The Epistemology, Constructivism and Discovery Leaning, Article Critique Example

Purpose

The purpose of the article is to discuss the epistemology, constructivism and discovery leaning in mathematics.

Why was it written?

This article is to discuss the characteristics of mathematics as a body of knowledge. The author wrote the article in hopes to show effective ways of teaching mathematics, and how elementary schools and secondary school teachers can make use of this information. This study was devoted to learning about students’ learning processes, and to assess their outcomes of learning. This paper is to answer if meaningful learning can be distinguished from non-meaningful learning.

Argument Support

The author believes that mathematics involves the statement methods and application of rules is not a successful way to teach mathematics; that this is an empirical fact, and not an epistemological necessity. The development of new empirical models for the comprehension of mathematics must be explored to guide students through the learning process. She argues that too many teachers from elementary schools as well as universities approach mathematic instructions by exemplifying rules and procedures. She believes that this should be done in a form of guided discovery instead. Too many teachers see math as a set of rules and procedures, and this does not well facilitate learning.

Advantages/Disadvantages

Advantages

• There is a lot of literature to back the study up
• The author well identified the problem
• There is a long list of recommendations on how the approach can be followed-through
• She shows both sides of her argument well

Disadvantages

• There are no clear first-hand accounts
• The language is a bit difficult to follow, and slightly wordy