I teach statistics to graduate students. Most of them are "scared" of mathematics and have, in a sense, "given up". before they begin the course. My hypothesis (very speculative, to be sure!) is that many statisticians and other mathematicians - not unlike some IT experts - are hopeless teachers. In short, they often lack the ability to convey complex ideas in a simple, easy-to-understand pedagogy.
Hi Paul, I'm currently researching this question. The phenomena that you describe, "scared", "given up" is common and I believe that poor pedagogy is only part of the answer. Schools do not create cultures of success or love of learning, they create cultures that avoid failure and promote competition. Based on what I am finding, if I were to jump to a conclusion, I would say that math is hard to learn in school because we make it hard to learn. What I'm currently working on is to make that case very clearly and propose some suggestions. The ground work has already laid by socio-cultural researchers who suggest that math learning needs to be situated in practices.
I'm reading works by Jean Lave, Barbara Rogoff, Michael Cole and others who use Vygotsky's theories of social learning to explain mathematics learning as socio-cultural practice.
I hope this is of use.
Hei Jim
Many thanks for your astute and helpful reply. Please keep me up-to-date with your very important research. Vygotsky is surely relevant here because he advocates, rather like Piaget, that learning tasks (e.g. mastering quadratic equations in high school) should be moderately difficult but nevertheless "within reach".
Forgive the detour, but I have read both Piaget and Vygotsky, and have concluded - despite erroneous claims that they are "pedagogic rivals" - that both encourage students to venture outside, with necessary pedagogic support, the learning comfort zone. Moreover, I have come across two remarks by Piaget about Vygotsky, both of which are complimentary.
But back to MATHEMATICS TEACHING! Best wishes and please let us keep the conversation going. Paul
Maths is not actually hard the way the students view it. The phobia is there from the on-set. I think mode/method of teaching is important.
The teaching methodology in general is boring as too much cramming is prevalent in schools. Good teaching and demonstrations are needed in classes.
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