Geometry in Education, Article Review Example

Mathematics is an essential area of academia for students of all ages. While many readily note the importance of adding, subtracting and multiplying, some do not realize the importance that geometry brings to a developing child’s cognition. Equally important is the teacher’s access to appropriate geometry resources, such as text books and teaching aids to further students understanding of shapes and their relation to overall academics. This paper will focus on the importance of geometry in the classroom, as well as the need for higher level processing for both general education classrooms and special education students. In order to develop a better understating an article written by John Cawley, Teresa Foley and Anne Hayes, published in the Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal will be analyzed.

Article Main Points

The above referenced articles summarize the facets of geometry and measurement education in the classroom setting. They focus on the ways that educators are currently teaching these areas in both general education and special education classrooms. They suggest that the purpose of educational geometry is multi-faceted with the most important aspects being the provided ability for students to master the principles of geometry and develop proficiency through the repetitive practicing (Cawley, Foley & Hayes, 2009). They also point out that teaching geometry in the classroom should be more specific and additional resources should be provided for special education students. They suggest that there is a difference in teaching resources and text books that make it difficult for teachers to teach geometry appropriately. It was found by Pullen that less than one percent of syllabi mentioned the specialized needs or adaptations needed for special education students (2009).

Without the appreciate dedication to resources or adaptations it places the teacher at a disadvantage in teaching the students necessary patterns, reasoning and hands on experiences with practice exercises. There is a difference in the depth of educational material in the text books between general education and special education. This is a deficit as geometry is important to several aspects of the developing child. Some of the areas noted by the article are enhanced communication processes, language comprehension and overall improved cognitive abilities (Cawley, Foley & Hayes, 2009).

Personal Opinion Of Points Stressed

The use of measurement and geometry is one of the major elements or backbone areas of arithmetic. The fact that there is little data to represent students’ needs and benefits for this area of education is a deficit that should be corrected. As pointed out by Cawley, Foley & Hayes, geometry assists students in other academic areas besides mathematics (2009). These other benefits are the development of language through the reading and skills such as letter and symbol recognition. Students in both general education and special education benefit and are better able to pay direct attention to patterns and also broaden their overall education level through geometry. There should be a focus toward the narrowing of the gap in educational literature to assist teachers in delivering better instruction in this area. This will assist both the educators and student in learning, practicing and becoming more comfortable with not only geometry, but also other areas of mathematics. This focus will improve the student’s chances of future academic success.

One of the major benefits of geometry and measurements in the classroom was noted by Bley and Thorton, when they addressed the personal development that mathematics can bring (1989). They noted that students not only learn shapes, patterns and their interlocking abilities, but that it also improves spatial abilities, visual discrimination, attending, task commitment and short term memory (Bley & Thorton, 1989). By practicing this area of math students are taught to evaluate relationships, master tasks and also to change their ways of solving problems until they find a correct answer. This assists them not only in problem solving, but also learning how to interact in other areas of their lives. All of these areas improve the students learning process and helps them achieve a higher level of mental functioning which improves their overall learning experiences.

Benefits Of The Article & Recommendations

I found the article to be extremely helpful and I did not realize that there was such a deficit in this area. I have become aware that many students do not understand the reasons for learning geometry, and possibly there should be more of an emphasis placed on teaching resources to help students, teachers and parents better understand the benefit of geometry in the classroom. I would definitely recommend this article to colleagues as it provides the reasons and needs in a specific area of education. In many cases mathematics, especially specialized areas such as geometry, they are not considered as an important staple of education, which places the student at a disadvantage. It is not only problem solving that they are learning, but also learning other skills to better prepare them for the future. As this article points out, without the understanding or learning about deficits they may not be addressed and the students will be the ones that will suffer over the long term career of their education. Possibly suggesting this article to other educational professionals there could be a push for more research and literature in this area to further the cause.

References

Bley, N., & Thornton, C. (1989). Teaching mathematics to students with learning disabilities. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed, Inc.

Cawley, J., Foley, T., & Hayes, A. M. (2009). Geometry and Measurement: A Discussion of Status and Content Options for Elementary School Students with Learning Disabilities. Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal, 7(1), 21-42.

Pullen, P. C. (2009). Students with learning disabilities (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Merrill.