THE ATTITUDE OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS TO TEACHING MATHEMATICS ONLINE. THE MOST EFFECTIVE METHODS OF TEACHING MATHEMATICS REMOTELY
Darya A. Zadorozhnaya
3rd year student of the faculty of mathematics and science education
Belgorod State National Research University,
Belgorod
Scientific supervisor
Alexander V. Markov
senior lecturer
Foreign languages department
NRU BSU
Abstract.The article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of teaching mathematics remotely, as well as the attitude of teachers and students to the study of mathematics online. At the end of the article, recommendations are given to teachers on teaching mathematics remotely.
Keywords:distance learning, online learning, teaching mathematics.
Distance learning is learning using information and telecommunications technologies that serve as a link between students and teachers who are at a distance. In our opinion, this is a very relevant topic, as all educational institutions have switched to online mode due to the pandemic. And also with the development of technology, there is a possibility that in the future our training will completely switch to remote mode. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Is it convenient and efficient? How to teach a math subject in a new and unusual format? You will get answers to these and other questions in our article.
In this article, we will reveal the features of teaching mathematics in remote mode, as well as dissect the relationship of teachers and students to this mode. Let's identify the pros and cons of the new training mode. And collect recommendations for teachers that will help them teach their subject online in a high-quality way, so that students learn the material in the same way as in face-to-face lessons.
Mathematics is the Queen of sciences, and not every student can understand mathematics. After all, to understand it, you need to love it, be interested in it. In our usual face-to-face lessons, teachers tell students new material, write down definitions and examples on the blackboard, and try to explain them in easy way if they see the incomprehensible look of their students. In remote mode, there is no such "live" communication, because the only thing that teachers see is, in some cases, an indistinct image of students, or even a photo of them. Teachers can't fully use the blackboard, because it's limited to a slide on the computer, and it's unusual to use a computer mouse instead of chalk. Older teachers often face technical problems because they do not have computer skills. Communication often disappears due to the lack of a stable Internet connection, as well as due to system congestion. It has become much more difficult to control children from lies during tests and exams, because cheating gets little too common, while teachers can not watch them in the blind zone of the camera. And in the classroom children can go about their business altogether. The overall picture of distance learning looks very bleak, but it also has its advantages. Its most important advantage is that you can study directly from home, thus children sleep more, therefore, get enough sleep and their brain activity increases, which helps them better understand the material. During recess, students can go out to eat home-made food, rather than snack on buns, which has a positive effect on their health. It is also worth noting the familiar and cozy homeenvironment, which helps new, as well as introverted and constrained students to feel more comfortable.
We managed to find out the opinion of teachers and students about distancelearning in math classes. To do this, survey was conducted by using two different methods. Which helped us identify the advantages and disadvantages of online math training. The surveys included two different questionnaires (one for teachers, the other for students), in which teachers and students had to choose one of the suggested answers, or add their own version. The analysis of this survey for teachers is presented below (Figure 1)
Figure 1
Teachers ' opinion on distance learning in mathematics
Aswe can see on that diagram most teachers accent their attention on the lack of control overstudents, which is associated with blind spots of the camera on devices. The lack of control directly affects the quality of education, as the teacher cannot objectively assess students ' knowledge, because they use the Internet and hints to solve problems. Teachers also note a deterioration in the quality of education, which is due to full Internet access, students can write off homework, useanswer’s books when working together with the teacher and on test papers. Being at home, teachers do not feel the learning process, but equate it with holidays, which is why they perform tasks without thinking about them, but copying them from the Internet, which negatively affects their knowledge. Eight percent of the teachers surveyed identify such a feature of distance learning as unusual teaching. From year to year, teachers teach lessons in a spacious office, on aschoolblackboard, using geometric shapes that stand in the closet, and many tables, and distance learning has brought everything into one small computer screen. Blackboard skills are a real talent of a teacher, because only a teacher can correctly and beautifully place all the information on the blackboard. And now the scale of the board is reduced by several tens of times, which causes discomfort among teachers. And only two percent of teachers surveyed believe that distance learning is a dignity as the ability to teach lessons from home. Why did such a small percentage of teachers mention this quality? The answer to this question is very simple, most teachers go to school, because oftechnical reasons stand on the way that why lessons cannot be conducted from home.
Next is analyzing the results of a survey about students’ attitudes to distance learning in mathematics. (figure 2)
Figure 2
Students ' opinion on distance learning in mathematics
In this diagram, we can see that the majority of students’opinion about distance learning in mathematics consists in a lack of understanding of the material, which is caused by equating online learning with vacations. Children are not used to studying from home, in their subconscious, being at home is a day off. Since in adolescence the main motive for attending school is communication with peers, in online mode, children stop learning, because learning does not arouse the interest of students. The second most important thing is distraction to household chores. Often, not only teachers believe that distance learning is similar to vacations, but also their parents. Children are often distracted from their studies to help their parents with household chores, or to play with their pets or look after their younger siblings, which affects their level of knowledge, as they lose focus on the subject. Equal shares are occupied by the amount of homework and a cozy home environment. Distance learning homework increases,
as some subjects are taught asynchronously, so the amount of work performed seems to be large. The home environment brings advantages for students who have not been adopted in the team, as well as for reserved students who are afraid to answer at the blackboard, they feel more comfortable at home, which has a positive effect on their academic performance. Ten percent of respondents confirm our hypothesis about the camera's blind spots described above. In online mode, students are at home and can easily place hints in the room behind the computer monitor, on the walls. Also at home, you can use the phones to find solutions during tests. If the control work takes place in asynchronous mode, then it is easier to write off such a test, because the teacher does not maintain any control over the students.
Thus, we were able to find out the opinion of students and teachers about the remote mode. We found out that the online mode negatively affects the level of knowledge of students, which leads to a decrease in academic performance. But we also found that this type of training will benefit new and withdrawn students and improve theiracademic performance by providing them with a comfortable environment.
Based on the survey, we can give recommendations to math teachers for teaching students remotely.
In connection with the transition to distance learning, first of all, it is not necessary to ask students such homework assignments that cannot be completed without using a computer or tablet. It is also worth giving preference to such lessons, which are not limited in time, so recording the lesson is preferable in comparison with an online conference.
When choosing services and platforms, there is no need to force students to use paid platforms, because there are many free online platforms for distance learning.
However, themost effective way to work is when the teacher chooses the format of providing new educational material and supervising students among the huge variety of resources already developed. It should be borne in mind that it is almost impossible to track students ' independent performance of tasks in this situation, which means that a greater emphasis in the work should be placed not on testing, but on passing new educational material, or repeating, including the final one, the previously completed educational material in various ways, for example, explaining in interactive video lessons.
The most important problem in distance learning is the problemof motivation and self-discipline of students. For studentswho can organize their own personal time and are interested in acquiring knowledge, such resources may be useful if the content of training goes beyond the mandatory program. This can include Olympiad in mathematics, preparation for the specialized Unified State Exam in mathematics, and personal development courses.
For students who do not have good self-discipline or are poorly performing, you should choose a different tactic – select resources that explain the educational material from the mandatory educational program well (preferably distributed in time), and a set of tasks for monitoring.
A differentiated approach is needed both in the learning process and in preparing for the exam. It is not necessary to impose on a "weak" students the need to solve problems of a higher and even higher level, it is better to give them the opportunity to work out basic knowledge and skills. But in the same way, it is not necessary to delay the "strong" student in solving basic-level tasks. The teacher should set a goal for each student that they can achieve in accordance with the level of their training, and it is possible to rely on the self-assessment and aspirations of each student.
Evaluation of control and verification works in remote mode is not very well developed, so we offer some options. This can be selective control, when the teacher checks a task from certain students, for example, a photo or scanned image of the completed task. With this approach, there is no guarantee that the student completed this task independently, so this option can be recommended in cases where the task is optional. For example, the assessment for this task is not mandatory, or the teacher checks the validity of the solution of the task, the increased or high level of complexity of the OGE or USE. If we mean an objective assessment, testing for tasks of a basic level of difficulty can be mandatory using such services, where students in the same class are offered various options for tasks, and the verification of these tasks is automated. For example, using https://uchi.ru/, http://sdamgia.ru, https://foxford.ru/ and others. In the assessment situation, we think that the psychological service of an educational organization can be of great help. Psychologists should conduct online conversations with parents, explaining that they-parents – are the main stakeholders in an objective assessment of their children's knowledge and skills, so you should not hand over to the teacher the collective work of the family to complete specific tasks, and especially if the child is a graduate of the current year.
Thus, distance learning in mathematics is a complex learning process. It is very unusual for both teachers and students. In this article, we have identified the pros and cons of online learning. Basically, due to the wrong approach, students ' academic performance suffers. But if you follow the recommendations and adapt to the online mode, you can achieve success in understanding mathematics without leaving your home.
