University - Experiences of learning mathematics

About this free course

This free course provides a sample of level 2 study in Mathematics: www.open.ac.uk/courses/find/mathematics.

This version of the content may include video, images and interactive content that may not be optimised for your device.

You can experience this free course as it was originally designed on OpenLearn, the home of free learning from The Open University: www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/mathematics-and-statistics/mathematics-education/experiences-learning-mathematics/content-section-0.

There youll also be able to track your progress via your activity record, which you can use to demonstrate your learning.

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It is worth remembering that much of what teachers do is adapted, consciously or unconsciously, from what they have seen other teachers do. Your sense of yourself as a teacher may be coloured by how closely you come to achieving what you have admired or responded to in othersor it may depend on the extent to which you have found the better way you were sure must exist.

You have now examined some of your beliefs about learning and teaching mathematics. But what are your beliefs about the nature of mathematics itself? One of the key ways in which your perception of the nature of mathematics has developed is through your own experience of learning and doing mathematics. This experience will also have a bearing on your notions of how mathematics is learned and on your perceptions of the roles of teachers and pupils in mathematics classrooms. You may also experience strong feelings and emotions relating to your own work on mathematical tasks. Don't be afraid to consider your feelings as you reflect on the nature of mathematics and its role in schools.