MATHEMATICS TEACHING ACROSS MULTICULTURAL CONTEXT
A. Introduction
Children's ability to learn mathematics in Indonesia is still very low compared to other countries like Japan. It is of great concern, but we all know that mathematics plays an important role in the development of science and technology especially in the current era of globalization. Therefore there is need for a serious and profound to the existing human resources can have good quality in the global competition.
Implementation of teaching mathematics in a timely and appropriate expected to assist in the increase in the quality of existing resources. In the schools as we know, has done a lot of learning mathematics well is improving the quality of learners, learning math easy and fun needs to be developed. A variety of concepts, methods, and strategies must be developed so that the creation of learning especially in the field of mathematics that had been considered the student is not fun to be fun and there needs to be creative teachers. Teachers can take advantage of a method of learning mathematics that developed outside the classroom if they can help create an enjoyable learning math. Methods and learning strategies that have been implemented in Indonesia are so many, but not optimal in its implementation. So that teachers are still confused to implement good learning method for the participant students.
The goal is create of learning mathematics reasoning abilities in students, as reflected by the ability of critical thinking, logical, systematic, and have an objective nature, honest, disciplined, in solving a problem both in the field of mathematics and other areas of everyday life. How about mathematics teaching in other countries? Below I will present some of the learning of mathematics at the State couple that I took from some papers in the APEC-Ubon Ratchathani International Symposium 2011: Innovation Based on Problem Solving Mathematics Textbooks and E-textbooks Ubon Ratchathani, 2-5 November 2011, Thailand
B. Mathematics Teaching in Indonesia
We know that many teachers in Indonesia develop many methods to explore and make students like and change their mind about difficulties mathematics. One of them is problem solving method. Researchers Dr Marsigit M.A and R. Rosnawati, M.Si. try to simulate the violence of Textbooks-based Problem Solving in Vocational Senior High School Mathematics.
Small group discussions were useful to share ideas on problem solving activities. To promote problem solving activities the teachers need to en-culture their efforts in innovating teaching learning processes which meet to academic students needs, encouraging students to be active learners, developing various strategic of teaching, developing various teaching materials, and developing teaching evaluation.
Meanwhile, Polya (1957) outlined the steps of problem solving activities as follows: (1) Understand the problem, (2) Devising a plan, (3) Carrying out the plan, and (4) Looking back. He suggested that the students should have to understand the problem, to identify the unknown, to collect the data, to understand the condition. The students also need to know whether it is possible to satisfy the condition; whether the condition is sufficient to determine the unknown; whether it is insufficient or redundant, even may be contradictory. In devising the plan, the students need to find the connection between the data and the unknown. They may be obliged to consider auxiliary problems if an immediate connection cannot be found. They should develop a plan of the solution. When the students carrying out the plan of the solution, the teachers may check each step as well as examine the solution obtained.
1. Teachers’ Perception on Good Textbook for Vocational Senior High School Mathematics
In relation with the supported textbook for problem solving approach, teachers’ perceptions consist of 12 (twelve) aspects as the following:
a. It should motivate the students to learn mathematics
b. It should develop students’ oriented teaching learning of mathematics
c. It should support of achieving learning objective
d. It should employ flexible teaching learning method
e. It should facilitate students’ need to learn mathematics
f. It should facilitate the students to do exercise mathematics
g. It should dealing with the students’ difficulties in learning mathematics
h. It should consist of summary
i. It should as a communicative writing
j. It should develop the cognitive schema of learning mathematics
k. It should be as a students’ learning oriented
l. It encourage the students to solve mathematics problems
2. Teacher’s Perception on the Strategies of Problem Soling that can be developed in the Textbook for Vocational Senior High School Mathematics
In relation with the strategies of problem solving that can be developed in the textbook, teachers’ perceptions consist of 10 aspects, as they were outlined by Polya: (a)Trial and Error, (b) Making diagram, (c) Trying the simple problem, (d) Making Table, (e) Finding the pattern, (f) Breaking down the goal, (g) Considering the possibilities, (h) Thinking Logically ,(i) Reversing the Order, and (j) Identifying the impossibility.
The procedure for the simulation consists of the steps as follows:
a. Whole class Lecturing
In the whole-class lecturing, the researcher presented the theories of teaching learning process, developing curriculum and syllabi, developing teaching learning recourses, developing problem solving activities, and developing textbook. The presentation was supported by reviewing the models of teaching learning mathematics and plying some related videos. It was followed by question and answer activities.
b. Reviewing the Developed Text Books
The teachers got mathematics textbooks to be reviewed. The books were authorized by Dr Marsigit M.A., and they were published by Yudhistira Publication, 2008.
c. Small-Group Discussion
In small group the teachers conducted the reviewing activities and discussed among the members of the group.
d. Teachers’ Presentation
Some teachers presented their results of review and discussion in front of the class. They show and explain the models of problem solving activities and supported part of the books. It then followed by question and answer activities.
e. Whole class Discussion
The researcher led the whole class discussion to get their conclusions or summaries. 7
f. Teachers’ Filling in the Questionnaire
The questionnaires needed to be filled by the teachers consisted of teachers’ perception of the criteria of good textbooks and suggested problem solving activities.
g. Teachers’ Reflection
The teachers reflected their results of the review and wrote them following the criteria of the strategies of problem solving outlined by Polya (1957)
C. Mathematics Teaching in Vietnam
In Vietnam creating students’ ability of reading and understanding of statistical information is a task that every mathematics educator need to develop to help them become educated citizens, applying what they learn at school to adapt and wisely solve the practical problems in their life. That is the goal which Vietnamese students are trying to achieve through a program of evaluation of international students on PISA 2012 (Tran Vui, 2008; OECD, 2003), these are the opportunities and challenges for Vietnamese education within the context of integration and globalization. Reading and understanding of statistical information is defined as the ability to identify, explain and make his judgments and conclusions of the articles relating to statistical information. Reading and understanding of statistical tables and charts is the ability of each individual to identify, explain and make their judgments and conclusions of the tables, charts presenting statistical data.
Statistical information is presented in many different forms which can be seen as statistical texts, tables or charts, charts. The ability of reading and understanding of statistical information is presented in different forms based on three criteria:
1. Being aware of and understanding statistical information;
2. Explaining and reasoning from the statistical information including trends, causal relation;
3. Applying and participating in the fields of socio-economic activities.
Developing the ability of statistical reasoning for high school students is to train citizens know how to apply statistical. Thus, to practice ability of statistical reasoning for high school students we need to rely on their own ability:
a. Reading, explaining and drawing conclusions from mathematical model represented
statistical information such as formulas, tables, diagrams.
b. Modeling information through statistical formulas, tables and plots.
c. Estimating and checking answers for problems of real life arise related statistically to determine validity and identify more cases, then choosing the most sensible and optimal way.
d. Using the mathematical and statistical methods to solve all the problems related statistically and can see their limitations in real life.
e. Applying gained knowledge to real life. They can use statistical knowledge, the mathematical models as well as statistics to analyse, explain and complete the statistical problems. (Hoang Nam Hai, 2010a)
D. Mathematics Teaching in Thailand
In Thailand one of ultimate goal of learning mathematics is that teachers could prepare students to function confidently in real-world situations. Mathematical modeling is a form of real-world problem solving.
The process of mathematical modeling consists of four main stages:
1. Observing a phenomenon, delineating the problem situation inherent in the phenomenon, and discerning the important factors (variables/parameters) that affect the problem
2. Conjecturing the relationships among factors and interpreting them mathematically to obtain a model for the phenomenon
3. Applying appropriate mathematical analysis to the model
4. Obtaining results and reinterpreting them in the context of the phenomenon under study and drawing conclusions (Frank Swetz & J.S. Hartzler. (1991). This process could be repeated until mathematical model is appropriate to make prediction and conclusion about observed real world situations.
According to The Development of Hands-on and E-Activities for Learning Mathematical Models, All hands-on activities could be applied to motivate students to solve the problems they encounter using techniques in mathematical modeling. The strategies and skills learned in modeling activities are easily transferable to new situations. And moreover; Mathematical Model Activities would be developed in E-Activities form to support word wide learning about mathematical models. Performing of mathematical modeling could be accessed everywhere every time through E-Activities.
E. Mathematics Teaching in Japan
A tablet-based tool needs to have certain characteristics if it is to help teachers collect useful data and use that data as the basis of a productive post-lesson discussion. First, it should help teachers focus on the most important data, such as the quality of student work, the interaction between the classroom teacher and students, and the time spent on each lesson segment. Second, it should emphasize collection of factual information—through time stamps, audio recording, and photographs (e.g. of student work)—while allowing the user to record his or her thoughts and other subjective information. Third, it needs to be maximally flexible about the data to be collected, so that users are never prevented from recording something they judge as important. Fourth, it should enable users to organize their data and report it in different ways, just as experienced lesson study practitioners do after a lesson observation. And finally, it should allow the exchange of data with other users who observe the same lesson, to enable less-experienced observers to see the data collected by their more-experienced colleagues.
F. Conclusion
Every country has different point of view on Mathematics teaching. We know that there isn’t exactly correct method in teaching-learning process. Everyone can make own point of view to teaching but we still use it based on the goal at the end.
Student learn mathematics to explore their capability and ability in order to they can compete in science and technology that always develop for now, moreover on this globalization era. If they can do mathematics, they can be a critical and logical person because of mathematics learning. So in here mathematics teaching needs the teacher that can simulate their mind to explore it. Indonesia and Japan have different method, Japan as we know that they are developed country use sophisticated aim to develop mathematics teaching with tablet-based application, whereas in developing country like Indonesia use text books that collaborated with the other method like discussion and reflection.
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