The Impact of Using Real Life Situation in Solving Linear Equations by Seventh Graders

The study aims to examine the impact of using real life situation in solving linear equations by seventh graders. In order to achieve the designated aim of the study, the study was conducted in one of the Arab schools in Israel. A sample of 20 average students was deliberately chosen depending on their educational achievement. Two approached were employed within the study; the qualitative approach and its quantitative counterpart. Results of the study clearly exhibit that student have undergone three stages: in the first stage, a development in the concept of “similar terms” was noticed. The second stage showed a development in the concept of “quantity comparison.” In the final stage of the study, the students became familiar with the concept of parity in the linear equations. In light of the researchers’ findings, the study could be concluded with some important recommendations and suggestions. Namely, to review the mathematics curriculum for the middle school students and recreating one that seriously tackles real life situations. Implementation of advanced technology and software within the mathematics class, and working on further research on the topic of the study are also highly encouraged. Received: 23 September 2021 / Accepted: 16 November 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

Acquiring Problem-Solving Skills Through Coding Games in Primary School

Play is a spontaneous and free activity of the child and its role in learning processes has been recognized by pedagogical studies from Piaget onwards. Game-based learning places the pupil at the center of the teaching-learning process, creating a motivating and challenging environment in which the pupil can learn freely, proceeding by trial and error, learning to evaluate their choices and those of other players and monitor a number of variables. Game-based learning therefore stands as an individualized and inclusive learning environment, which allows all students to achieve maximum educational success. In more recent years, the spread of online games, the use of coding as a teaching tool, and distance learning experiences have contributed to spreading game-based didactics. In this chapter, the author proposes a path of coding games for the development of problem solving in primary school with interdisciplinary links and to the mathematics curriculum.

Images of Undergraduate Mathematics Curriculum: A Critical Self-Reflection

Higher education practices in Nepal have been playing an important role to train and develop pre-service school teachers. This paper critically reflects on the curricular and pedagogical practices of mathematics education based on the first author's experiences of learning at the undergraduate level from the perspective of mathematics curriculum images and pedagogical implications. Subscribing to autoethnography as a research methodology, we analysed the first author's experiences as an undergraduate student in one of the public campuses in Nepal which point to two major images of mathematics curriculum: curriculum as a prescription and curriculum as a cultural reproduction. Considering Habermasian Knowledge Constitutive Interest as a theoretical referent, the paper concludes that the transformation of curricular and pedagogical practices in teacher education is essential. The transformative practice in teacher education is insightful to improve pre-service and in-service school teachers' pedagogical and content knowledge in Nepal.

Exploration and Research on Integrating Programming Education into Junior Middle School Mathematics Classroom

We are in the era of big data, and it is particularly important to cultivate students’ data processing ability. Python is an important auxiliary tool for data analysis, and its syntax is concise and clear, which is suitable for junior high school students to start learning code language. Making full use of modern information technology and Innovating Curriculum form is the new requirement of “China education modernization 2035”. Integrating Python into junior high school mathematics classroom is not only the innovation of mathematics curriculum form, but also a good way to cultivate students’ thinking ability and programming thought. Based on the understanding of Python software and data processing plate in junior high school mathematics curriculum, this paper analyzes the promotion of students’ thinking ability by integrating Python into junior high school mathematics classroom, and explores the strategies of applying Python in teaching combined with cases.

A Rationale for the Junior-Senior Secondary Mathematics Curriculum 2.0

This paper proposes a rationale that supports a renewal of our predominantly 19th century curriculum for Grades 7–12, identified as Mathematics 1.0. It was originally established in the mid 1800s to prepare learners mostly from upper-class families to succeed in a post-industrial society. Today’s digital revolution has changed society remarkably, and the variety of learners has certainly broadened, but Mathematics 1.0 fundamentally remains the same Plato-based (Platonist) curriculum due to its social-political power, which is documented in the article. The major changes to society’s culture and the composition of learners have caused faults in Mathematics 1.0 (e.g., a relevance deficit). For the majority of learners, school mathematics has mostly become an obsolete, inequitable, and harmful rite-of-passage into adulthood, to varying degrees. A renewed curriculum, Mathematics 2.0, is rationalized and specific suggestions are offered. The minority of learners who successfully pursue mathematics to varying degrees would experience small changes in their new Mathematics 1.2. Keywords: school mathematics, humanistic, curriculum differentiation, relevance

Integrating Indigenous Knowledge and Culturally based Activities in South African Mathematics Classrooms

Culturally based activities embedded within indigenous knowledge, in general, may be used to support the teaching of mathematics in multicultural classes. The article reflects on research that has been conducted with twenty-five post-graduate students studying Mathematics Education at one university in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. These post-graduate students were also practicing mathematics teachers at schools. The study explored the use of indigenous knowledge and culturally based activities by post-graduate students in schools while teaching mathematical concepts. The theory of Realistic Mathematics Education framed this qualitative, interpretive study which used a questionnaire, lesson observations and semi-structured interviews to generate data. Qualitative data were analysed inductively and thematically. The findings reveal that the participants needed to understand indigenous knowledge to integrate culturally based activities in mathematics lessons. Secondly, culturally based activities established on indigenous knowledge scaffolded mathematics lessons and promoted the understanding of mathematical concepts to make learning more meaningful and relevant. Thirdly, this study provides examples of good practice to support teachers in integrating classroom activities and activities outside the classroom, ensuring that mathematical concepts learned in classrooms are not done in isolation but take into account learners’ authentic experiences in various settings. Finally, by integrating indigenous knowledge and culturally based activities in the mathematics curriculum, learners interacted and engaged more freely within the educational context. Similar studies could be conducted at universities internationally. Implications for mathematics teachers, mathematics teacher educators and mathematics curriculum developers globally are discussed.

Comparing school mathematics curriculum between Switzerland and Indonesia

Comparing a curriculum with the other more developed countries is essential for benchmarking the quality of education in the country. Switzerland deserves to be the object of comparison with the world's second-ranked Human Development Index. This article aims to compare the current curriculum in Indonesia, namely the 2013 curriculum, with the current curriculum in Switzerland, especially on school mathematics. The focus of the comparison lies in (1) school mathematics curriculum and (2) school mathematics content. This research is a qualitative research type of library research. We conducted a literature study, paid attention to the relevance of the literature, and analyzed it using data presentation, data reduction, and concluding. The results showed that with the education system in Switzerland, which emphasizes vocational education, the school mathematics curriculum places more emphasis on problem-solving. The contents are numbers, algebra, geometry, probability and statistics, changes and relationships, and problem-solving. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, the school mathematics curriculum is designed for every level of education with problem-based learning, project-based learning, and discovery learning models. School mathematics content includes numbers, algebra, geometry, relations and functions, statistics, and probability.

A Critical Evaluation of NCERT Mathematics Textbook of Senior Secondary Stage

The aim of the mathematics curriculum at the senior secondary stage is to provide students with an appreciation of the wide variety of the application of mathematics and equip them with the basic tools that enable such application. A careful choice between the often conflicting demands of depth versus breadth needs to be made at this stage. The rapid explosion of mathematics as a discipline, and of its range of application, favors an increase in the breadth of coverage. Such an increase must be dictated by mathematical considerations of the importance of topics to be included. Topics that are more naturally the province of other disciplines may be left out of the mathematics curriculum. The treatment of topics must have an objective, that is, the communication of mathematical insights and concepts, which naturally arouse the interest and curiosity of students.