RADICAL TEFL

ARE THERE LESSONS FOR TEFL FROM THE MATHEMATICS
CLASSROOM NEXT DOOR?
The next issue of Radical TEFL has as a theme
„What can EFLT learn from the teaching and learning of other school subjects?”
(Also see pages 66/67)
A) 'LEARNING'
Are there enough similarities, at secondary-school level, between 'learning'
mathematics and 'learning' EFL, to allow one to draw lessons from the learning of
maths to the learning of EFL? But what is learning? What are some conditions for
learning to take place? Is learning often similar to enquiry? Do we, in EFLT, have a
learning theory to start from?
B) LEARNING AS PROCESS ?
Is learning a process? If so, are there stages in the process which can be identified, so
breaking down the problem into more manageable parts? (Dewey below). If learning
is process, do the processes of learning maths have enough in common with those of
learning EFL to allow EFL teaching to learn from mathematics teaching? For Dewey,
learning is a kind of enquiry and the following stages are part of the process of an
individual's learning/enquiring:
guessing; classification of new information; reflection against other data;
“running over various ideas; developing new suggestions; comparing with
one another”, carrying out “thought experiments”; experimentation and
trial and error; hunting for insights and for unifying principles; looking
for analogy with what is already known; comparison; and abandoning
attachment to an idea. 51
Do Dewey’s stages suggest that learning is partly 'done backwards', continually
referring to the past? How can teacher and materials fit in with, respect and not
impede learning processes?
C) THE STUDENT'S STANDPOINT
The student's attempts to overcome difficulties
In maths and EFL learning, how similar, in their underlying nature, are the general
learning problems which students need to address and solve (ie, the difficulties and
stumbling blocks in learning?) What does the maths education literature say about
reasons for failure in learning maths? What can be learned from this literature?
Learning as constructing, and schemas ?
Is 'to understand' something 'to successfully assimilate it into an appropriate schema'?
(Skemp 1986:43). 52 What are some conditions for a student to assimilate new
information into what he already grasps? How does a student construct his
mathematical knowledge? What prevents a student from constructing mathematical
51 Dewey, paraphrased in bold, except for italics which are quotes, (1916), Essays in Experimental
Logic, EMEREO reprint, pp. 24, 43, 46 & 50. Also see Dewey (1910) on similarities between learning
and enquiring. John Dewey was a specialist in understanding learning, before turning to education.
52 Richard Skemp, a maths teacher, was the first Professor of Education at the University of Warwick.