Pupils demand better teaching methods for mathematics

Sunday Ojeme

More pupils in secondary schools are still finding it difficult to see mathematics as an easy subject, contrary to what some mathematicians say. In their desire to study science-related subjects and take after their doctor and engineer idols, they have often been discouraged by their inability to understand the intricacies of calculation.
The development has again re-echoed the plans by the Lagos State Government, through the Teachers’ Development Programme, to introduce subject teaching methods in all the schools in the state.
The effort, which was initiated by the State Universal Basic Education Board in 2006, is meant to sharpen the teaching skills of the teachers and simplify the learning of certain subjects.
In an encounter with our correspondent in Lagos on Wednesday, some students, cutting across some schools in Lagos State, and a few others currently in the state for the Christmas holiday, called on the authorities to strengthen the scheme so as to make the teaching and understanding of mathematics easier and more student-friendly.
Some of the students, who were having fun in some of the public parks, said their desire to read science-oriented courses in the higher institutions had become shaky due to their inability to comprehend the various calculations in some of the science-related subjects.
Master Desire Kio, a JS3 student from Rivers State, expressed worries that in spite of his personal efforts over the years, his dream to become an engineer in future was already being threatened by his inability to grasp the various mathematical formulas. He said his father’s sympathy to his ordeal had compelled him to engage a mathematics teacher whose efforts had hardly yielded any result.
According to him, “My inability to fully understand mathematics is one of the problems I am having in school. I am good at other subjects, but the ones I really need to become an engineer, which is my dream, are giving me problem. Physics and mathematics have really posed problem for me and my father’s efforts to help has equally not been fruitful.
“I believe part of the problem has to do with the way some teachers handle the two subjects. There should be more practical and effective ways to teach it so as to enable students to understand the subjects. I am saying this because I improved under a particular teacher during his short stay in my school. All the same, I am now working to pursue a course in accountancy.”
Kio, who lamented the disappointment, said a more practical and down-to-earth method should be adopted for the teaching of mathematics and other subjects that had to do with calculation.
On his part, Master Ochuko Thomas, an SS2 student from Delta State, said he simply could not face the rigours of calculation in his early years in the secondary school. He said he never hid his hatred for the subject as soon as he discovered that he could not assimilate it like a few others in his class when he was still in JS2.
According to him, “I did not want to deceive myself for too long. I am only managing to get along just to enable me secure admission and study something that does not require much of calculation. I intend studying either political science or mass communication because I see myself excelling in any of these fields.”
However, in the midst of the fun-loving kids, an SS3 female student, who recently won a scholarship from her school, Miss Obianuju Madu, said she was in love with all subjects, including mathematics. She said although she used to find mathematics difficult in the past, there was an improvement when she took the subject more seriously in her JS3 class.
According to her, “It was a personal decision that I took. Since then, I have not regretted the efforts I committed to excelling in the subject. I am happy that my dream to study medicine in the higher institution is gradually coming to reality.
“But whether one is good or not also depends on the teacher handling the subject. If the teacher is not too good in teaching the subject, the students will find it difficult to understand. That is why some parents still find it necessary to engage private teachers for their children as well as enrolling them in lessons.”
At the inauguration of the TDP, the Executive Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board, Mrs. Oluwagbemiga O.T. Benson, said there was a need for the board to collaborate with other institutions to train teachers, especially on the need for specialisation.
She said the course contents, which include papers on continuous assessment and the effective teaching of each of the core subjects (Mathematics, English, Social Studies and Integrated Science) would also update and sharpen teachers’ skills for the development of the child.
According to her, the training and re-training is the key to the success of any organisation and teachers are no exception as they have to be brought up-to-date in modern trends of teaching and moulding the lives of the young ones who are the future leaders of the nation.
A representative of Sede Mathematics Laboratory, Mrs. Abosede Peter-Thomas, said mathematics is of utmost importance because it forms the foundation of science and needs to be made as simple as possible so that students would not run away with the impression that it was a very difficult subject.
She decried the low use of textbooks by both teachers and students saying the era of lesson notes had taken over the use of textbooks.
She said, “The problem we are having with the teaching of mathematics is not a case of laziness on the part of students or that teachers are not doing their job, but a simple case of ignoring the concepts of mathematics. Students must be taught to move according to the plan of their textbook, so that the choice of textbook becomes very important. Our goal is to teach teachers how to encourage their students to finish their textbook.”
A mathematics teacher in one of the private schools in Lagos, Mr. Babatunde Adewunmi, supported the pupils’ call for better teaching methods. He said the teachers and students had formed the habit of blaming themselves over the abysmal performance in the subject.
According to him, “The students may have their own problems but the fact remains that the teachers too sometimes compound the problem. There are some teachers who actually know the subject but they find it difficult to impart it on the pupils. In my own days, I used to fail mathematics but today that is what is putting food on my table.”
He said mathematics is an easy subject to learn by any student who is mentally fit, adding that some students lack the basic foundation of the subject before moving from one class to another. He said 70 per cent of the problem should be blamed on the teachers.
On the issue of textbooks, he said emphasis should not be placed on textbooks because if textbooks would really help, then there would be no need for teaching. He said textbooks become necessary only when the topic has not been properly introduced by the teacher.
As a panacea for the seeming intractable and age-old problem, the National Mathematical Centre is evolving a programme aimed at getting state governments to address the dismal performance in mathematics in public schools.
The Director-General, NMC, Prof. Sam Ale, said the poor performance was attributable to poor teaching methodology rather than curricula content.
To help the pupils, the centre has initiated some projects capable of encouraging the teaching and learning of mathematics in schools and state governments are expected to adopt the projects to enhance performance in the subject at all levels.
The projects include mathematical games, mathematics laboratory, as well as teaching modules and workbooks for primary and secondary schools.
The director-general revealed that a trial run of the projects in Katsina State raised the number of successful students in mathematics in both NECO and the West African School Certificate examinations from five per cent to 90 per cent.
He said, “Our target has always been to bring mathematics to the doorstep of every Nigerian, to make mathematics as interesting to teach and learn as any language.”
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