Creating and sustaining culture of equity in teaching Mathematics

Effective and results-oriented mathematics teachers are recognised not only by their instructional methods in the classroom, but also by their enthusiasm to create and sustain a culture of equity.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) emphasises that excellence in mathematics education rests on equity—high expectations, respect, understanding and strong support for all children.

Furthermore, the council posits that policies, practices, attitudes and beliefs related to mathematics teaching and learning should be assessed continually to ensure that all children have access to the right resources with the greatest potential to promote learning.

It should be noted that equity in mathematics teaching and learning does not mean equality.  It is the inherent quality for teachers to exhibit fairness and reasonableness in the choice of their instructional delivery to enable children to maximise their learning potential.  

For example, when assessing equitable instructional methods and expectations, teachers should consider the diverse needs of each child, as well as the needs and strengths of children in the whole class. 

Extra instruction

One child may need only a few minutes of extra instruction to master a concept, while another may need additional time to go over an assigned task to develop an understanding of the content. It is not about how much time teachers give to each child, but rather, how teachers create the appropriate opportunities for each child to learn mathematics. 

In fact, research indicates that every child has a unique disposition and learning style.  Hence, with inclusive education becoming increasingly popular in educational circles, the need for teachers to give attention to equitable practices in the mathematics classroom has never been greater.

Consequently, they are compelled to accommodate children of varied ability groups in the same classroom. To this end, their role in the classroom, therefore, is to ensure that they provide all children with the appropriate instructions and tasks to challenge them to do their best.  It is therefore no gainsaying that some teachers sometimes give extra help to children to shore up their understanding in concept building.

Motivating children  

To hold high expectations means that teachers should motivate all children to learn mathematics by giving children rich and challenging opportunities to do so. It also means that teachers should teach all children to handle complex problems and engage them in mathematical reasoning and problem solving. Furthermore, teachers should give children access, not only to challenging tasks, but also to challenging courses and curricula.

To ensure a culture of equity in the mathematics classroom, members of this school community should respect one another, value each member’s contribution and be prepared to take risks that could lead to enhanced learning opportunities. Teachers should partner with their colleagues to find opportunities to plan lessons and engage in activities in order to complete a project or an assessment. 

Teachers should partner with the administrative staff in making decisions about how children should learn mathematics and create mechanisms to enable them to contribute to decisions regarding instruction and assessment. To realise this, teachers cam reflect on and revise different approaches that will enhance children’s engagement and learning. 

Building partnership with children 

They could also build a partnership with children to assess their understanding of mathematics and seek alternative ways to solve problems. They could identify themselves as partners with children’s families as they work together towards children’s mathematics learning and communicate regularly with families to keep them updated on the activities they create for their children.  

As members of the community, teachers should engage in sharing strategies and constructive ways of knowing for the enhancement of practices that promote understanding and embrace children’s experiences and beliefs.  

In the school community, all necessary resources for optimal learning and personal growth of both children and teachers should be provided by stakeholders to enable teachers explore the right instructional materials to support, engage and challenge all children. They should also strive to identify children’s strengths and weaknesses and make available challenging problems for children to solve.

Undoubtedly, high expectations, culturally relevant practices, attitudes that are free of bias and unprejudiced beliefs expand and maximize the potential for children’s learning. In this regard, teachers should endeavour to build a classroom community that values and celebrates each child as a learner regardless of race, ethnicity, culture, socio-economic status, gender or language. They should provide varied access to important mathematics content, including the appropriate use of technology.  

Teachers should ensure that children have access to challenging, rigorous and meaningful mathematical experiences through the development and review of specific goals for all children.

The writer is a Lecturer, Department of Mathematics Education, University of Education, Winneba. Email: assuahc@gmail.com