Last Classroom Reflection from English Class with Prof. Dr. Marsigit,M.A. on 27th May 2013

The Importance of English in Mathematics Education

            In the last session of english of mathematics education, Mr. Marsigit talks about the importance of english in mathematics education. He stressed that english is very important to support us (as a candidate of matheatics teacher) in our effort to communicate in mathematics education. If we can communicate well in english, hopefully, we can be a good communicator for our students. We should be able to communicate to the student clearly and make nice athmosphere of teaching learning process, so that student can learn happily.

Formal mathematics and school mathematics

       Mathematics education is not just a combination of mathematics and education. Mathematics education is a kind of life, words, such thing like unity, the unity consist of complexity. This is consist many kind of component, they are teacher, students, learning, mathematics education based on antropology, psycology or even politics, and so on. We can talk about mathematics education in many aspect starting from the very very younger learner or from the primary school. The problem is how we really understand about mathematics education in many aspect.

      Before we start to understand, we must have a good perception and a good willingness without any prejudice to the mathematics education. Then, we need to develop our mathematics education all the time, sustainably and accountably. Other than that, we should have a motivation, high spirit, happy feeling, fixed habbit and attitude and we should willing to work hard. To achieve our goal, we need to act not just talking. We need to work hard and develop colaboration between our effort to our goal.

       In learning mathematics education, we should use live approach. One of the live approach is called as hermeunitics approach. Hermeunitic means translate and to be translated. In learning something, interaction is very important.We should have an interaction with something that related to what we learn. For example if we want to study english, we should do an interaction with dictionary, native speakers, english teacher, and so on. And then, we should learn english from that things that we already interact with. Finally, our progress and ability in english can be traslated for example by our score of TOEFL.

          Then, because mathematics education have very complicated and various kind of things. So, some aspect in mathematics education have their own dimension. Every dimension have different stage. Every stage need different approach. The approach method that used in university is different from the approach that used in senior or junior high school. To choose the best approaching method to learn anyhing, we should understand the nature of everything. Everythng has its own nature. Such as mathematics nature, formal mathematics nature, teaching nature, nature of student in learning mathematics and so on.

        The nature of mathematics in university is different with the nature of mathematics in primary school. In university, mathematics defined as a structure of truth on mathematics. Starting from the definition, theorem, axioms, and so on. The aim of the mathematics in university is that the mathematicians can be able to construct the whole building of mathematics. And mathematics in university is callde formal mathematics or university mathematics, and that is not for the younger students or students in primary school.

            For the youger students, mathematics should not be a science, but mathematics in there is an activity. In learning mathematics younger student must be involved actively. And to learn mathemathics, they must use their intuition then learn the mathematics by their intuition.The younger students dont need to define mathematics, they just need to learn by intuition. 

The Importance of Intuition

           In order to learn something, students need to use intuition. True intuition come from activity. Activity produce the intuition. Students can develop their intuition by doing some activity, then by doing that activity, they will get many experiences and their intuition will be developed. Because of that, experience is very important in learning mathematics. 

Choose Appropriate Theory and Paradigm

            We can help our students in developing their intuition by involves them in a active learning. In order to do that, we need to fit among theories and paradigm.Because of there are many theories and paradigm that out of date or no longer appropiriate at the current practice of teaching.

            The paradigm for the current time is that the teachers must positioning themselves as the facilitator of the students need to construct their knowledge. So that, the learning centre is not us as a teacher, but they as the student. The students can learn actively and that will optimize the students learning. Then it is very important to fit the theories and paradigm of mathematics education.

The Importance of Making Reflection

         In our journey to be a great teacher, we must develop our ability. In order to do that, we need to read, read, and read. One of the precious thing that can be read is the article from the webblog powermathematics.blogspot.com, Mr. Marsigit’s blog, in this blog, we as his students can read the articles and make some comment or reflection from the article. The function of reflection on the web is to make us as his students clever, understand, and able to improve our english by ourselves. Then it also can make us to do reherseal or to do practice in writing english without any pressure. So that, if we making some mistakes, it is no problem because it is our process to construct our english, and it is one of learning process.

          In this class, Mr. Marsigit’s position is as the facilitator for us to construct our english. We should not learn english because of obligation, but because of we need the english. Its also should be implemented in learning everything, we should not learn somethng because of obligation, but because we need to learn that thing.

       Because there are many resources to learn english. We can learn english everytime we want, in everyplace, and everyways in order to fullfil our necessity.

The Importance to Know Our Position

           In this crazy time, we shoud have our position, we must have a firm or fix position. We shoukd have our own principle. For example, there are many kind of method and theories, we can not use all of them together, we should choose which is better for us. To have a principle, we should develop our knowledge, one of the way to get knowledge is to read. The more we read, the more knowledges that we can get, so that we can choose the best principle for us.

        Having principle is important for us, because in this time, people inclined to go to the syncron condition. Mathematics education also should be syncronized, all of the method must be syncronized to the situation. For example, we should make the best appropriate curricullum for the better mathematics education. In mathematics education, we should not blame the younger students. We should remember about the use of education. Education is o make a better one or to make a progress of ability, not to blame the students that not have an ability. The problem of our mathematics education is the older or superior people, the older people or superior people should not hand over the problems to the younger people or the inferior people.

           So that, we as a candidate of teacher should understand that in the inovative learning, all the teachers should be able to facilitate the students need to learn mathematics. In order to be a good facilitator, we should develop various kind of learning media. For example the student worksheet, and the example of the good student worksheet is the web blog powermathematics.blogspot.com, that in the worksheet we can read the various article that posted by Mr. Marsigit and make some comment and reflection in order to construct our english.