Journal article
Why teachers matter
Australian Mathematics Education Journal, Vol.3(4), pp.30-34
2021
Abstract
Wondering whether we are really making a difference to young people’s mathematics learning is a question that most teachers have probably wrestled with at some stage of their careers. However, evidence from a multitude of research studies shows that students’ mathematics learning and their dispositions towards mathematics are indeed influenced—for better or for worse—by the teaching that they experience at school (see Mewborn, 2003, for a review of this research). In other words, teachers do matter. It is difficult for researchers to specify exactly how different types of teaching and teacher qualities affect student achievement because this would require untangling the complicated relationships that exist between
teacher characteristics, teaching practices, and student learning. Nevertheless, the general trends in these relationships are clear. In this article I want to illustrate some of these trends by drawing on my experiences in working with pre-service and practising mathematics teachers and their students, and in doing so to propose three reasons why teachers matter. I will then give some examples of how teachers can matter to their students in a more practical sense.
Details
- Title
- Why teachers matter
- Authors
- Merrilyn Goos (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Education and Tertiary Access
- Publication details
- Australian Mathematics Education Journal, Vol.3(4), pp.30-34
- Publisher
- Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers Inc
- Organisation Unit
- School of Education and Tertiary Access; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99649778402621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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