CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF MATH EDUCATION

"Mathematics is a skills subject. It is all about quantities, shapes and figures, functions,
logic, and reasoning. Mathematics is also a tool of science and a language complete with its
own notations and symbols and grammar rules with which concepts and ideas are effectively
expressed" (DepEd Mathematics Curriculum Guide, August 2016).
The mathematics curriculum framework of the Philippines put critical thinking and
problem-solving skills as the goals of learning and teaching mathematics. The figure below
presents the framework of the mathematics curriculum in the Philippines.

K to 12 BASIC EDUCATION CURRICULUM

Critical thinking and problem-solving are the goals across the levels in each topic of the
mathematics contents. The important principles in teaching and learning mathematics (such as
reflective learning, active and student-centered teaching/learning, communications allowing the
learners to articulate their understanding or express their thoughts and making connections) are
important that prior learning/attaining prerequisite skills is always considered. Moreover,
mathematics in the context of real-life situations is always the main consideration in designing
mathematics activities.
Mathematics education in the Philippines contains five general contents: Numbers and
Number Sense, Measurement, Geometry, Patterns and Algebra, and Statistics and Probability.
These general contents are the same across levels, from Kinder to Grade 10.
1. Numbers and Number Sense – concepts of numbers, properties, operations, estimation,
and their applications
2. Measurement – the use of numbers and measures to describe, understand, and
compare mathematical and concrete objects; attributes such as length, mass and
weight, capacity, time, money, and temperature, as well as applications involving
perimeter, area, surface area, volume, and angle measure
3. Geometry – properties of two- and three-dimensional figures and their relationships,
spatial visualization, reasoning, and geometric modeling and proofs
4. Patterns and Algebra as a strand studies patterns, relationships, and changes among
shapes and quantities; use of algebraic notations and symbols, equations, and most
importantly, functions, to represent and analyze relationships

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 5. Statistics and Probability as a strand is all about developing skills in collecting and
organizing data using charts, tables, and graphs; understanding, analyzing, and
interpreting data; dealing with uncertainty; and making predictions about outcomes
Notice that there is a spiraling progression design in the curriculum standards. Spiral
progression ensures seamless integration of content standards. Each content and topic is a
piece of the overall curricular landscape. Hence, learning each mathematics content is
fundamental because each is related to the previous content and a prerequisite to the next
higher one. Moreover, a misconception of concept and skills means a gap or discord in the
whole mathematics curriculum.
The mathematics curriculum is not simply a list of competencies. It is logically arranged
and organized. Content standards, performance standards, and learning competencies are
explicitly stated to guide teachers in developing their lessons. The content standards are broad
descriptions of what the students should learn. The performance standards outline what the
students should be able to do once the concepts and skills are taught. The learning
competencies are logically-arranged objectives that must be aimed in classroom instruction for
the students to achieve the required content and performance standards.
The Philippines' mathematics curriculum framework put critical thinking and problem-
solving skills as the goals in learning and teaching mathematics. This is the goal across levels in
each topic of mathematics contents. The important principles in teaching and learning
mathematics such as reflective learning; active and student- centered teaching/learning;
communications allowing the learners to articulate their understanding or express their thoughts;
making connections is so important that prior learning/prerequisite skills are always considered;
and mathematics in the context of real-life situations should be the main consideration in
designing mathematics activities.

CONSTRUCTIVISM IN MATHEMATICS TEACHING

DepEd (2016) specifically noted constructivist theory as the backbone of the curriculum.
The constructivist learning theory states that learning is an active process of creating meaning
from different experiences. In other words, students learn best by trying to make sense of
something on their own with the teacher as a guide. DepEd (2016) specifically noted
constructivist theory as the backbone of the curriculum. According to DepEd, knowledge is
constructed when the learner is able to draw ideas from his/her own experiences and connect
them to new ideas.
Constructivism was conceptualized by educational theorist Jean Piaget. Do you
remember him from your psychology classes? Piaget believed that young children learn by
constructing knowledge from experiences rather than from adults telling them about the world.
According to Piaget and others who practice constructivist education, the method that is the
most likely to educate the students is the one in which they experience their world.
Constructivism is appropriately applied in teaching mathematics since math is a cumulative and
vertically structured discipline. One learns new math by building on the math that has been
previously learned.
Brooks & Brooks (1993) listed the following characteristics of constructivist teaching.
1. Constructivist teachers invite student questions and ideas.
2. Constructivist teachers accept and encourage students' invented ideas.
3. Constructivist teachers encourage student's leadership, cooperation, seeking
information, and the presentation of the ideas.
4. Constructivist teachers modify their instructional strategies in the process of teaching
based upon students; thought, experience and or interests.
5. Constructivist teachers use printed materials as well as experts to get more information.

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 6. Constructivist teachers encourage free discussions by way of new ideas inviting student
questions and answers.
7. Constructivist teachers encourage or invite students’ predictions of the causes and
effects in relation to particular cases and events.
8. Constructivist teachers help students to test their own ideas.
9. Constructivist teachers invite students' ideas before the student is presented with the
ideas and instructional materials.
10. Constructivist teachers encourage students to challenge the concepts and ideas of
others.
11. Constructivist teachers use cooperative teaching strategies through student interactions
and respect, sharing ideas, and learning tasks.
12. Constructivist teachers encourage students to respect and use other people's ideas.

Constructivist learning is described as follows:

• Learning builds on the learner’s prior knowledge and the approach is a constructive
process.

• Learner involves in the processes to ensure self-regulated and self-directed process.

• Learning is grounded in the context of the learners and fundamentally social process.
Interaction and communication are open and basic elements of learning process.

• Learning is more than the acquisition of knowledge. It is collaborative, involves

interaction and enculturation with community of practitioners. Collaboration with experts
is basic.

• The learning processes do not only require cognitive but also motivational and emotional
domains.
So how is a constructivist classroom different from a traditional classroom? In the
constructivist classroom, the focus shifts from the teacher to the students. The classroom is no
longer a place where the students are seen as empty vessels to be filled by the teacher. In a
constructivist classroom, the students are actively involved in their own learning. The teacher
functions as a facilitator who guides, prompts, and helps students to develop and assess their
own understanding.
In a constructivist mathematics class, knowledge is constructed by the learners. To
teach is not to explain, not to lecture, not to transfer mathematical language; instead, teaching is
to create situations that allow the learners to form the mental construction. The following are
some recommendations on how to apply constructivism in teaching mathematics:

• pose problems that is relevant to the learners;

• use big concepts than segmented or disjoint topics. It invites the learners to participate
irrespective of learning styles and dispositions;

• create situations that will reveal the learner’s point of view. The teacher must create
opportunities for this to occur and must be willing to listen to the learner’s reasoning and
thinking processes; and,

• use authentic assessments, which includes interaction between the teacher and learner
and learner and peer.
The constructivist learning theory states that learning takes place when we build on what
the students already know. Moreover, it is student-centered, allowing the students to take
ownership of their own learning.

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 EDGAR DALE’S CONE OF EXPERIENCE
Dale’s Cone of Experience is a visual model that is composed of eleven (11) stages
starting from concrete experiences at the bottom of the cone then it becomes more and more
abstract as it reach the peak of the cone. Also, according to Dale, the arrangement in the cone
is not based on its difficulty but rather based on abstraction and on the number of senses
involved. The experiences in each stage can be mixed and are interrelated that fosters more
meaningful learning.

According to one of the principles in the selection and use of teaching strategies, the
more senses that are involved in learning, the more and the better the learning will be but it
does not mean that concrete experience is the only effective experience that educators should
use in transferring knowledge to the learner. Like what was mentioned above, the experiences
in each stage can be mixed and are interrelated thus, a balance must be achieved between
concrete and abstract experiences in order to cater the and address all the need of the learner
in all the domains of development and in order to help each learner in their holistic development.
Moreover, the generalization about the Cone of Experience that was presented above is
not enough. Actually, we should try to go deeper in each of the component of the cone since
Educational Technology basically revolves around the Cone of Experience. By going one-by-
one, starting from concrete to abstract, we will understand more the different components of the
cone that will help us in grasping the real meaning of educational technology.
To expand on each of the components, let us begin with the Direct Purposeful
Experiences. These are firsthand experiences which serve as the foundation of learning. In this
level, more senses are used in order to build up the knowledge. Also, in this level, the learner
learned by doing things by him/herself. Learning happens through actual hands-on experiences.
This level explains and proves one of the principles in the selection and use of teaching
strategies, the more senses that are involved in learning, the more and the better the learning
will be. This level also proves that educational technology is not limited to the modern gadgets
and software that are commercially available nowadays. This shows that even the simple
opportunity that you give to each child could help them learn.

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 The next level would be the Contrived Experiences. In this level, representative models
and mock-ups of reality are being used in order to provide an experience that as close as
reality. This level is very practical and it makes learning experience more accessible to the
learner. In this stage, it provides more concrete experiences, even if not as concrete as direct
experiences, that allows visualization that fosters better understanding of the concept.
On the other hand, the next level would be the Dramatized experiences. In this level,
learners can participate in a reconstructed experiences that could give them better
understanding of the event or of a concept. Through dramatized experiences, learners become
more familiar with the concept as they emerge themselves to the “as-if” situation.
The next level would be the Demonstrations. It is a visualize explanation of important
fact, idea, or process through the use of pictures, drawings, film and other types of media in
order to facilitate clear and effective learning. In this level, things are shown based on how they
are done.
Another level would be the Study Trips. This level extends the learning experience
through excursions and visits on the different places that are not available inside the classroom.
Through this level, the learning experience will not be limited to the classroom setting but rather
extended in a more complex environment.
The level of study trips is followed by exhibits. It is a somewhat a combination of some of
the first levels in the cone. Actually, exhibits are combination of several mock-ups and models.
Most of the time, exhibits are experiences that is “for your eyes” only but some exhibits include
sensory experiences which could be related to direct purposeful experiences. In this level,
meanings ideas are presented to the learners in a more abstract manner. This experience
allows student to see the meaning and relevance of things based on the different pictures and
representations presented.
The next levels would be the level of television and motion pictures and still pictures,
recordings, and Radio. These two stages are related to one another. Because of the rapid
development of the modern technology, a lot of people believe that Educational technology is
limited to these stages. They are not aware that these sages are only a small portion of EdTech.
For television and motion pictures, it implies values and messages through television and films.
On the other hand, still pictures, recordings and radio are visual and auditory devices that can
be used by a learner/group of learners that could enhance and extend learning experience.
The last two levels are the Visual symbolic and Verbal symbolic. These are used hand-
in-hand and are the most complex and abstract among all the components of the Cone of
Experience. In the visual symbolic level, charts, maps, graphs, and diagrams are used for
abstract representations. On the other hand, the verbal symbolic level does not involve visual
representation or clues to their meanings. Mostly, the things involved in this level are words,
ideas, principles, formula, and the likes.
After going through the different components of the Cone of Experience, it could be said
that in facilitating learning, we can use variety of materials and medium in order to maximize the
learning experience. One medium is not enough thus if we can take advantage of the other
media. There’s nothing wrong with trying to combine several medium for as long as it could
benefit the learners. Also, through the levels provided by the Cone of Experience, it could be
said that concrete experiences must be provided first in order to support abstract learning.
Lastly, staying on the concrete experiences is not even ideal because through providing
abstract experiences to the learner, the more he/she will develop his/her higher order thinking
skills which is important for more complex way of thinking and for dealing with more complex life
situations. Through understanding each component of the Cone of Experience, it could be said
that Educational Technology is not limited to the modern gadgets that we have right now but
rather it is a broad concept that includes all the media that we can use to attain balance as we
facilitate effective and meaningful learning.

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 To understand more the Cone of Experience, you may refer to this picture:

COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRUCTURES (CLS)

Cooperative Learning is a great strategy to use in every classroom. It doesn’t matter the
age or ability of the students, cooperative learning can be used. Cooperative learning gives
students a way to learn and use communication skills. It allows more students to talk and
engage in the subject at once, rather than the traditional one student answers the teacher’s
question.
Cooperative Learning Structures are content free strategies for students to engage and
discuss in the classroom. These structures can be used in any subject matter and any lesson
you are doing.
Here are the top 10 structures that may be used in the classroom. At first, you may need
to plan to do these in your lessons. Eventually, you will use these all the time without even
thinking about it. It will enhance your teaching and enhance the engagement of your students.
1. Numbered Heads Together
In the group, a heads together is everyone in the group talking and discussing.
This is usually used to have students discuss a problem or discuss something you are
talking about in the class. Give the students a set amount of time or just see how much
time they need if they are continuing to have good conversation. When time is up, use a
quiet signal to get their attention back. Then, call a number. Each student in the group is
numbered from 1 to 4 (sometimes 5). You may use a spinner to pick the number and ask
all number 2’s to stand up. Ask them what they discussed in their group to share with the
whole class. This is a super easy structure to master. It is simple and the students can
discuss for a short amount of time or even a long amount of time.
2. Round Robin
This is a great structure to use if each student has answered a question
independently like on a worksheet or paper. This structure has each group member
stand and share with the group, when they are done they will sit and the next student will

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 stand up and talk. When everyone has shared, tell them to just have a heads together to
discuss until all the groups are done. You will know when all the groups are done
because no student will be standing.
Another way to do this is to time each rotation. You may put 1 minute on the
timer for number 1, when it is over, reset the timer and number 2 will stand and share.
3. Think Pair Share (Partners)
This is a great structure if you want students to share or discuss with one other
student. For this structure, you may ask a question and tell each student to think about it.
Next, tell them to turn to their partner and share what they are thinking. It is important to
give think time so students are prepared to share.
Also, you can have shoulder partners and face partners. Shoulder partners are
who the students are sitting beside. Face partners are who the students are sitting in
front of. It is good to switch up who the students share to every so often.
4. Timed Pair Share
This is very similar to Think Pair Share, but set a timer for how long the students
have to discuss. So, give students a chance to think. Then, tell them they will need to
share with a partner for a set amount of time, like 2 minutes. Also, you can tell the first
partner they have a minute to discuss. After the minute timer goes off, the next partner
will get a minute to share.
5. Corners
This is a great structure to use for review or opinion type questions. You can use
the four corners of your classroom or even 2 or 3. You will give an option for each corner
of your room. Then you will have students move to that corner for their answer. For
example, you could do an A, B, C, D type question and each corner is one of the
answers.
This structure may be used for opinion type questions. For example, you are
discussing characters in a book they are reading. Assign each corner a character in a
book and ask students to go to the corner of their favorite character. When students do
this, have them discuss what they like about the character in the corner and later share
with the class.
6. Jigsaw
This is a great structure to use for a group project or class research. It can be
used to read sections of a text. Each student in a group will be assigned a different topic.
All numbers 1’s in the class will have the same topic. They will meet together to discuss
their topic. Then return to their original group to discuss what they learned.
For example, while learning about plant structures in science, all number 1’s
meet to discuss roots, all number 2’s meet to discuss leaves, all number 3’s meet to
discuss stems, and all number 4’s meet to discuss petals. In these groups, students will
read the text and discuss why their structure is so important to the plant. When they are
done discussing, students should go back to their original group. Then, do a Timed
Round Robin to have the students share what they learned to the group. You may even
have a couple students share to the class.
7. Rally Coach
This is a great structure to use in math. Students will work in partners and one
student will be the “coach” while the other student does the math problem and then they
will switch. Basically, one student will do a problem and the other student will tell them
what to do or evaluate how they did it. Then, they will switch and the other student will
coach while the other student completes the problem.

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 8. Stand Up, Hand Up, Pair Up
This is similar to partners, but allows the students to get up and find a partner in
the room besides their shoulder or face partner. This structure requires students to stand
up out of their seat, walk around the classroom for a specific amount of time with their
hand up, then on a signal find the closest student to High 5 and that is their partner to
discuss.
9. Round Table
This structure can be used for group writing or brainstorming. Basically, students
pass around a paper and everyone writes on it. It is usually used with a time limit so
each student has the same amount of writing time. So, number 1 will write and pass to
number 2, and so on. You could also have each student write on a piece of paper and
keep passing the papers around the group until everyone gets every paper.
10. Cooperative Graffiti
This structure can also be used for brainstorming or review. Basically, you will
put a big piece of paper in the middle of the group. You will give a certain amount of time
and have every student write on the paper, either what they remember about the skill or
even to brainstorm for a new topic. After the writing time, give students time to read what
everyone wrote and organize ideas. After organizing ideas, you can call on a number to
share to the whole class.

REFLECTIVE TEACHING
When instructors engage in reflective teaching, they are dedicating time to evaluate their
own teaching practice, examine their curricular choices, consider student feedback, and make
revisions to improve student belonging and learning. This process requires information
gathering, data interpretation, and planning for the future. Reflective teaching involves
examining one’s underlying beliefs about teaching and learning and one’s alignment with actual
classroom practice before, during and after a course is taught.
When teaching reflectively, instructors think critically about their teaching and look for
evidence of effective teaching. This critical analysis can draw on a variety of sources: Brookfield
(2017) lays out four crucial sources: “students’ eyes, colleagues’ perceptions, personal
experience, and theory and research.” Instructors can use various tools and methods to learn
from these sources and reflect on their teaching, ranging from low-key to formal and personal to
inter-collegial. For example, reflective teaching may include self-assessment, classroom
observations, consideration of student evaluations, or exploration of educational research.
Because each semester’s students and their needs are different, reflective teaching is a
continual practice that supports effective and student-centered teaching.

Examples of Self-Assessment
1. Reflection Journals: Instructors might consider capturing a few details of their teaching in
a journal to create an ongoing narrative of their teaching across terms and years.
Scheduling a dedicated time during the 5 or so minutes after class to write their entries will
ensure continual engagement, rather than hoping to find a moment throughout the day. The
instructor writes general thoughts about the day’s lesson and might reflect on the following
questions: What went well today? What could I have done differently? How will I modify my
instruction in the future?
2. Teaching Inventories: A number of inventories, like the Teaching Practices Inventory
(Wieman and Gilbert, 2014), have been developed to help instructors assess and think
more broadly about their teaching approaches. Inventories are typically designed to assess
the extent to which particular pedagogies are employed (e.g. student- versus teacher-
centered practices).

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3. Video-Recorded Teaching Practices: Instructors may request someone to video record
their lessons while conducting a classroom observation, or instructors can video record
themselves while teaching and use a classroom observation protocol to self-assess their
own practices. Some Yale classrooms have video cameras installed for lecture capture,
which instructors can then use for their self assessment.
4. Teaching Portfolio: A more time-intensive practice, the teaching portfolio invites
instructors to integrate the various components of their teaching into a cohesive whole,
typically starting with a teaching philosophy or statement, moving through sample syllabi
and assignments, and ending with evaluations from colleagues and students. Though less
focused on classroom practices, a portfolio is an opportunity to reflect on teaching overall.

Examples of External Assessment

1. Student Evaluations (Midterm and End-of-Term): In many courses, instructors obtain
feedback from students in the form of mid-semester feedback and/or end-of-term student
evaluations. Because of potential bias, instructors should consider student evaluations as
one data source in their instruction and take note of any prevailing themes. They can seek
out other ways to assess their practices to accompany student evaluation data before
taking steps to modify instruction.
2. Peer Review of Teaching: Instructors can ask a trusted colleague to observe their
classroom and give them feedback on their teaching. Colleagues can agree on an
observation protocol or a list of effective teaching principles to focus on from a teaching
practices inventory.
3. Classroom Observations: Observations are meant to be non-evaluative and promote
reflection. They begin with a discussion in which the instructor describes course goals and
format as well as any issues or teaching practices that are of primary concern. This initial
discussion provides useful context for the observation and the post-observation
conversation.

THE 5 E’S MODEL

One of the commonly used instructional planning model in our country is the 5 E’s. This
model describes a teaching sequence that can be used for entire programs, specific units and
individual lessons. It is used in helping students build their own understanding from experiences
and new ideas. The Biological Science Curriculum Study (BSCS), a team led by Principal
Investigator Roger Bybee, developed the instructional model for constructivism, called the "Five
E’s". The 5 E’s represent five stages of a sequence for teaching and learning: Engage,
Explore, Explain, Extend (or Elaborate), and Evaluate.

• Engage. This part activates the students’ prior knowledge and engages them with new
concepts by doing short activities. The aim of this part is to arouse the students’ curiosity.

• Explore. In this part, the students are exposed to different experiences that will facilitate the
discovery of new concepts. Explore may involve observation exercises, simulations, or
manipulations of instructional materials. The goal here is for the students to discover
something new.

• Explain. Here, the students explain what they have experienced in Explore. The role of the
teacher is to facilitate the discussion that should lead to the students seeing patterns that
will help them describe the new concept in their own words.

• Extend or Elaborate. The Elaborate part of the lesson allows the students to expand their
understanding of the concept by applying the concept that they have learned to solve
mathematical problems.

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• Evaluate. The last part of the 5 Es Model, Evaluate, lets the teacher and the students
evaluate their learning. Though giving short exercises are usually the mode of evaluation,
the teacher can be creative by implementing other evaluation activities.

DIRECT INSTRUCTIONS
According to research, direct instruction is one of the most effective teaching strategies.
Although often misunderstood, students who are taught using the direct instruction method
perform better in reading, math, and spelling than those who weren’t.
Direct instruction is a teacher-directed teaching method. This means that the teacher
stands in front of a classroom and presents the information. The teachers give explicit, guided
instructions to the students.
So, isn’t that how everything has always been taught in a classroom? Not entirely.
Nowadays, experimenting in education is “hot”, as teachers find that not all students benefit
from listening to a teacher talk all day, and not all lessons are best taught through direct
instruction. Teachers now match the type of instruction to the task. Using direct instruction is
effective when it suits the skill students have to learn.
Here’s an example:

• The order of the planets is best learned via direct instruction.

• Teaching what materials are magnetic is better learned through experimentation.

The direct instruction method is based on two core principles:

• All students can learn when taught correctly, regardless of history and background.

• All teachers can be successful, given effective materials and presentation

techniques.

The 6 Functions (or Steps) of Direct Instruction

Direct instruction doesn’t stop at the teacher explaining a concept. There are 6 steps that
are very important in the process.
1. Introduction/Review
First, you set the stage for learning. This is the opening of the lesson, and it’s intended to
engage students, get their attention, and activate their prior knowledge. Build upon a
previous lesson, or get an understanding of their background knowledge of the subject you
are about to teach them. To show your students what exactly they have to learn and what is
expected from them, you can give them lesson objectives.
2. Present the New Material
Use clear and guided instructions, so students can begin absorbing the new material. The
lesson content should be carefully organized step-by-step, with the steps building on each
other. In the direct instruction method, you can present new material through a lecture or
through a demonstration.
Lecture method
There are a few essential steps for a lecture to be successful:

• State the main points of the lecture.

• Introduce a main organizing idea or theme.

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• Use examples to illustrate each idea.

• Use repetition to reinforce the main points.

• Summarize and refer back to the main organizing idea.

But how you go about these steps? This is where the fun comes in, and where every
teacher gets to use their creativity. This is where you get to engage your students. So, if
you think a lecture is boring, you got it all wrong.
Demonstration
Here, the teacher demonstrates the skill or principle in small steps. Visual demonstrations
will engage more students than a pure auditory lecture. This method is often used in
science classes.

3. Guided Practice
Here, the teacher and students practice the concept together. The student attempts the skill
with the assistance of the teacher and other students. The guided practice is conducted by
the teacher. The purpose of this step is to guide initial practice, correct mistakes, reteach (if
necessary) and provide sufficient practice so that students can work independently. It’s very
important to ask good questions to verify your students’ understanding.
4. Feedback and Correctives
If students don’t understand the lesson material, the teacher has to correct them and give
feedback. This is also very important in the guided practice, as students have to understand
everything in that phase.
5. Independent Practice
After guided practice and receiving the right feedback, students are ready to apply the new
learning material on their own. Independent practice gives the students the repetitions they
need to integrate the new information or skills with previous knowledge or skills.
Independent practice also helps students to become automatic in their use of the skills.
During this phase, students usually go through two stages: unitization and automaticity.
During unitization, the students are putting the skills they’ve learned together and use them
in new situations. As they keep on practicing, students reach the “automatic” stage where
they are successful and rapid, and no longer have to “think through” each step.
6. Evaluation/Review
Check whether your students know everything before moving on to a new concept that
builds upon what they’ve just learned. Collect student data you can review and decide
whether or not the lesson needs to be retaught. There are much evaluation and reviewing
methods, so make sure to pick the right one to find out data that really means something.
Make sure your evaluation says something about your students’ learning process.
Formative assessments are better suited for this.

PUNCTUATED LECTURE
A punctuated lecture is a metacognitive strategy that helps students become aware of
the behaviors they exhibit during a lecture. These behaviors (fidgeting, daydreaming,
distraction) are unconsciously expressed and may impact student learning in the classroom. In
becoming self-aware during class, students can begin to take control of their behaviors and be
more accountable for their learning.

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Punctuated Lectures: The Process
In this strategy, the teacher and students engage in five steps: Listen, Stop, Reflect,
Write and Feedback.

• Listen: Students listen to a lecture.

• Stop: After a designated time period, the teacher stops the lecture.

• Reflect: Students are given time to reflect on their actions and thoughts during the
lecture. They are prompted to think about what they were doing and analyze whether
those behaviors helped or hindered their understanding of the topic.

• Write: Students write down their insights. The information is processed and students
determine how they can use the information to modify or change existing behaviors.

• Feedback: Students give feedback to the teacher about what they have learned about
themselves.

Benefits of Punctuated Lectures

Punctuated lectures give on-the-spot feedback to both students and teachers. On
introspection, students can consider whether they are processing information properly, and
identify factors that support their understanding. They can also benefit from the strategy in the
following ways:

• Improved listening skills.

• Increased attentiveness during lectures.

• Awareness of classroom behaviors.

• Increased responsibility for learning.

• Teachers can identify factors that distract students from the lecture and can make
changes accordingly.

Conducting a Punctuated Lecture

The following points are to be considered when conducting a punctuated lecture:

• Introducing the strategy: Introduce the strategy, the lecture’s purpose, the process,
and any benefits to the students.

• Lecture: Conduct punctuated lectures when new material is being introduced. Decide
on the points at which the lecture can be punctuated (10 or 20 minute segments.) Also
plan the amount of time to allot (1-2 minutes each) for the Reflection and Writing phases
of the strategy.

• Reflection: Students might require some assistance to recall their behaviors during the
first few trials of the strategy. Teachers can help by asking questions like:
“Were you fully involved in following the lecture until now? If not, what were some of the
actions or behaviors that you were engaged in?”
“What behaviors or thoughts could have hindered you from effectively taking notes
during the lecture?”
“What do you think was preventing you from following the lecture?”
Students can use these prompts to reflect on their behaviors, actions and thoughts
during the lecture.

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 • Writing: Instruct students to maintain a folder in which they can write down their
reflections. On another page, ask them to write down how they will use this information
to correct or improve their learning processes. They can be encouraged to create
“learning plans” which identify distracting behaviors, and discuss plans for improving or
modifying these behaviors.

• Feedback: Encourage students to write a feedback about how the strategy has
impacted them. After engaging in more punctuated lectures, teachers can analyze the
notes to check for changes or improvements as observed or recorded by students.

• Roadblocks: Engaging in this strategy can be frustrating initially for students, as they
may find it difficult to recall the behaviors or understand the connection to their learning
processes. Similarly, students need to be honest in their reflections. Remind them that
the process is only a self-improvement tool, and that students will not be judged or
reprimanded for their reflections.
Through this process, punctuated lectures help to create more responsible students with
enhanced listening and self-monitoring skills.

INTERACTIVE LECTURE
Interactive lectures include at least one opportunity for students to interact actively and
directly with the material through a specific learning task. These can be brief segments within a
larger lecture-based class period and can include a single repeated technique or a mix of
several different ones.
Considerations and Best Practices

• Pre-planning is crucial. Instructors must choose content, establish learning objectives for
both the interactive segments and the lecture as a whole, design overall classroom
atmosphere, and address logistical issues.

• Set the tone early. Classroom management expectations are easier to set early on. Even
if you don’t plan on using specific strategies until later in the semester, try to establish a
classroom culture of engagement from the start. It will minimize confusion and reduce the
“learning curve” your students may experience when you introduce more interactive
elements to your lectures later on.

• Frame and introduce activities. It is beneficial to articulate clearly to students at the

beginning of the lecture what activities you plan to include, when, and why.
Example: “Today’s lecture will include short, two minute pauses every 18 minutes. During
this time, you are to turn to a peer and compare notes, or examine your own notes and jot
down any questions you may have. This is intended to give you a chance to pause and
digest the material.”
Example: “At the end of today’s lecture, we will take 20 minutes for you to submit questions
about the lecture content using Poll Everywhere. This time is an important and required
component of the day’s lecture, and will be most meaningful and efficient if you jot down
questions you’d like to ask as we go through the first part of the lecture.”

General Strategies

• Pause Procedure
Every 15-20 minutes during the lecture, pause and ask students to think about the lecture
for 1-2 minutes, jotting down notes, and/or asking clarifying questions. You can use pauses
for review, discussion, and/or as classroom assessment opportunities.

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• Interactive Lecture Demos
Interactive lecture demonstrations introduce a carefully scripted activity, creating "time for
telling" in a traditional lecture format. Because the activity causes students to confront their
prior understanding of a core concept, students are ready to learn in a follow-up lecture.
Interactive lecture demonstrations use three steps in which students:
1. Predict the outcome of the demonstration. Individually, and then with a partner,
students explain to each other which of a set of possible outcomes is most likely to
occur.
2. Experience the demonstration. Working in small groups, students conduct an
experiment, take a survey, or work with data to determine whether their initial beliefs
were confirmed (or not).
3. Reflect on the outcome. Students think about why they held their initial belief and in
what ways the demonstration confirmed or contradicted this belief. After comparing
these thoughts with other students, students individually prepare a written product on
what was learned.

• Note Review/Comparison
After lecturing for 15-20 minutes, stop and ask students to compare the notes they’ve been
taking with a peer’s notes. Then, have them work together for a few minutes to flesh
out/add to their own notes. This allows students to think critically about the gaps in their
own knowledge while building knowledge collaboratively with peers.

• Practice Homework Problems

After lecturing on a particular type of problem, give students a problem to work at their
seats that resembles the kinds of problems they’ll see on their homework. After giving
students a few minutes to try to work through the problem, discuss the problem with the
class. By having students attempt what will later be an independent task in a guided setting,
they are able to anticipate and address issues they might otherwise have been unable to
solve on their own.

• Lecture Reaction
Divide the class into the following 4 sections. This can be done simply by dividing the room
into quadrants:
o Questioners: must come up with 2 questions to ask about the material
o Example Givers: must provide applications for the material presented
o Divergent Thinkers: must disagree with some points of the lecture
o Agreers: must explain which points they agree with or found helpful
Give students several minutes to discuss with their neighboring peers and come up with
responses appropriate to their group role. (ie. Everyone in the Example Givers section can
work collaboratively to come up with examples). This can also challenge students to go
beyond their initial reaction to the material. After the allotted time for intra-group discussion
is over, conduct a whole class discussion by pulling responses from the different sections of
the room.

• BackChannel Discussion
The term “backchannel” refers to the student-to-student and student-to-instructor
conversations that can occur during lectures and presentations. All lectures involve some

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 form of backchannel, such as an instructor requesting questions from students or back-of-
the-room chit chat between students. However, online tools give instructors useful options
for facilitating, directing, and leveraging backchannel conversations. Today’s Meet is an
online chat platform designed specifically for classroom use.

INTEGRATING ICT IN MATHEMATICS TEACHING

The use of ICT in math provides great support for the teaching and learning in
mathematics. However, it can only really provide effective support where its use is ‘transparent’.
This is the ultimate aim of developing student ICT capability and in this course, we will
investigate and examine how to use ICT in the math classroom where it helps teachers
demonstrate and explain mathematical ideas along with helping students develop their
mathematical knowledge, skills and understanding.
ICT provides teachers with opportunities to capitalize on the idea that it can help
students visualize mathematical ideas and concepts. It can provide teachers and students with
resources to help them concentrate on the learning objectives within the National Curriculum
and not get bogged down with other issues. Finally, even though there are technology in math
education that enables students to review and consolidate mathematical skills such as ‘drill and
practice’ programs, these are not the focus of this course as they do not fully develop ICT
capability.

The Relationship between Numeracy and ICT Capability

What is the connection between ICT capability and numeracy? To answer this question
we need to examine it from two points of interest. The Australian Curriculum as an example
encourages the use of ICT in the mathematics learning area and states that ICT capability is
developed when students “investigate, create and communicate mathematical ideas and
concepts using fast, automated, interactive and multimodal technologies” (Australian
Curriculum, 2021). It highlights specific software such as spreadsheets where ICT capability can
be used for calculations, collecting data, drawing graphs, analyzing, and interpreting data.
We must also understand that ICT capability in the field of numbers involves much more
than merely using ICT techniques and skills that students need to perform number operations
and produce graphs. Developing student ICT capability in math involves the higher order
thinking skills needed to when ICT is the most effective way of achieving a goal and which ICT
tools are appropriate to the task.
It would be significant for you to remember that this decision involves more than just ICT
knowledge. What it does involve is the knowledge of mathematical concepts and processes,
and metacognitive knowledge (knowing that you know) of one’s own speed and accuracy with
numeric techniques and routines.
For example, “if we ask children to find the total cost of 68 pens at 20 cents each, they
have to decide on the type of calculation to do, and choose whether to estimate the answer, to
calculate it exactly using mental methods, to calculate it exactly using pen and paper, to use a
simple calculator, or to use a spreadsheet. Their choice will depend on their level of ICT
capability and numeracy”. It would also depend on the affordances of the setting such as the
ICT tools available, the help that they get from others and of course, your aims and learning
objectives of the activity itself.
In emphasizing this, it is easy to see how higher order thinking skills and concepts are
used to combine knowledge of and techniques in number and in ICT in order in order to solve
even quite simple problems. The advantages of using ICT in math should be:

• It enhances student learning of math;

• It motivates them to learn math;
• It develops student ICT capability; and,
• It promotes higher order thinking skills.

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