EDEM 346

Task-based Mathematics Instruction

PRINCIPLES OF INSTRUCTION

1. Readiness of the students: The instruction should be appropriate their age, intellectual, social, and motor skills,
learning styles, and grade level. They should possess necessary prior knowledge to learn new subject matter.
2. Scope: Students should be given examples from their neighborhood that is, they should be familiar to given
examples. Then they should be given far examples that they are not so familiar with.
3. Known versus unknown: The teacher should make a review of what students have already known. Then she or
he should explain what they are going to learn.
4. Explicitness: The goal should be clear for students. They should understand what are doing and mentally
engaged in.
5. Concrete versus abstract: Students should be given concrete materials or examples first and then they should
be taught about abstract concepts.

FACTORS INFLUENCE TEACHERS’ CHOICE OF TEACHING STRATEGIES

1. Teacher competency: When teachers feel confident about using a type of teaching method or strategy then she
or he mostly uses that one. For instance, teachers may not prefer group work because they are anxious about
losing the control of the class. Sometimes teacher may prefer a specific teaching strategy because they believe
that that strategy is the best, other strategies are not effective.
2. Nature of the content: Teaching some subject matters by using a specific type of method or strategy is more
convenient than others. For instance, lecture is preferable in history but doing experiments in science is better.
3. Objectives of the lesson: Teachers should decide which teaching method or strategy is the best to achieve the
objectives of the lesson. If the goal is to teach definitions and rules then the teacher may prefer exposition
method and using definitions, examples, and rules techniques. But if the goal is to do some applications or
improve students’ higher order thinking skills then investigation method or problem solving and discussion
strategies could be used.
4. Cost: The cost of using a specific type of method or strategy or technique such as field trip, simulation or doing
experiments may be higher than other types like lecture, questioning and discussion.
5. Time: Some strategies take more time than the others. For instance, students need more time to complete an
investigation with respect to solving problems.
6. Physical conditions: Some of the teaching methods or strategies can be used even if the learning environment
is appropriate. For instance, teachers should be able to arrange the seats easily to use group work or the class
should be equipped with technology (computers, projector, etc.) to use technology.
7. Size of the class: Some methods or strategies such as lecture and questioning are more appropriate for crowded
classes but others such as group work, discussion can be more efficient when the class size is small.

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 A BRIEF REVIEW OF LEARNING THEORIES
I. Behavioral Theories
Classical Conditioning:

• Pavlov was the founder of the theory.

• The theory is based on Pavlov’s studies on the behaviors of animals.
• Pavlov defined learning as a stimulus-response relationship such that learning is an observable change in
behavior.
• He defined the process of how an unconditioned response to an unconditioned stimulus turns out to be a
conditioned response.
• An example: For any triangle having sides 3 units and 4 units the students write 5 units for the third side
even though the triangle is not a right triangle.
Modern Behaviorism:

• Watson was the founder of the theory.

Connectionism:

• Thorndike was the founder of the theory.

Operant Conditioning:

• Skinner was the founder of the theory.

• Skinner claimed that reinforcements and punishments are vital to increase or decrease the frequency of
the occurrence of a behavior.
• As opposed to classical conditioning, in operant conditioning, a learner operates on the environment and
receives a reward for certain behavior.
• An example: To say “good work!” or to give a sticker to a student when he or she solves a word problem
correctly would motivate him or her to study harder to get similar rewards from the teacher.
II. Social Cognitive Theories
• Bandura was the founder of the theory.
• It is based on the idea that people learn by watching what others do (modeling) and that human thought
processes are central to understanding personality.
• He identifies how self-regulation and self-efficacy beliefs influence learning.
• An example: A student observes his teacher’s problem-solving strategies of a certain type of problem and
tries to solve similar problems in that way.
III. Cognitive Theories
Gestalt Theories:

• Wertheimer, Koffka and Köhler were forerunners of the theory.

Information Processing Theory:

• Learning is a mental process.

• The major components of the information processing system are attention, perception, short term
memory (working memory) and long-term memory.

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 • At any time, we can see, hear, smell and taste something but we cannot attend to all of them at the same
time. Perception refers to attaching meaning to environmental inputs received through the senses.
• Once a stimulus is attended and perceived, the input is transferred to short term memory. Incoming
information is stored for a short time and worked on by being rehearsed or related to information
activated in long term memory.
• Knowledge representation on long term memory depends on frequency and contiguity. The more often an
idea is encountered, the stronger its representation on long term memory.
• Information in long term memory is represented as associative structures. Those are propositional
networks or interconnected sets of bits of information.
• An example: To teach circles, a teacher organizes the learning unit as a collection of sub-parts such as
properties of a circle, angles in a circle, area of a circle, etc. and spends enough time to cover each sub-
part. Thus, students would have opportunity to make necessary connections between circles and other
mathematical concepts as well as understand the relationships between the sub-parts clearly.
Multiple Intelligence Theory:

• Gardner is the founder of the theory.

• Gardner defines intelligence as the capacity to solve problems or to form products that are valued in one
or more cultural settings.
• Gardner defined 8 type of intelligence: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic,
interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic.
• Teachers should think about how they could address the needs of students having different types of
intelligence.
• An example: When dealing with fractions a teacher explains how music rhythm is related to fractions
(musical). He may give different quantities and share them equally (mathematical, spatial). Then, compare
each share and explain how to add fractions in terms of those shares (mathematical).
Constructivism:

• Piaget, Vygotsky and von Glasersfeld were forerunners of the theory.

• Learning is building new knowledge on existing knowledge by establishing meaningful connections
between them.
• The developmental and mental characteristics of a person and his/her prior knowledge about a new
situation have influence on the construction of new knowledge.
• A person is responsible for his own learning.
• Students are active learners and teachers are guide and facilitator.
• Teachers should give opportunities to students to explore ideas rather than tell them everything.
• The learning environments need to be student-centered. Knowledge should be constructed and
transferred instead of being memorized.
Piaget: Mental development of an individual is achieved through conceptualization of environment. Having
interactions with environment enables a person to construct and develop his mental schema to achieve a state of
equilibrium. Once the equilibrium is destroyed it is re-established either through assimilation or accommodation.
Assimilation refers to the process of taking in new information into previously existing schema whereas
accommodation involves changing or altering existing schemas in light of new information.

• An example: For any right triangle Pythagorean Theorem works (assimilation) however any triangle having
sides of two of the Pythagorean triples may not be a right triangle (accommodation).
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Vygotsky: Society and culture play a role in shaping one’s thinking and interpretation of world. Zone of proximal
development of a child and scaffolding have impact on a child’s learning. Zone of proximal development is the
range of tasks that are too difficult for the child to master alone but that can be learned with guidance and
assistance of adults or more-skilled children. Scaffolding is changing the level of support such that a more-skilled
person adjusts the amount of guidance to fit the child’s current performance.

• An example: When teaching problem solving strategies teachers may help students conceptualize problem
solving steps either by asking them leading questions or giving them some hints. For instance, teacher may
tell them to write out what is known and what is unknown separately.

STUDENT-CENTERED TEACHING STRATEGIES

Guided Discovery:

• It is based on Bruner’s ideas about learning.

• Teachers present a series of structured situations to the students and then students study these situations
to discover some concepts or find out a generalization.
• Discovery is a form of problem solving; it is not simply letting students do what they want.
• Students are actively involved in given task. The role of teachers is to be a facilitator or a guide during the
process.
• Teachers need to prepare appropriate learning environment for the discovery. They introduce all concepts
and materials related to the task before asking students to work on that task. After the introduction, they
may ask students to give examples and non-examples of the concepts that they have just mentioned. Then
students are expected to figure out the answer of the given task or come up with a generalization of an idea
based on their prior knowledge and interpretation of the discussion about the task (inductive reasoning).
• The level of students’ attention and motivation is high. It may improve students’ higher order thinking skills
such as problem-solving skills.
• Limitations: It is difficult to find tasks that are appropriate to students’ cognitive level, age, and motivation.
It may be time consuming. Teachers need to give right directions to the students and be able to motivate
them engage in the task. It may be difficult to use this method when a class is crowded or the disparity
between students’ cognitive level is high. It may be difficult to find appropriate materials that students would
work with.
• An example: To help students discover number pi, the teacher may ask students to measure the
circumference and diameter of various circular objects around them. Then ask them to figure out
relationship between those objects, their circumference, and diameters. (For lower grade levels, the teacher
may tell students to find out the proportion of the circumference to the diameter and then compare such
proportion of each object.
Investigation:

• It is based on Dewey’s theory of learning.

• Students are expected to think about and propose solutions to real life problems.
• Students apply problem solving steps: Recognize the problem, collect data relative to the problem, make
conjectures about the problem, list possible solutions to the problem, choose the best solution and
implement it, check the result for reasonableness.
• It is a student-centered method such that the role of the teacher is to be guide or moderator.

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 • It may facilitate development of higher order thinking skills, especially problem-solving abilities.
• It may use both inductive and deductive strategies.
• Limitations: It is difficult to find real life problems that are intriguing enough and appropriate to students’
cognitive level. It is time consuming. Student may need to work outside of the class. Therefore, teachers may
not control the student work during the process.
• An example: The teacher explains that the number of drinkable water reservoir all over the world is
decreasing. Many countries begin to allocate much more money to be spent on keeping the existing
reservoirs in safe. Then the teacher asks students to write about drinkable water problem in Istanbul and
then give suggestions about how to keep drinkable water reservoirs in safe. The teacher also asks students
to collect data about the number of water reservoirs in Istanbul, the amount of rain per year, change in
consumption of water in each year, etc. and then analyze the data to make conjectures and suggest possible
solutions to the problem.
Questioning:

• Teachers use questioning to increase students’ motivation and involvement. Thus, students become more
active in the class and they cognitively engage in lesson.
• Questioning is not only a way of teaching but also a tool for both assessing students’ understanding and
maintaining classroom management.
• Through questioning teachers should attempt to improve students’ critical and analytical thinking abilities
via “why?”, “how?”, “what if?”, …etc. kinds of questions rather than “Yes/No” type of questions.
• Limitations: It may be time consuming if the teacher asks lots of questions throughout the lesson or receive
too many wrong answers to the questions. It may be discouraging when a student gives incorrect answers
to the questions.
Problem Solving:
• Polya explained 4 stages of problem solving: 1) Understanding the problem, 2) Devising a plan, 3) Carrying
out the plan, and 4) Looking back. These stages are not only true for solving mathematical problems but also
developing solutions to any real-life problem.
• Students are actively involved in the process such that they have to think about what they already know
about the problem, what possible solutions might be, what the best solution is, whether the answer/ result
is reasonable or not, etc.
• It improves higher order thinking skills.
• The role of the teacher is a guide. S/he has to pose problems that students possess prior knowledge to
develop various solutions to the problems and that are related to what they are learning at that time.
• Note that problem solving does not mean solving mathematical word problems. Problem solving involves
solving word problems but it also refers solving any problem we may encounter in our lives.
Group Work:

• Dewey and Vygotsky were advocates of the model.

• A group of students work together to achieve a learning goal.
• Teachers may form heterogeneous groups or homogeneous groups. There are advantages and disadvantages
of two ways of grouping. For instance, because heterogeneous groups involve both high achievers and low
achievers, low achievers would have opportunity to learn from high achievers. On the other hand, low

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 achievers and middle-level achievers may not do anything because they expect high achievers would do all
the work.
• For an effective work the size of the group should not exceed 5 students. Some educators suggest having
one high achiever, two middle-level achievers, and one low achiever in a heterogeneous group.
• Students are encouraged to work collaboratively rather than competing with each other.
• Different teaching strategies could be applied: Collaborative work, discussion groups, etc.
• Not only cognitive abilities but also social abilities (communication, cooperation, and fidelity) are improved.
• Each group member has a responsibility in the process. Group members should accomplish their
responsibilities to obtain a desired outcome. Each of the members is responsible from the success or failure
at the end of the process.
• Limitations: It may not be applied in a crowded class. The characteristics of students, their motivation, etc.
may influence the effectiveness of cooperative learning. It may not be appropriate for all subject matters
and it may be difficult to find good tasks. Teachers should ensure that each group member contribute to the
work.
Games:
• Each student participates in the game either individually or as a group.
• Games may increase the motivation of students towards to the lesson.
• Teachers need to make sure that each student understands the rules of the game.
• Limitations: Teacher should choose appropriate games that are relevant to the objectives of the lesson.
Otherwise, it is waste of time and energy.
Teaching Station:

• Students work as a group in each teaching station and they move when they complete the assignments given
in each station.
• In each station there may be different but related activities. Each group may start the activity and complete
it or they may finish what the previous group has already done.
• It contributes to development of social and communication skills.
• Limitations: It may be difficult to control each work in a crowded class. It may not be applied in each subject
matter.
MATHEMATICAL THINKING SKILLS
Teaching mathematics is not only teaching mathematical rules, procedures or concepts but also promoting thinking
skills. As a mathematics teacher you are supposed to improve students’ mathematical thinking skills such as problem
solving, reasoning, communication, and connection. Below you are given a list of some indicators of such skills.

Some of the indicators of problem-solving skills are as follows:

• Identifying problematic situations

• Following problem solving steps (Polya’s 4 stages of problem solving)
• Developing relevant strategies to solve problems
• Using mathematical modeling for real life problems
• Interpreting the outcomes of the solution
• Making generalizations based on the solution of the specific problem, if applicable

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 Some of the indicators of reasoning skills are as follows:

• Identifying patterns and making generalizations

• Recognizing relationships given in the problem situation and making inferences about given situation
• Using inductive and deductive reasoning processes wisely
• Deriving logical consequences based on observations
• Justifying reasoning for his/her comments and inferences
• Questioning his/her own thoughts and inferences
• Applying appropriate type of proof to prove mathematical theorems

Some of the indicators of communication skills are as follows:

• Using different representations (symbolic, geometric, verbal, numeric) to express mathematical concepts,
facts, and theorems
• Relating math language with spoken language
• Recognizing that mathematics is a special language
• Using mathematical terminology and symbols appropriately
• Using appropriate representations to express mathematical thoughts

Some of the indicators of connection skills are as follows:

• Relating conceptual and procedural knowledge

• Representing mathematical concepts and facts in different ways
• Relating mathematical concepts with each other and real-life issues
• Making connections between major content areas (numbers, algebra, geometry, probability and statistics)
of math

TYPES OF REPRESENTATIONS
1. Geometric (graphic) representations
Using pictures, diagrams, and models to make abstract concepts more concrete. For example, to show how to
factor a trinomial, the given trinomial is thought to be the area of a rectangle then the length of its sides will give
the factors.

Although not organized like the previous example, this rectangle also represents the product of binomials - the
width of the rectangle is (x + 2), and the height is (x + 4).

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2. Numeric representations
Displaying data in an organized fashion, possibly as an ordered list or in a table. Tables are useful in presenting
information because they make patterns and relationships explicit. For example, the students may use table to
explore how the coefficients and the roots of a quadratic equations are related.

Equation a b c x1 x2 x1 + x 2 x1 . x2 x12 + x22 x13 + x23

𝑥 2 − 5𝑥 + 6 = 0
𝑥 2 + 3𝑥 + 2 = 0
a𝑥 2 + b𝑥 + c = 0

3. Analytic (algebraic & symbolic) representations

Using symbolic and algebraic notations for mathematical expressions or word problems. For example, a student
can represent “the sum of two numbers is 27” as 𝑥 + 𝑦 = 27

4. Verbal representations
Using explanations or mnemonics for mathematical facts, rules or procedures. For example, for order of operations
students may memorize PEMDAS such that the operations are done in the following order: Parentheses,
Exponents, Multiplication or Division, Addition or Subtraction.

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 EDEM 346
Problem-solving Strategies
 EDEM 346
INSTRUCTIONAL TASKS
There are various definitions of tasks in the literature. Some scholars view tasks as
problems while others think that tasks entails use of different resources and collaborative work.

Some criteria for preparing instructional tasks:

• Goal
• Duration
• Organization of the classroom
• Materials
• Role of the teacher and the students
• Prior knowledge of the students
• Assessment
• Flexibility

Classification of tasks in terms of their goals:

➢ To introduce a new concept

➢ To reinforce comprehension of a concept
➢ To assess understanding of a concept
➢ To support cognitive levels
➢ To support thinking skills

❖ Doyle (1983) also discussed four general types of tasks found in academic learning, based
on the cognitive operations they involve. These are:

• Memory tasks: Recite multiplication tables, recall formulas, facts, etc.

• Procedural or routine tasks: Application of a standardized formula or standard route
such as when doing divisions or expressions in mathematics.
• Comprehension or understanding tasks: Recognition of transformed versions of
information, application of correct procedures to problems, drawing of inferences,
making predictions.
• Opinion tasks: Stating preference, discovering patterns.

❖ Stein and colleagues (Stein et al., 2000) classified mathematical tasks in terms of their
cognitive demands as follows:
➢ Lower-level demands
• Memorization tasks
• Procedures without connection tasks
 ➢ Higher-level demands
• Procedures with connection tasks
• Doing mathematics

Reference 1: Doyle, W. (1983). Academic work. Review of Educational Research, 53, 159-199.

Reference 2: Stein, M. K., Smith, M. S., Henningsen, M. A., & Silver, E. A. (2000). Implementing standards-
based mathematics instruction. Reston, VA. NCTM.

Reading Text:

Reference: Swan, M. (2007). The impact of task-based professional development on teachers’ practices and
beliefs: A design research. Journal of Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 10, 217-237.

❖ Swan (2007) defined 5 types of tasks for concept development: