To improve the teaching of mathematics in our schools, Ghana needs transformative mathematics teachers who can continuously reinvent themselves in relevant and purposeful ways to help achieve the expected educational goals.
Effective mathematics teachers make sound judgments in selecting particular teaching methods to improve instruction. They also think regularly, thoroughly and systematically about their teaching ‒ they practise reflective teaching. As these teachers systematically reflect on their teaching, they develop strategies that are informed by their experiences in the classroom.
Reflective teaching, therefore, is a form of mathematics teachers’ professional development. It is a process of collecting, recording and analysing their thoughts and observations and making relevant changes, if need be. It is a process of self-observation and self-evaluation that enables mathematics teachers to explore and identify effective teaching methods to improve on their teaching.
Reflective teaching, which somewhat informs decision making, is a continual process of growth and does not happen overnight. Nonetheless, a craving for its mastery appeals very well to mathematics teachers who are creative and innovative in their choices of instructional methods.
Reflective teaching is necessary for every mathematics teacher because mathematics classrooms are heavily populated with children with varied learning styles and abilities. Some of these children are fast learners, while others are slow learners. Some children want to be heard in classroom discussions, while others want to go unnoticed. In an effort to understand concepts or procedures, some portray their emotions in very unassuming ways, while others are unaffected by such tendencies. To accommodate all these groups of children in the classroom, mathematics teachers should exhibit reflective attitude in their teaching.
Reflective mathematics teachers identify weaknesses in their teaching and improve upon them. They also identify strengths that help them affirm their choices in selecting particular teaching methods. They examine the changes that occur, analyse why these changes occur and evaluate how these changes operate in the mathematics classrooms.
To assist all children, mathematics teachers should continually assess and take stock of their teaching methods to ensure that they provide all children with the best instruction they need. If teachers do not spend much time to take stock of what occurs in their classrooms, they could jump to erroneous conclusions.
Mathematics teachers could begin the reflection process in response to a particular problem that arises from their classrooms, or as a way of finding out more about the effectiveness of their teaching. They could decide to focus on a particular group of children or to explore an aspect of their teaching.
To this end, mathematics teachers could invite colleagues to their lessons to gather information about their lessons. This could be in the form of a simple classroom observation, but should relate to the area they intend to reflect on. Through observation, mathematics teachers may notice things that they previously were unaware of, and may be surprised by some of their children’s feedback. For example, they could ask their colleagues to focus on children who do not often contribute in their lessons and later reflect on these children’s idiosyncrasies that may be present during discussions.
Again, mathematics teachers could videotape or audio-record their lessons to serve as useful information for their reflections. Through this process, teachers could have the opportunity to critically examine their own mannerisms in the classrooms and improve upon them, if there are any lapses.
One sure way for mathematics teachers to realise the benefits of reflection is to keep diaries. After each lesson, mathematics teachers could describe what happened in their diaries, alongside their own reactions and feelings and those of their children and later reflect on them.
Mathematics teachers should think of reflective teaching as a cyclical process. Once they begin to identify any “rough edges” and make the necessary changes, the reflective and evaluative process should continue.
The writer is a lecturer at the Department of Mathematics Education,
University of Education, Winneba,
P.O.Box 25, Winneba.
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