Integrative Approach in the Teaching of General and Professional Subjects
Mathematics and Statistics for the Sustainable Development: X Nordic-Baltic Agrometrics Conference 2016
Evija Kopeika

While working with the contemporary youth (becoming pedagogues, engineers, economists etc.) it is important that the material they have to acquire would not be only answered during a test but also would stay in the memory of applicants for a longer time, and they would also be able to use this knowledge in other subjects and in real life. Since the biggest part of contemporary youth is hyperactive or just opposite – apathetic, it is very difficult to attract attention and even more difficult to keep it, but to make the youth to do all their homework and learn study topics is almost impossible. Therefore, it is important to use maximally progressive teaching methods in order to interest students in the learning process and to gain the maximal result. These methods could be the use of acting and games in the teaching process as well as the integration of some social science knowledge in the less popular subjects such as science subjects, also fields in which students are more interested (aspects of the future profession, understanding of economics and business) could be integrated in the study subjects. The integration of technology, mathematics, and science education has been gaining attention throughout each of the prospective fields in recent years, particularly at the middle school level. However, little research has been conducted at the high school level to probe whether an integrative approach to teaching and learning technology, mathematics, and science education is valid and worthwhile or leads to improvements in student learning (Foster, 1994; Wicklein & Schell, 1995). These methods could be used in the teaching and learning of every subject, starting from labour protection and civil defence and finishing with mathematics and physics. Depending on the profile of educational institution and education level, the teaching and learning with integrative approach should be organised variously. For example, the work that has to be carried out in the general education schools cannot be compared with that one of vocational secondary schools or universities. Due to the current study curriculum and the lesson number dedicated for its acquisition it is impossible, so at the beginning the integrative approach could be used in extracurricular classes or during consultations. In general education schools lesson number for science subjects is insufficient but in vocational high schools it is a catastrophe, for example, in mathematics it is only 70% of the lesson number in general secondary schools in poor municipalities, and 56% of the lesson number in richer municipalities. Since the requirements for all high schools are the same, also final graduation exams are identical, a solution should be found as how to interest students in the acquisition of teaching materials since without independent work good results could not be expected. But mathematics and physics are in the basis of all engineering sciences. Economic growth and successful entrepreneurship, also skilfully organised budget cannot be done without profound knowledge of mathematics. Therefore, the authors of the article concentrate their attention on vocational schools. The integration of technology, mathematics, and science education at the secondary level, taught by either a team of teachers or a single teacher, is a growing national and international curricular and methodological concern. Significant questions remain, however, regarding the implementation and benefits of integrated TMaSe.( Chris Merrill 2001.) In the school year 2015/16 on the experimental basis in the second year of college (corresponds to 11th grade in a general secondary school) was carried out an experiment – during consultations students were assigned to do research in which acquisition and use of 3 study subjects was included. The basic subject of the project was mathematics, so despite the speciality, it was the first subject which was included in the research, the second was economics but the third subject was professional depending on the speciality, for example, electronics. Students did the task in the groups of 2 or 3 people. They not only had to write the research but also to present it in the front of their teachers and classmates as well as to participate in discussions, to argument their results and conclusions. Of course, for a pedagogue preparation for classes, creation of tasks and individual lessons requires incomparably more time and energy than in a classical case, and due to the economic situation of pedagogues it could be seen a “volunteering work”. The article has been made with the purpose to attract attention to the growing problem – insufficient acquisition of mathematics knowledge in vocational secondary schools, and to find some of possible solutions. In the article, the influence of integrative teaching approach on the students` knowledge level, obtained results and the desire to learn is depicted and analysed. Key words: integrative teaching, mathematics, methods, results.


Keywords
Integrative teaching; mathematics; methods; results

Kopeika, E. Integrative Approach in the Teaching of General and Professional Subjects. In: Mathematics and Statistics for the Sustainable Development: X Nordic-Baltic Agrometrics Conference, Latvia, Jelgava, 15-17 September, 2016. Jelgava: Latvia University of Agriculture, 2016, pp.26-28. ISBN 978-9984-48-239-2.

Publication language
English (en)
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