Now I am studying at Yogyakarta State University and I take mathematics education program. Last Friday, my lecture, Mr. Marsigit told us about something important in studying mathematics education. He said that we are lucky because we are in mathematics education program. If we take mathematics education program, we are supposed to be mathematics teachers in the future. Of course, as a teacher, I will face some kids, called students. They will be younger than me and have less mathematics experience if it is compared to me. So I have to consider that their way to study mathematics is different to my way to study mathematics. Now, the question is what is the difference between university students and pupils in the way of studying mathematics?
Before we talk about that, we have to understand that younger student has different thought to older student, in this case university student. What is the difference? Younger students always think about real material that can be found easily in their daily life. But older students are able to think about something abstract that just can be found in their mind. Based on that fact, now we are able to answer “what is the difference between university students and pupils in the way of studying mathematics?”.
As we have talked before that older people can think abstractly, so we can say that mathematics for them is about ‘knowledge object’ that just can be found in their mind. University mathematics is something abstract, it does not need some example in the daily life, it is about some proof of theorem, postulate, etc. mathematics is something ideal. When we say about ‘line’, what is supposed in our mind is something that is perfectly thick, has unlimited length and really straight. We have to be able to differentiate, which one is ‘line’, ‘line picture’, and ‘line model’. But, it doesn’t happen in school mathematics. Since, for younger students mathematics is just model of think that can be found in their daily life. In school mathematics, we don’t have to talk about proof of theorem, postulate, etc. We just have to give the real problem and material or contextual thing that can be easily found in their life. For example, when we talk about cube, what they think must be the model of cube. So we need some model or visual aid to help us in teach mathematics to them.
Ebutt and Straker (1995) define school mathematics as followed:
1. Mathematics is a source of pattern and relationship.
So younger students in studying mathematics they will search some examples of problems, after that they will find the pattern of solution for those problems. And finally they can find the relationship between the problem and the right solution.
2. Mathematics is problem solving activity.
Mathematics is about problem. Teachers usually give some problems or exercise to their students and the students should answer it or find the solution of the problem.
3. Mathematics is investigation activity.
In studying mathematics, student have to make an analysis about all mathematics object.
4. Mathematics is a means of communication.
Studying mathematics is not just can understand the concept, but student have to be able to communicate it with other.
What is the characteristic of student learn mathematics?
1. Students active if they have good motivation and good apperception.
if students want to be success in learning mathematics, they have to have good preparation and also big motivation.
2. That student learn mathematics individually.
In learning mathematics, students cannot be replaced by another people for all reason. Studying mathematics is individual experience.
3. That student learn math with collaboration with others.
Although mathematics is an individual learning experience, but students have to be able to work together with another people, or in the other word, work in team to discuss and solve some mathematics problems.
4. That the student learn mathematics in context.
Student can learn mathematics easily when they can imagine and think about the use of it in their daily life.
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