Measuring Mental Math Skills of Bagdad Mathematics Teachers in the Primary Stage
| Dr. Asma Fawzi Hasan Al-Tamimi asma.fo.2014@gmail.com |
Abstract
The research aims to measure the mental mathematics skill of mathematics teachers at the primary level. The teacher has a prominent position in the educational system and is the effective tool in implementing the curriculum. It is necessary to know the skills he/she possesses and measure them. The researcher felt the need to measure their mental mathematics skill, Also, through a field visit to some primary schools and watching some male and female teachers while performing teaching tasks, and by asking some about the extent of their knowledge of (mental mathematics) and its use, the researcher found that there was a weakness in the answers. Therefore, the research problem was determined by answering the following question: What is the level of mental mathematics skill among mathematics teachers for the primary stage in Baghdad/Al-Karkh Governorate II for the academic year 2202 – 2023 AD? Given the importance of mental mathematics, it was emphasized by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in the United States of America (NCTM) and its components were determined after taking the opinion of experts as (mental arithmetic, mathematical intuition, approximate estimation), as it represents doing mathematics in the head without using paper and pen. Or any other auxiliary tools. Some questions were posed, including: Is there a statistically significant difference at the level of significance (0.05) between the average grades of mathematics teachers and the hypothetical average in the mental mathematics test? What is the percentage of their response to her skill? After statistical treatments, the test became ready for application in its final form. It consists of (25) essay-type paragraphs, and the marking score for each paragraph was set at (3) points, with a hypothetical average of (38), and the duration of the test was (120) minutes. Results were reached, including:
- Mathematics teachers’ possession of the components of the mental mathematics skill (mental arithmetic by 75%, while mathematical intuition and approximate estimation by 65%).
- There is also no difference between genders in the possession of this skill, so the researcher recommends that mathematics teachers, both male and female, can be involved in training courses in order to enhance mental mathematics skill.
Key words: skills, mathematic, mental mathematic, mental calculation, math intuition, approximation.
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