a stimulus (an event or episode) to produce a response. For example if intense light is
introduced in darkness where there are people, their irises almost close up. In such a case light is the
stimulus that causes the irises to close (a response). When an object crosses your eyes, they blink. A
typical example of this is the work of Ivan Pavlov of conditioning hungry dogs to salivate when food
is presented to them.
(ii) Operant conditioning.
Behaviors in this category are neither automatic, predictable nor related to any easily identifiable
stimulus. These are facilitated by reinforcement. When behavior is appropriately reinforced, it is
likely to be repeated. A typical example of this is the pigeons that randomly operated a bar on a cage
connected to an automatic food dispenser. The pigeons were supplied with food pellets without their
prior knowledge. They now continued to operate on the bars consequently receiving the food pellets.
This is operant conditioning.

Application
Operant conditioning has been widely applied in clinical settings i.e. behavior modification as well as
teaching (classroom management) and instructional development e.g. programmed instruction.

Implications of the psychology theories

1. Mathematics learning takes place through a learner’s own activities when interacting with his
own environment. Therefore the mathematics teacher should engage learners actively in their
lesson.
2. Concrete materials are necessary for learning mathematics concepts. Using concrete materials
reduces the abstractness of a concept. Use of practical examples is also appropriate.
3. All learners can learn mathematics concepts in the same way. The difference may be in the
rate of learning due to individual differences. So slow learners are not slow because of
inability; they need more time to catch up.

TOPIC 4: PREPARATION FOR TEACHING

Aims and Objectives of teaching mathematics
The two terms mean the same thing in common language. Words with the same meaning are;
intention, intent, purpose, target, goal, object. The two words mean slightly different things in
education.
Aim
An aim is a statement spelling out the outcome of a briefly taught program. The program may take
weeks, months or even years. In education an aim in the intention or learning outcome of a topic in a
subject or the subject itself. For example the aims of mathematics are:
(i) Learners should make precise and logical use of mathematics language.
(ii) Learners should be able to apply mathematics in life.
(iii) Learners should use mathematics to admire their environments.

Objective
This is a specific statement spelling out the intention or outcome of a learning session; a class. It is
stated in learner terms; behaviour. So the statement is made about a topic or sub-topic in a subject like
mathematics. The statement should be in active verbs performed by the learner in a class. Such
statements are described as behavioural or performance or instructional objectives. Examples of
behavioural objectives are:
 (i) The learner should be able to use the substitution method to solve simultaneous equations.
(ii) The learner should be able to derive the formula for solving quadratic equations

Note:
1. A behavioural objective specifies what each learner can do by the end of a learning session.
2. An aim refers to what a group of learners can achieve after a long duration of learning

Importance of behavioural objectives

i. They indicate the terminal behaviour of the learner after undergoing a learning
process.
ii. They guide the teacher on how far she should go in terms of content coverage when
teaching.
iii. They help in evaluating learners.

Categories of behavioural objectives

Benjamin Bloom (1956) worked on learning outcomes of classroom learners. He called them the
cognitive domain of objectives which is generally known as Blooms taxonomy. It is a set of
hierarchical steps used to classify learning outcomes into levels of complexity and specificity.
The taxonomy at the beginning was concerned with only cognitive objectives. However, later on the
taxonomy was worked on to include other types of objectives different from cognitive. Learners
should cover all spheres of life different from cognitive. The other aspects are psychomotor and
affective domains /aspects of objectives.
(i) Cognitive domain
The domain of objectives are concerned with intellectual development of the learner. Most of our
classroom activities are concerned with acquisition of knowledge. Our examinations are also geared
towards acquisition of knowledge. Therefore more attention is given to the cognitive domain of
objectives.

(ii) Psychomotor domain

These are non-cognitive abilities of learners which are important in life. So education should
highlight them. They concern themselves with acquisition of skills which are part and parcel of life.
Skills are simple and easy to learn. Skills like; dancing, singing, running, playing, measuring,
drawing, constructing etc. Low level thinking is involved in attaining them.
(iii) Affective domain
This class of objectives is concerned with attitudes, values, beliefs and feelings of learners. They are
important in the life of a person. Some of them are:
- To admire the work of mathematics.
- To appreciate the aesthetic and the utilitarian value of mathematics.
- To love somebody for marriage
- To respect other people’s property.
- To belief in life after death.
All these are part and parcel of human life. They can only be realized through the institution of
education. So the school curriculum should encompass and inculcate them in the youth so that there
are all round people.

See the taxonomy below:

Create Produce new or original work.
Author, design, assemble, construct, develop, formulate.
 Evaluate Justify a stand or decision.
Support, value, critique, weigh, appraise, argue, defend, judge, select,
value.
Analyze Draw connections among ideas.
Differentiate, organize, relate, compare, contrast, distinguish, test,
question, and experiment.
Apply Use information in new situations.
Execute, implement, solve, use, demonstrate, interpret, operate, schedule,
sketch.
Understand Explain ideas or concepts.
Classify, describe, explain, discuss, identify, locate, recognize, report,
select, and translate.
Remember Recall basic concepts and facts.
Define, state, duplicate, list, memorize, repeat.

Preparation of behavioural objectives

A well stated behavioural objective should have three characteristics:
(i) Specificity
The statement should contain the behavioural outcome expected of the learner. Active verbs should
be use to achieve this. The verbs may be: use, apply, compare, relate, formulate, design contrast,
discuss etc. Inactive verbs are not appropriate. Some of them are: love, know, admire, comprehend,
appreciate, understand etc; they should not be used.

(ii) Condition under which learning should occur.

A condition is imposed to help the teacher to pass a judgment about learning. For example in soccer a
win is decided after 90 min of play. In classrooms the condition used in the phrase “By/At the end of
the lesson.” ………..

(iii) Level of performance

This refers to the acceptable degree of performance of a learner which will show that learning has
taken place. For example: By/ at the end of the test, the learner should be able to score at least 40% of
the questions correctly.

Conclusion: an ideally stated behavioural objective should have the three characteristics. However,
in practice it is sufficient for an objective to contain the first two characteristics i.e. specificity and
condition. For example:
At/By the end of lesson, the learner should be able to derive the formula for the area of a triangle
given a rectangle.

Setbacks of behavioural objectives.

It is important to formulate good instructional objectives but at times it may be disadvantageous to do
so. Some of the disadvantages are:
(i) Classroom learning is narrowed too much.
During the teaching/learning process there are intermediate stages before the stated objective is
achieved. Such stages may be overlooked because the teacher is focusing on the final behaviour
(expected behaviour) and yet they are important.
(ii) Spontaneous learning is sacrificed.
It is not easy to predict the direction of learning given the complexity of the process.
 Interesting issues may arise in the course of the presentation. Does the teacher ignore them because
she wants confine herself to the final/ terminal behaviour? No; there should be flexibility such that
spontaneous issues can be tackled as they arise.
(iii) Classroom activities are oversimplified by using measurable verbs in the objective.
The teacher may end up with trivial issues because of lack of measurable/ active verbs for stating
objectives.
Example. The learner should be able to find the third side given the two sides of a right angled
triangle.
This objective is good but it avoids major issues like application of the Pythagoras theorem or the use
of the Cosine formula.
So when stating objectives in behavioural terms, appreciate their limitations and engage realistically
in classroom learning which allows other activities to be pursued even if they don’t lead to the
intended behaviours.

Teaching documents
A mathematics teacher should prepare two documents necessary for classroom teaching. The two
documents are:
(i) The scheme of work
(ii) The lesson plan.
The syllabus
This is a document outlining the curriculum to be followed at various levels of learning. Each level
(class) has an outline of topics to be covered within a specified time. It also outlines the aims of each
subject. This is the main reference for any classroom teacher.

Scheme of work
This is a document that each classroom teacher must prepare for each of the classes per subject. So
the mathematics teacher must prepare a scheme of work for each of the classes assigned to him/her. It
has a lot of details but we are going to see the format shortly.
The document should be prepared ahead of the teaching time. It is prepared from the syllabus and a
variety of text books. A solar calendar is also needed since there’s a time element in the document.
The school calendar of activities should also be used alongside the solar calendar.
Format of the scheme of work.

UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI
FACILITY OF EDUCATION
SCHEME OF WORK

Name:………………………………….. Reg No…………………………………….

School:……………………………..Class:………………………Term:……………………………….

Week Lesson Topic/ sub-topic objectives learning Res.mat/ Remarks

activities references
 Week column
This is the week which you anticipate to cover a given topic or cub-topic. It starts from the first week
of the term including the midterm vacation and end term examinations.
Lesson column
This refers to a specific period in a week that a given topic or sub-topic will be taught. All the lessons
in the week should be covered.

Topic/sub-topic column
This refers to a topic from the syllabus and all its sub-topics obtained from textbooks are listed and
allocated the lessons required to cover it/them. All sub-topics are listed under their topics. Each topic
should be written in capital letters or in bold while their sub-topics should be in small letters and
serialized. Topics are covered in the order decided by the teacher i.e. in a flowing order.
Objectives column
Objectives should be derived from the content of a topic or a sub-topic to be covered within a given
lesson. They should meet the criteria required for an objective
Learning activities column
Activities to be performed by the learner should be derived from the content of the topic or sub-topic
to be taught on a given lesson. The activities lead to the attainment of the stated objectives. They
should be stated in present continuous tense phrases at a low cognitive level e.g. factorizing numbers,
sketching figures, dividing numerals/numbers, calculating means etc.

Resource materials/ references column.

All relevant reference books or periodicals, models, charts, etc should be listed per lesson. Reference
materials are recorded by title, author and pages. This happens only the first time; thereafter if the
same reference is used only the author and new pages are recorded. Never keep repeating the title.
Use a minimum of two references per time; one is not sufficient.

Remarks column
In this column the date of teaching should be recorded. Reference should be made to the stated
objectives; whether they were achieved or not. If not achieved the lesson should be repeated in the
next lesson. It should be recorded as such. Further refer to the state of the learner; participated
actively or otherwise. Finally a comment should be made on the suitability of any resources used e.g.
models.

How to prepare a scheme of work.

(1) Have in your possession a mathematics syllabus.
(2) Have a variety of reference books including the class text.
(3) Obtain a school calendar of activities.
(4) Obtain a solar calendar
Follow the following steps
(i) Cross or block out all the non-teaching days obtained from the school calendar. Also block
out all the national and international holidays. This leaves you with the actual teaching
days.
(ii) Count all the available teaching lessons from the solar calendar.
(iii) Count the number of topics for the term from the syllabus.
(iv) Divide the total number of lessons for the term with the total number of topics. The
number you get is the average number of lessons for each topic. You can adjust this
number according to the weight of the topic since topics are not equal in terms of content.

The lesson plan

This is a document prepared by the teacher in readiness for presentation to a class. It is

prepared for each lesson of a subject. It is prepared a head of class time. In its
preparation the teacher uses a relevant scheme of work and a variety of text books. The
lesson plan is for use by the teacher during the lesson. The teacher should refer to each
from time to time during the lesson: it guides the teacher in terms of organized
presentation of content.

The lesson plan format

UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
TEACHING PRACTICE OFFICE
LESSON PLAN
REG NO…..………… NAME……..…………… SCHOOL…………..…..…………….

CLASS ………………… NO. OF STUDENTS…………… DATE……………TIME………..….

SUBJECT………………. TOPIC…………………… SUB-TOPIC………………………..
WEEK……………………. LESSON…………………..………..
OBJECTIVES……………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

TIME CONTENT LEARNING LEARNING

ACTIVITIES RESOURCES/REF

TIME CONTENT LEARNING LEARNING

ACTIVITIES RESOURCES/REF
 The lesson plan format
UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
TEACHING PRACTICE OFFICE
LESSON PLAN
REG NO.E35/8420/2020..… NAME……..…………… SCHOOL…………..…..…….

CLASS ………………… NO. OF STUDENTS…… DATE………TIME.8:40 am -9:20 am

SUBJECT.MATHEMATICS… TOPIC…………………… SUB-TOPIC………………..
WEEK……4………………. LESSON……2…..
OBJECTIVES…By/at the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to:

(i) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………
(ii) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………
(iii) ………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

TIME CONTENT LEARNING LEARNING

ACTIVITIES RESOURCES/REF
Ref
5 min INTRODUCTION -  Title
Title : -  Author
 pp.

Ref 1.
10 min LESSON DEVELOPMENT  Author
-  Pp
-  Ref:2
Step 1 ……... Title ………  Title
-  Author
-  pp
Ref 1.
10 MIN Step 2: ……... Title ……… -  Author
- -  Pp
- Ref 2.
 Author
 Pp

10 MIN Step 3… Title ……… -

- -
-
 10 MIN Step 4: Classwork -
-

5 MIN SUMMARY/CONCLUSION  Reviewing the KLB

 Main points main points EXC
 Evaluation of objectives  Asking and S
 Oral questions answering PP
 Homework questions
 Taking
homework

TOPIC 5: APPROACHES AND METHODS OF TEACHING MATHEMATICS

A method of teaching is the interactive process between the teacher and the learner in a
classroom. Alternatively, it is the communication process between the source of
information (teacher) and the receiver (learner) of the information through a medium.
Examples of general methods are the lecturer method, the demonstration method, the
discussion method etc. The main concern here is on specific methods relevant to
teaching mathematics.
A teaching technique: A teaching technique is a more specific communication
process which takes place within a teaching method. It is more specific than a teaching
method.

Teaching methods
 1. Use of examples
This is a situation where examples are used for developing concepts. There are two
approaches to the use of examples:
(i) Provision of a general statement or a principle or content. In such a
situation the teacher states the general principle or the concept then (s)he
presents a variety of examples to illustrate the stated principle.
(ii) Provision of a variety of examples which end up with a generalization.
The generalization is the concept or the principle encompassing the
examples.
In the two situations the learner should be an active participant in the
process. The method of examples is quite relevant in mathematics since
the subject is full of abstract concepts. The examples reduce an abstract
concept to a level that the learner can understand. The examples used
should be up to the cognitive level of the learner.

2. The problem solving technique/strategy

The technique first came up through George Polya, a renowned Hungarian

Mathematician, who was born in 1887 at Budapest, Hungary and died in 1985 at
Palo Alto, California, USA. In his final days he was a professor of mathematics
at the Stanford University, USA.
In 1957 he designed a four step heuristic for solving all kinds of problems:
Step (i): understand the problem
Step (ii): devise a plan (translate)
Step (iii): carry out (execute) the problem (solve)
Step (iv): look back (check and interpret) or evaluate.
He authored three classic works namely; How to solve it, mathematics and plausible
reasoning, and mathematical discovery. The works encourage mathematics students
to be thoughtful and independent problem solvers. The technique is best suited in
solving mathematical problems.
He can rightly be called the father of problem solving in mathematics education.
3. The questioning technique
This is a way by which questions are used to communicate content to the learners.
It is an art which should be mastered by the teacher. The teacher should think
about the questions and organize them before the class time. The technique
should be considered alongside the following guidelines:
(i) Vocabulary and clarity
  Use of language should be appropriate to the learner.
 Use unambiguous language i.e. clear language
 Tailor questions to suit the learner.

(ii) Time
 Allow sufficient time for learners to think about the question before
responding.
 Don’t press a learner too much for an answer. If the answer is not forth coming,
provide a clue if a learner is stuck or restructure the question. Otherwise direct
the question to another learner.
(iii) Reinforcement
 Praise a learner for any correct answer provided. Never ridicule a learner who
may provide a wrong answer. Neither should you be sarcastic to such a learner.
 Don’t create a feeling of rejection among slow or weak learners.
 Don’t always accept the first answer provided even if it is correct. Allow other
learners an opportunity to think about it. Finally come back to the first one who
answered it correctly and reinforce accordingly.
(iv) Providing inspiration
 Encourage learners to ask questions. Respond gently to incorrect but well-
meant answers.
 Restructure or simplify a question which does not attract responses.
(v) Distributing questions
 Give an equal chance to all learners to respond to a question.
 Allow them to raise their hands for answering a question.
 It may be necessary to appoint those whose hands are not up to answer a
question.
 Appointment of a learner to respond to a question should be by their names.

The art of questioning

As one uses the questioning technique the following errors should be avoided:
i. Double barreled questions
For example: what is the LCM and product of 2, 3 and 6?
ii. Guessing questions
For example is 6 even or odd?
iii. Ambiguous questions
For example 3×4 =12. What is the product of 3 and 4?
iv. Echo questions
For example 3×4 =12. What is the product of 3 and 4?
 v. Leading questions
For example 5× 7 =35 isn’t it?
vi. `yes’ or `no’ questions
For example, is 6 an even number?
vii. ``Is what questions ‘’
For example, an odd number is what? Modulus of a vector is what?
viii. Irrelevant questions.
For example, how do you find the determinant of a 3×3 matrix?
ix. Directing questions to individual learners.
For example, John! What is the LCM of 5 and 7? Instead ask the question,
allow the class some time to think about it before you can appoint one to
answer it.
x. Starting questions with ``who’’
For example, ``who can tell me the LCM of 6 and 8?

Multiple choice questions

Multiple choice questions are those questions requiring one answer from a list of
many alternative answers which are very close to the answer. Multiple choice
questions have a guessing element because the learner knows that the correct
answer must be among the choices and it can be correct.
The guessing element in the multiple choice questions, may be corrected by
awarding negative marks to wrong answers and an equal positive mark for a
correct answer. For example, award +1 for any correct answer and -1 for any
wrong answer (due to guessing) and 0 for any unanswered question. This process
discourages guessing of answers.
 TOPIC 6: TEACHING OF SOME SELECTED TOPICS FROM
THE SECONDARY SCHOOL SYLLABUS.
Introduction:
It is already stated that most concepts in mathematics are so abstract that most learners
find them difficult to understand. It is therefore the responsibility of the mathematics
teacher to identify those relatively difficult concepts and think of strategies that help in
making them look realistic and easy to be understood by the learner.
In mathematics there are so many rules that are applied with little understanding on the
side of the learner. Some mathematics teachers apply these rules without explanation.
They are applied divinely like God’s commandments which are not questionable. If we
have to make any progress in mathematics teaching, then we need to think of
alternative methods and approaches of making mathematics learners understand such
rules rather than just memorizing them.
1. Teaching of Arithmetic
Arithmetic is the most applicable branch of mathematics. The operations of addition,
subtraction, division and multiplication are readily used in our day to day lives. It is
difficult to find problems in our day to day lives whose solutions require the use of
matrices, simultaneous equations, complex numbers etc. So it is important to teach
arithmetic well because of its application in life.
a) Whole numbers
Example 1: Work out 27×63.
Solution
27
×63
162
+81
1701

In this case learners are asked to obey these rules without questions:
i. Find the product of 27 and 6
ii. Find the product of 27 and 3. Write it below 162 but one step to the
right.

It is important for the teacher to use some reasoning than just commanding learners to
obey rules however true they might be.

A reasonable approach: Lead learners to apply the distributive property.

27×63 = 27(60+3)
= (27×60) + (27 ×3)
=20× 60 + 60 × 7 +20 ×3 +7× 3
=1200 +420 +60 + 21
=1701.
This is a more understandable approach and easy to understand by the learner.
Example 2: Find; 238 – 179
Solution
238
179
 59
Reasonable approach: Use the expanded approach
238 =100 + 120 + 18
-179 = 100 + 70 + 9
59 = 0+50 +9
When we teach mathematics, it should be in such a manner that the learner’s
understanding is enhanced or boosted.

b) Fractions

Example: 3 1/3 ÷ 1 2/3

Solution
10
/3 × 3/5 = 2
Some of the difficulties learners encounter are:
 Why change the operation from division to multiplication?
 Why invert 5/3 to 3/5 ?

The answer is simply that it is a rule; such rules don’t make sense to learners. The idea
of telling them to follow the rules blindly makes them develop a negative attitude
towards mathematics.
Understandable approach
Make the learner understand that multiplication undoes division and vice versa.
e.g. 20 ÷ 2 =10; 20 × ½ =10
12 ÷ 3 =4; 12 × 1/3=4
Once this is clear the problem is solved.

c) Decimal numbers
Work out; 1.25 × 1.4
The following rules are usually applied:
 Work out the multiplication ignoring the decimals =1750.
  Since you ignored 3 decimal places, count these places from the right to the left
of the product i.e. 1.750.

Understandable approach: Apply the distributive property after changing the

decimals to fractions;
(1+25/100). (1+4/10)
=1×1 + 1×4/10 +25/100×1 + 25/100×4/10
=1+4/10 + 25/100 +1/10
=1+40/100 +25/100 +10/100 =1+75/100 = 1.75

2. Teaching of algebra
Algebra involves use of symbols for numbers. Learners get this very abstract. The use
of new language, new concepts, symbols etc. require a high level of thinking.
Mathematics teachers should understand this and identify problems which learners
encounter when learning algebra.
Learners may be able to find the area of a triangle, perimeter of a rectangle but may
find it difficult to write down the formula for the area of a triangle and the perimeter of
a rectangle. Mathematics teachers therefore should use their own discretion to identify
problem areas and device strategies for teaching such difficult concepts.
Translating ordinary language into mathematical language
Example: Mr. Kamau is 30 years old and his son is 5 years old. After how many
years will the father’s age be twice his son’s age?
Solution
Let the father’s age be twice the son’s age after x years.
Present age Age after x years
Father: 30 30 + x
Son: 5 5+x
30 + x = 2(5+x)
30 + x =10 +2x
30 – 10 =2x- x
20 = x
Therefore the father’s age will be twice son’s age after 20 years.
3. Teaching of signed numbers.
Signed numbers are also known as directed numbers. In other words signed numbers
are number with a minus or plus sign behind them e.g. -3, -5, +4, -6 etc. This is one of
the most abstract concepts in secondary school mathematics; it lacks application in real
life. However, efforts have been made to make the concept concrete for ease of
understanding by learners.

Basic concepts
i) The number line.
Signed numbers are represented on the number line:

-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6

The number line represents all rational numbers, also known as integers on the number
line. The number line is divided into two equal parts at the central number, also known
as the neutral number or the origin or zero. All numbers to the left of zero are negative
and all numbers to the right of zero are positive. Zero does not carry any sign. It should
be understood that positive numbers can drop the sign and remain the same. For
example +10 means the same as 10.
The concept of signed numbers in applied in the following situations:
 Measurement of temperatures
 Movement up and down a lift/elevator.
ii) Inequality signs: There are two inequality signs namely less than and greater
than. Their symbols are <, > respectively. On the number line, any number to
the left of any number is always less than the number. Also any number to
the right of any number is always greater than the number
iii) Opposite numbers: An opposite number is the reflection of the number on the
number line at the origin i.e. the mirror is at the origin.
iv) Absolute value: A measurement between two points is known as a distance.
On the number line, the distance between any two numbers is the length of
the segment between the two numbers. The number representing a distance is
always positive. The distance between any number and zero is known as the
absolute value of the number.

(a). Addition of signed numbers (like signs).

Example 1: What floor is a lift starting from the ground level moving up two floors
followed by three more floors?
Solution

5
(+3) The sum of two positive numbers is a positive
number.
2
(+2)
0

Example 2: What floor is a lift starting from the ground level moving down three
floors followed by two more floors?
 0
-1 (-2)
-2
-3
-4 (-3)
-5
(-2) + (-3) = -5
The sum of negative numbers is always negative.

Unlike signs
Solution
Option 1: put the problem on the number line.

-8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
(+5)
(-12)
From the number line (+5) + (-12) = -7
Option 2: (i) subtract the absolute values of the two numbers starting with the greater
one.
(ii)Give the result the sign of the number with a greater absolute value.
The absolute value of -12 is 12. The absolute value of -5 is 5.
Therefore 12-5=7. Give 7 the negative sign because it’s the sign of -12.
Therefore -12 - (-5) = -7.
 Example 2: Evaluate +5 + (-9)
Option 1: Put the problem on the number line:

-8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
+5
-9
From the number line +5 + (-9) = -4
Option 2: (i) subtract the absolute values of the two numbers starting with the greater
one. i.e. 9-(-5) = 4
(ii)Give the result the sign of the number with a greater absolute value.
The sign of the greater absolute value is negative. Therefore the result is
-4.

(b) Subtraction of signed numbers

Let us use integer chips for illustration.

Chip value
[+] 1
[-] -1
[+] [-] 0
Note that a negative chip cancels a positive chip.
Example: Evaluate 5 – (-2 )
[+][+][+][+][+] subtract [-] [-]
Solution
Let us start with a model of positive chips:
[+][+][+][+][+]. Next let us introduce the negative chips without changing the value of
the positive model:
[+][+][+][+][+]
[+][-][+][-]
In the above arrangement the net effect is 5 positive chips.
Next let us physically take away the negative chips. See below:
[+][+][+][+][+]
[+][+]
This means +5 – (-2) =7. See the arrangement above.

Generalization
Subtracting a negative is equivalent to adding an opposite.
e.g. +5 – (-2)
The opposite of (-2) is (+2). Since subtraction now changes to addition, then
+5-(-2) =+5 + (+2) =+7

Examples
Subtraction addition of an opposite
6 – (+1) 6+ (-1) =5
4 – (-7) 4+ (+7) =11
-8-(-2) -8+ (+2) =-6
-5 – (-9) -5 + (+9) =4
-7 – (+11) -7+ (-11) =-18

3. Multiplication of signed numbers

(a) Let us consider non-mathematical situations to help us understand the behavior of
signs under the operations of multiplication:
Good = + bad = -
In (into) = + out = -
Observe the results of the four possibilities:

Possibility Result
When a good guy moves into town it is good for the town
+ + +
When a bad guy moves out of town it is good for the town
_ _ +

When a bad guy moves into town, it is bad for the town
- + -

Generalization
i. Multiplication of like signs results into +
ii. Multiplication of unlike signs results into –

(b). Analytical Method

Let us verify the results with multiplication of numbers. Note that multiplication is
equivalent to repeated addition; see table the below:
Multiplication Repeated Addition Result
6×2 6+6 = 12 (+6) × (+2) = + 12
-6 ×2 (-6) + (-6) = -12 (-6) × (+2) = -12
By the commutative property, (-6) × 2 = 2 × (-6) = -12
Conclusion; a product of a positive number and a negative is negative and vice
versa.
Product of two negatives
Study the following pattern;
(-6) ×3 = -18
(-6)×2 = - 12
 (-6) × 1 = -6
(-6) ×0 =0
(-6)× (-1) =?
(-6) × (-2) =?
(-6) × (-3) =?
Following the sequence on the RHS column, you get:
+6
+12
+18
Thus the product of two negative numbers is positive.
Note that:
(i) The product of two numbers with the same sign is always positive.
(ii)The product of two numbers with different signs is always negative.

4. Division of signed numbers

Since multiplication and division are inverse operations, we can use the rules of
multiplication to observe the rules of signs for division:

Multiplication Related division

(+6) × (+4) = +24 (+24) ÷ (+6) = +4
Thus the quotient of two positive numbers is positive.
(-6) × (+4) = -24 (-24) ÷ (-6) = +4
Thus the quotient of two negative numbers is positive.

(-6) × (-4) = +24 (+24) ÷ (-6) = -4

Thus the quotient of a positive number and a negative number is negative.

Note that:
 i. The quotient of two numbers with the same sign is positive.
ii. The quotient of two numbers with different signs is negative.

TOPIC 7: THE USE OF MEDIA IN LEARNING MATHEMATICS

Why is media useful in mathematics?
A Chinese proverb answers this question best:
What I hear, I forget
What I see, I remember
What I do, I know
The proverb offers the answer to the role of media in learning mathematics concepts.

Mathematics is a subject made up of abstract concepts. The concepts have little or no application in
real life. This makes their understanding by learners very difficult. Mathematics teachers therefore
should make efforts to help learners understand the subject.
Media boosts a learner’s understanding of abstract concepts. So mathematics teachers should
use media in their mathematics lessons. Concepts with real life application don’t require media
much; the teacher should use examples drawn from real life. Some of the media available for
mathematics learning are:

1. The board
This is the most versatile medium available for learning mathematics concepts.
There are several types available depending on the school status.
 (a) A wall painted black

This is what is available in all permanent walled classrooms. It is always in front of the class. Chalk of
different colours and an eraser/duster are used alongside the board. The teacher organizes how to
use it.
(b) Portable wooden board

The board should be of reasonable size convenient for moving around. It is painted in black. The
duster and chalk in various colours are used.
(c) Plastic boards

These are modern boards that are neater than chalkboards since chalk is not used on them. A felt
pen and eraser are used on them. They are available in some schools but they are mostly used in
higher institutions of learning.
How to use the board effectively
i. Use large and clear handwriting
ii. Writing should be in a colour that contrasts with the board.
iii. Writing on the board should be printed. The characters should be bold and consistent.
iv. Writing should not be skewed; it should be on imaginary horizontal lines.
v. A margin should be left all around the board to allow all learners to read on it clearly
vi. The topic of the lesson should be in capital letters and centralized on the board. The date
and the class level should be on the RHS and LHS respectively.

Functions of the board

The board should be used for:
i. Presenting main points, new terms or definitions as the lesson develops. These
become notes or summary for the class to copy at the end of the lesson.
ii. Illustrating concepts, principles and processes with the help of drawings, sketches,
diagrams and other visual images
iii. Conveying assignments, revision exercises and to some extent tests.
iv. Solving problems by the teacher and the learners.

2. Teacher made materials

The mathematics teacher should think of fabricating materials that are deemed useful in learning
mathematics.
The materials can also be fabricated by learners as class projects under the guidance of the teacher.
The teacher may also source for commercially produced materials.

(a) Models
A model is an object/material that represents a real situation e.g. materials representing three
dimensional situations like cartons, boxes, cylinders etc.
 (b) Graphics

A graphic is a surface where a teacher can present an illustration to supplement what cannot be
presented easily on the board during the lesson. They should be prepared much a head of the
lesson. Charts are the best example of graphics.

A graphic should have the following characteristics:

i. It should be of suitable size.
ii. It should have minimal writing.
iii. It should be appealing and attractive to the class.
iv. It should motivate learners to think. The learner should be able to observe
easily the relevant features illustrated.

How to use the materials

They should be introduced at the right time and used adequately then kept away
from the class. They should not be left in place for the whole class session.

3. The school environment

The mathematics teacher should collect relevant materials from the school environment for use
during mathematics lessons. Materials like discarded tins, empty bottles, bottle tops, stones,
marbles, leaves, sticks, envelops, etc. can be useful. They may be used for teaching statistics,
numeration, probability, symmetry etc.

4. Technological products
Closed circuit televisions (CC TVS), computers, videos etc. are some of the products that can be used
for teaching mathematics. Most schools have now started using them. Note that laptops are now
being put in place for teaching at the primary school level in Kenya. Computer laboratories are
expected to be put in place to replace the laptops since they are more cost effective.
 TOPIC 8: MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION IN
MATHEMATICS
What is measurement?
Measurement is a process of quantifying what has been learnt into a numerical value.
In a learning situation there are objectives to be achieved. It is the objectives that are
being measured. The values are normally expressed in percentage.
What is evaluation?
Evaluation is a process of assessing a measurement value. A judgement is passed about
the value obtained using words like pass, fail, well done, weak, satisfactory etc.
In mathematics the two processes are obtained through tests and examinations. In tests
and exams scores are obtained then evaluated for further decisions to be made. The
decisions can focus on an individual learner or a whole class.
A test or an examination is a set of questions measuring the extent to which a set of
objectives have been achieved. So let us look at the questions.
Classification of questions
Questions can be classified in a way that corresponds with Bloom’s classification of
objectives. This is so because it is questions that test acquisition of objectives
(performance). Bloom has classified performance objectives into six categories in the
cognitive domain.
Let us outline the categories of objectives with illustration questions from
mathematics:
1. Knowledge level objectives.
This is the lowest level of objectives. Low level questions which require low
level thinking are posed. Their answers/responses require recalling of
information or knowledge from memory.
e.g., what is 2x3? What is 22? etc.
2. Comprehension level objectives.
These are objectives that require understanding of information/concepts. The
amount of thinking required is higher than the one at the knowledge level
e.g., given a graph of two linear equations, find the solution of the simultaneous
equations. Solving such questions require one to understand that the solution is
the point of intersection between the two lines on the graph.

3. Application
At this level, one is required to use some formula or information to obtain a
solution to a question. e.g., use the cosine rule to find the value of r in the
triangle below

4 6

1400

4. Analysis
At this level of objectives, one is required to observe a given mathematical
situation then interpret it in order to find a solution e.g. given the pattern of
numbers, write down the next line:

1
 1 1
1 2 1
1 3 3 1
1 4 6 4 1

5. Synthesis
At this level of objectives, one is required to observe a mathematical situation,
digest it (think about it) then generalize it e.g. study the set of numbers below
and write down the nth term;1, 7, 17, 31, 49……………, n.
6. Evaluation
At this level of objectives, one is required to make judgement or give an opinion.
Judgements or opinions are subjective. i.e. they vary from person to person.
Mathematical situations are objective all the time. So, there are no mathematics
questions at this level because mathematics is an objective subject.
Ability levels in Mathematics.
Ability levels are a refinement of Bloom’s categories of objectives to suit mathematics.
They were brought about by the international study of achievement (1967) in the USA.
They are:
1. Knowledge level
Learners’ knowledge of facts is tested at this level. The learner should be able to
recall information from memory.

2. Use of techniques and skills

Computation, accuracy of taking measurements, use of calculators, tables, etc.
are some of the skills required.
3. Comprehension
Understanding of concepts, translation of language into symbols are tested at
this level.
4. Application
Ability to apply knowledge gained to new and unfamiliar situations is tested
here e.g applying the Pythagoras theorem in real life situations.
e.g. - Derive the sine formula
- Find x in the triangle below.

12
0
125

15
In the first question a learner is required to understand trigonometric concepts and the
use of Pythagoras theorem. In the second question the learner is required to go beyond
the sine formula and apply it.

5. Inventiveness
Ability to criticize a given postulate, formulate hypotheses, generalize situations,
think of alternative methods of solving problems etc. are clear indications of a
learner’s inventiveness. This is the highest level of testing in mathematics
because the next level is very subjective therefore, not mathematical.

PREPARATION OF A TEST
Tests are supposed to be as objective as possible since mathematics is the most
objective subject. Mathematics teachers should balance their tests in terms of ability
levels to be tested. All the ability levels should be represented by test items with
proportionate loading. It may not be easy to separate the abilities completely since
some test items may test two or more abilities at ago.
The mathematics teacher should start by preparing a test blue print as shown;
Content Ability level
1 2 3 4 5 %
A
B
C
D
E
%

A well-constructed test is one that ensures a proportionate coverage of content and the
ability levels.
Note: As each question is set, its solution should be worked out immediately. The set
of solutions obtained is called a marking scheme. It should be ready at the end of
setting the examination/test.
Marking of a test
1. Award more scores to the process of solving a problem. A score of 1 is enough
for the correct answer. Don’t award fractions of a score.
2. If a candidate gets a wrong answer for part of a question and carries it on to the
next part of the question, do not penalize since you penalized at the first time.
The answer may be wrong but award full marks for it.
3. Scores should be proportionate with the ability level; the high the level the more
the score e.g., don’t award same scores for questions requiring recall of
knowledge from memory and application of knowledge.
4. Take minimal time to mark a test; don’t take a very long time because delayed
results are results demotivating; give immediate feedback.
Announcement of test results
1. Announce the highest, the lowest, and the mean scores. Don’t announce the
concerned candidates
2. Indicate the standard score on each candidate’s script using the formula:
Zx = (x - x )
σ

This is good for comparison purposes.

3. Announce general weaknesses identified in relation to content.
Making use of a test
Based on the results of the test:
1. Decide whether the whole class has performed satisfactorily or not.
2. Compare performance of the class with another class who took the same test or
compare the performance with a previous test. Use standard scores.
3. Decide if your teaching methods were suitable or not i.e. identify the cause of
the weakness as portrayed by the candidates.
Importance of a test
The whole purpose of tests and examinations is for the provision of feedback.
Feedback is two way all the time. It reflects on the learner and the teacher. There could
be weaknesses or strengths on either the teacher or the learner. These are arrived at
after the process of evaluation. Evaluation involves assessing the performance of both
the teacher and the learner.
The feedback process involves the following elements;
i. To find out the learner’s progress.
Teaching and learning goes on lesson after lesson, week after week, etc.
There’s need to stop and find out how much has been learned. Since there’s a
 syllabus to be covered, it is imperative that teachers find out how much of the
content covered has been understood. This can be achieved through a test.
ii. To diagnose learners’ difficulties.
Over and above finding out how much of the learnt content has been
understood, it’s important also to find out in which specific areas within the
content they are experiencing difficulties. This can be identified through a
test.
iii. To motivate learners.
Other than finding out how much has been understood, learners can be
motivated to learn if teachers could administer quizzes regularly. We can also
divide learners into groups and allow them to compete by doing quizzes. This
motivates them to learn.
iv. To select learners with certain aptitude.
A test can be administered to a class for purposes of selecting a small group
of students to join a special elective course like “additional mathematics” or
“further mathematics” which is to be offered. Such a test will be a high
powered one to discriminate the highly competent from the average learners.
v. To predict performance
A test can be administered with the objective of finding out the probable
performance of learners in a forthcoming external examination. Such a test is
predictive in nature. Examples of such tests are the mock exams or end of
year tests. The test should be as close as possible to the external examination.

vi. To compare performance between classes

Tests can be set for two or more classes at the same level being taught by
different teachers e.g. mid-year examinations/Tests can be used for
comparing performance of different classes.
 TOPIC 9: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS in MATHEMATICS curriculum IN
KENYA
There have been several systems in mathematics education in Kenya since
independence and before. The systems may not be described as innovations but may
just be changes in levels of content.
Old mathematics
The mathematics curriculum that was taught in the western world came to be known as
old mathematics in East Africa by 1969. It was taught in the western world up to the
1950s.The old mathematics was aimed at solving daily life problems i.e. readily
applicable. It was taught using drilling methods. It was what the British used in
Kenya/East Africa when they were the administrators of the country.
In 1957 the United Social Soviet Republic (USSR) which later disintegrated into
Russia and other republics, launched a man-made satellite (Sputnik) which enabled
them to explore space. The sputnik landed on the moon in 1957. This puzzled the USA
and Western Europe especially Britain. This innovation made the USA and its allies to
set up commissions to review and investigate the mathematics and science curricula in
their respective education systems. This resulted into several innovations which were
aimed at improving the teaching of mathematics and science. New curricula were
established in the USA and Britain. New mathematics was born and the system of the
time acquired the description ``old mathematics.’’
Britain was the colonial master of the countries of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania
collectively known as East Africa. East Africa had a common education system. The
change in mathematics curriculum in Britain took effect in East Africa in 1969. Two
conferences, held in Entebbe and Mombasa in the same year marked the end of the old
mathematics in East Africa.
New mathematics
The two East Africa conferences of 1969 held in Entebbe and Mombasa resulted into
what then was known as “new mathematics”. The conferences resulted in the
introduction of school mathematics project of East Africa (SMEA). This project
borrowed heavily from the “school mathematics project” of Britain. This change was
effected in East Africa in 1971.
The introduction of new mathematics in East Africa resulted in curriculum change and
new approaches to teaching mathematics. The new mathematics curriculum
concentrated on abstract concepts like set theory, logic, transformations etc. The
system lacked application from real life situations.

Dissatisfaction with new mathematics

The new mathematics started showing weaknesses among its graduates. The
curriculum was not able to instill problem solving skills in learners. They experienced
difficulties in solving problems requiring simple calculations. By 1981 the new
mathematics was discontinued in Kenya.
In the USA and Britain where the new mathematics emanated, there was dissatisfaction
and the system discontinued much earlier.
Achievements of the new mathematics
The change in curricula of mathematics and science made the Americans launch their
satellites into space. They were able to land on the moon in 1961by launching a
satellite, Apollo 7. So their objective was achieved even if they changed their
mathematics and science curricula later.
Integrated mathematics
Integrated mathematics was ushered in Kenya in 1981. The curriculum was an
integration of the “old mathematics” and the “new mathematics” and science curricula.
This lasted until about 1986 when it was discontinued.
The curriculum lacked text books and related resources. Some schools resorted to
using old mathematics books while others resorted to new mathematics books. This
resulted into confusion. In the confusion, some hastily authored books came into
circulation for use since there were no prescribed books. This system was terminated at
the end of 1985.
8-4-4 mathematics
This system was not an innovation; it was a reorganization of the earlier systems. It
just changed the structure of the system from 7-4-2-3 to 8-4-4. In effect the change saw
the abolishing of the advanced level of secondary education which was a pre-university
course. One of its years was moved to university to make it four years and the one
moved to the primary level making it eight years; 8-4-4. The mathematics syllabus
changed in such a way that some A’ level topics were pushed to the university and
some of them pushed back to the secondary level (O’level). The same happened to the
other A’ level subjects. The 8-4-4 system was politically motivated; it was not an
innovation. It is being used up to now but it is ushering in a new system, the CBC.

Future of mathematics teaching

Teaching of mathematics is a dynamic process which changes with curriculum.
Teaching strategies and methods change with change in curriculum. Technological
advancement demands, necessitate changes in mathematics and science curricula.
Teachers of mathematics and science should be well equipped with content; they need
appropriate refreshment in the strategies and methods of teaching in order to cope with
the future e.g. the use of laptops.

Challenges of the future of mathematics

1. Attitude towards mathematics.
Studies conducted on attitudes towards mathematics in Kenya have shown that the
attitudes are generally negative in spite of the fact that mathematics is a compulsory
subject at the school level. The situation is worse with girls.
The mathematics teacher is challenged to change the negative attitudes to positive.
The teacher should devise methods and strategies which can motivate learners to
like mathematics. The teacher should inspire the mathematics learner to like the
subject by teaching effectively. The mathematics teacher is aware that mathematics
concepts are abstract; so the approach to the concepts should be appropriate.
 2. Kenya’s mathematics literacy level
General literacy level in Kenya is low compared to industrialized countries. This
implies that mathematics literacy is low given the negative attitudes towards the
subject. Even in the industrialized countries mathematics literacy is low.
Mathematics teachers in Kenya are challenged to instill positive attitudes towards
the subject in order to spur Kenya to high economic development levels.
3. National examination leakages
For some years now, examination leakages have been widespread in Kenya. All
subjects are involved including mathematics. It is the responsibility of the
examining body, KNEC and the government department of police to ensure that
there are no examination leakages.
The mathematics teachers should play their role in stamping out the leakages.
They should not take part in the vice by refusing to solve the leaked problems to
candidates. They should also prepare candidates effectively and sufficiently for
the national examinations.

4. Use of laptops/technology
The Kenya government promised to give laptops to primary school children for use.
This was a political decision rather than professional. It is not clear how they will
be used. Mathematics teachers at primary school level should have been trained on
the use of laptops in teaching. We expect the government to come up with computer
programs in all subjects including mathematics at the primary and the secondary
levels. Mathematics teachers need refresher courses in the use of technology in
teaching mathematics. They should also establish computer laboratories in the
schools.
 TOPIC 10: STRUCTURE OF THE MATHEMATICS KCSE SYLLABUS
Definition: A syllabus is an outline of content prescribed in a given subject to be
followed by learners at a given level. Duration of coverage is also prescribed.
The mathematics syllabus is drawn from the aims of learning mathematics. The
mathematics teacher and the mathematics learner do not have any authority to decide
on what to teach or learn in mathematics.
Scope and limitations of the syllabus
1. The syllabus does not prescribe the depth of coverage of content. It remains the
onus of the mathematics teacher to decide on this. Since this is subjective,
coverage is deemed to differ from teacher to teacher.
2. The syllabus is silent about the pace of teaching.
The only mention of time in the syllabus is where it has specified content for a
particular year of study e.g. form 2, form 3, form 4, etc.
There’s no mention about how long a topic can take to teach or what content
should be taught in which term. This brings difficulties with inexperienced
 teachers. They will not know the duration required for a given topic. This is
compounded by lack of text books in schools.
3. There’s no indication about techniques and methods of teaching.
Methods used to achieve stated objectives are left for the teacher to decide. Such
decisions are difficult to arrive at by inexperienced teachers.
4. Prerequisite information or background knowledge is lacking.
Background knowledge exists for every concept. This information is necessary
for good understanding of new and abstract concepts. The syllabus leaves this
for the mathematics teacher to decide.
This also brings problems to the teaching of mathematics. For example, what
prerequisite knowledge do form 2 pupils need when dealing with logarithms?
For example:
¯2.347 – 2.988, ¯.20 + ¯1.03
The background information needed in this case is addition and subtraction of
integers, the standard form of numbers, law of indices etc.
The syllabus should specify background knowledge for each concept if teaching
is to be uniform in all schools.
5. Text books and teaching aids for teaching mathematics.
There are no text books specified in the syllabus for use. This is left in the hands
of the schools to decide. This brings about variations in the syllabus coverage
because of the presence of many authors some of whom may be substandard.
Teaching aids are also left out.

Topic 11: MICRO – TEACHING

This is teaching in an artificial situations; artificial because it involves a teacher-trainee
teaching his/her peers, the content being taught is of low caliber, and the duration of
teaching is shorter than normal. It is a process of preparing teacher trainees for actual
teaching. The same process is carried out in other professions using different
terminologies. For example pilots are not trained on planes directly; they use toys. As
for drivers they drive toy cars, surgeons operate on dead bodies, civil engineers design
model houses/bridges etc.
In micro-teaching, teaching skills are practised in isolation, sufficient enough before
moving on to another teaching skill. Let us examine some of them (skills):
1. Questioning and reinforcement.
What is reinforcement? It is a process by which desired behavior is encouraged. This
can be done verbally, by token or by body gestures. In a classroom situation it’s the
teacher’s role to administer reinforcement. It should follow the desired behavior
immediately.
Why reinforcement? To increase the learner’s participation in classroom activities.
This in turn increases learning.
Types of reinforcement
i) Positive reinforcement:
This is a type of reinforcement that encourages good (desired) behavior
immediately after the relevant action. It increases the likelihood that the
behavior will recur. If a learner behaves in a desirable manner, immediate
positive reinforcement encourages the learner to continue behaving the same
way. This can be done verbally using terms like good, excellent, fantastic, well
done, superb answer, etc. Tokens or materials like presents, prizes etc. may be
used
ii) Negative reinforcement:
This type of reinforcement discourages undesirable behavior. The teacher
administers a negative reinforcement so that the learner is discouraged from
behaving the same way. This may involve luck of using positive reinforcers,
denying a present, or a prize, punishment etc. These are examples of negative
reinforcement.

2. Stimulus variation
Everyone has an experience of receiving a variety of stimuli when one is concentrating
on a particular stimulus. Take for example when one is reading. There may be other
stimuli in the environment like people talking, music in another room, vehicles
hooting, birds making noise etc. Despite all these interruptions one still manages to
concentrate on reading. In this case the book is the object of attention.
The human mind is a very selective instrument which is capable of focusing on one
stimulus while ignoring others. However certain sounds or movements can distract
one’s attention of interest. This is what we call stimulus variation.
In the classroom situation stimulus variation takes place continually. If a learner is
interested in an activity, he/she has to disregard all other intruding stimuli so that he
can concentrate on the stimulus of interest.
Teachers should realize that learners have short attention spans. They lose interest after
a short time. Therefore teachers should vary learning activities and their teaching
behaviors so that learners receive new stimulus that keeps them interested in the
lesson. The stimuli presented by the teacher compete with irrelevant stimuli which
might distract the learner’s attention. Teachers need to vary stimuli that they present to
their learners. If they don’t, leaners may ``tune them off.’’ Other stimuli like day
dreaming may gain the attention of the learners.
How to vary stimulus
1. Gestures:
Oral communication is not good enough without head, hand and body . An
oral message does not convey meaning as effectively as it does when combined
with gestural cues. So teachers of mathematics should use gestures during
mathematics lesions.
2. Focusing:
This is a way of controlling the direction of the learners’ attention. A teacher
can focus by using verbal statements, gestures, or a combination of both. For
example a teacher can focus the attention of the class by asking them to look at
a diagram, a picture, an object etc. or one may say “now here’s something really
important.” Gestural focusing can be done by banging a table, a chalkboard,
pointing at an object etc. The foregoing two can also be combined by asking the
class to look at a diagram as the teacher points at it.

3. Interaction styles:
There are three interaction styles used as a form of stimulus variation:
 Teacher-learner:
Personal touch between a teacher and a learner makes a learner to attend to the
teacher by ignoring all other stimuli. The teacher talks to a learner directly. The
teacher can also interact with the learner by asking questions. These interactions
make the learner to ignore all other stimuli to focus his attention to the teacher.
 Teacher-group:
 The teacher addresses himself to the whole class in terms of asking questions or
passing information to them.
 Learner-learner:
A teacher may redirect a learner’s response to another learner. This can be done
by the teacher asking one learner to explain something to another learner.
These patterns of interaction styles vary the context within which content is presented
thereby increasing attention.
4. Pauses:
Silence is an effective attention demanding behavior. Many teachers do not
utilize it as much as they should. They seem to be afraid of it. Whenever a class
becomes quiet teachers rush to fill the gap. When silence is inserted into a
presentation it serves the following purposes:
 Content is broken into more easily absorbed units.
 Learners become more attentive, in this case silence acts as a
new stimulus.
 Learners strain for direction since silence lacks structure.
 A pause prepares learners for the next statement by the teacher.

5. Shifting sensory channels:

Teachers should interchange their modes of communication from time to time.
When this happens learners have to adjust to this change by switching their
primary receptors. For example, one may change from ears to eyes. If he does
not change, then he misses the message. If he/she does, the adjustment may
induce a higher level of attention. For example a teacher should produce a
visual object to his class in the process of lecturing; the learner can manipulate
it. This shifts the attention from hearing to seeing. In such a case seeing is at a
higher level of attention. Once in a while a teacher should rely on visual aid
without any oral message.

6. Movement.
Teachers should move about in the classroom as they communicate content to
their learners. In the process of movement, learners do not shift from one
primary receptor to another but they adjust to each behavior. This adjustment
helps a learner to keep his attention level high. The teacher should move to all
parts of the classroom. If the teacher appoints a learner to answer a question, it is
good for the teacher to move closer to the learner. This encourages the learner to
keep a higher attention level.

TOPIC 12: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN MATHEMATICS

EDUCATION IN KENYA
 These are the present issues bedeviling the teaching and learning of mathematics
in Kenyan secondary schools. The issues affect the teacher and the learner of
mathematics in equal measure.

1. Attitudes towards the subject.

Mathematics learners all over the world view Mathematics as a very difficult
subject requiring special brains. Learners are more at home with other
subjects than they are with Mathematics. This is worse with female students.
This can be confirmed with the number of female students in this class.
The source of this attitude is not very clear but generally pupils at primary
school level have positive thinking about mathematics. So there seems to be a
problem with the way mathematics concepts are introduced at secondary
school.
The challenge for mathematics teachers is that they are meeting learners who
are not motivated and who are not interested in learning mathematics. So as a
mathematics teacher at secondary school level, take the issue of motivation
and sustenance of pupils’ interest to learning mathematics more seriously.

2. Training of teachers.
Training of teachers especially at the pre – school and primary school levels
is poor. Mathematics is not a requirement for entry into the training; anybody
including those who did not perform well at the entry examination are
admitted for training. It is taken for granted that anybody can teach
mathematics at the said levels. Mathematics teachers at this levels need to
have a minimum pass grade at KCSE for them to train as mathematics
teachers. Those who did not pass mathematics well do not have positive
attitude towards mathematics; they are negative. It is important for the
mathematics teacher to be positive about the subject.
At the university level mathematics teachers to be, are those who passed
mathematics because there is a minimum entry pass grade. So secondary
school teachers of mathematics are positive about the subject and they were
allowed to specialize in the subject.

3. Examination pressure.
External examinations put a lot of pressure on the teaching of mathematics. A
teacher may have all the brilliant ideas about teaching his/her class for
 understanding but due to examination pressure (s) he may not implement
his/her ideas. This affects performance in the examinations.

4. Learning environment.
Kenyan secondary schools fall in different environment. This has a strong
bearing in the teaching of mathematics. To reduce abstractness of mathematics
concepts, the mathematics teacher should be able to use resource materials and
applications within the environment of the learner. Since environments are
different the materials are likely to be different hence the differences in
understanding of the mathematics concepts.
5. Technology.
Mathematics learning can be aided by computers. Mathematics programs can be
run on computer to make mathematics teaching more efficient. In Kenya such
programs are not in use. At the moment the government promised to provide
primary school pupils with laptops but it has not been effected yet. If it were to
be done well, it should have been preceded by training teachers and attaching
technicians to assist the teachers. Computer laboratories should have been
established in each school. The situation at the secondary school level should
have also started by establishing computer laboratories in schools staffed with
technicians. All teachers should be trained on the use of computers and
computer education should be compulsory at the university faculties of
education where secondary school teachers are trained.

6. Examination leakages.
In a couple of years now, there has been an outbreak of leakages of national
examinations. This is rampant in all examination papers administered by the
Kenya national examination council. Mathematics is not spared from this vice.
Mathematics teachers should discourage this practice by refusing to participate
in providing solutions to the leaked papers. On the other hand the mathematics
teachers should prepare their students adequately for the examinations and
discourage them from accepting the leaked papers.