MMTS101 - IFE

MMTS101
Mathematics: Pedagogy and Assessment

MQF Level: 7

ECTS Value: 6 ECTS

Self Study Hours: 68

Contact Hours: 30

Assessment Hours: 52

Overall Objectives and Outcomes

Mathematics is a statutory part of most school curricula across the world. It is an intellectual achievement that optimises the power of reasoning and is a prerequisite for the learning of subjects such as Sciences, Technology, Engineering, Business and many more. These observations have implications on the necessity that all students should acquire mathematical skills. Also assessment should be used as a tool to ensure effective mathematics teaching and learning in classroom practice. This module aims to equip teachers with the knowledge and the skills they need to help students develop mathematical proficiency skills. Also, the assumptions about assessing mathematics will be challenged and new assessment practices will be developed for mastery of mathematics.

Topics to be covered:

Introduction and philosophy of maths teaching;
Curriculum development and organisation, Syllabus planning and ordering and organisation of modules and topics;
Effective pedagogical approaches in mathematics;
Critical evaluation of core mathematics methodologies and research;
Assessment strategies and procedures to improve maths attainment.

By the end of this programme, participants should be able to:

Competences

a. Organise and classify the maths curriculum into meaningful categories of mathematical knowledge and concepts;

b. Identify and develop the underpinning mathematical content knowledge required for teaching in tandem with the development of mathematical pedagogical content knowledge required to teach secondary maths;

c. Integrate a range of assessment methods into practice to promote learning for all students by designing, selecting and ethically employing assessments, formative as well as summative, that align with educational goals and provide opportunities for students to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses in order to revise, support and extend their individual performance;

d. Determine the best possible maths teaching methodology to be adopted as well as the skills, processes and content being taught;

e. Comprehensively identify and employ appropriate knowledge, skills and techniques to monitor student` learning using established protocols.

Knowledge

a. Critically structure opportunities for students to use appropriate mathematical discourse as they reason and solve problems. Communicating mathematically also requires a command in mathematical notation, vocabulary, symbols, formulae, models and diagrams which are necessary to make sense of mathematics.

b. Reflect on the difficulties inherent in understanding and learning the maths language which can be implemented into the maths curriculum;

c. Differentiate between the different forms of pedagogical practices and methods to sustain, enhance and innovate the existing good practices in maths learning, teaching and assessment;

d. Create a variety of assessment instruments to monitor students` progress in understanding concepts and in developing skills and which should not to be confined to intermittent standardised tests.

e. Demonstrate a general understanding of the field of philosophy of mathematics.

Skills

a. Develop a self-reflective approach to teaching to improve practice, meet professional and academic needs and reform procedure in light of new knowledge and insight;

b. Inspire mathematics enthusiasm and motivation in the classroom which will intrinsically and extrinsically enrich the teaching practices and motivate students;

c. Instigate the use of more informative feedback to promote assessment both as learning and for learning, to help students set goals, reflect on and evaluate their own learning;

d. Deal with abstract concepts, analyse data, identifying patterns, solving problems, reason, testing conjectures, justification and proof and communicating results.

e. Provide opportunities to increase students` achievements by raising the achievements of the best students whilst providing support to improve the performance of under-achieving students.

f. Develop curriculum building skills and innovative practices to embrace an inclusive and divertive culture with an emphasis to cater for individual differences and strategies to foster mathematical thinking by all;

g. Develop effective and innovative pedagogical approaches to complement and enhance established methodologies for effective teaching to master proficiency in mathematics;

h. Develop approaches involving digital learning technologies, the use of concrete materials, problem solving, modelling, mathematical investigations, argumentation and proof;

i. Develop opportunities to use mathematics in new and meaningful ways and create a stimulating and productive environment to empower students to do maths and acquire confidence in learning, doing, and

j. understanding mathematics.

The above should be one learning outcome.

Develop opportunities to use mathematics in new and meaningful ways and create a stimulating and productive environment to empower students to do maths and acquire confidence in learning, doing, and understanding mathematics.

Assessment Methods

This module will be assessed through: Presentation and Practical Assignment.