Mathematical Teaching Strategies: Pathways to Critical Thinking and Metacognition

Abstract

A teacher that emphasizes reasoning, logic and validity gives their students access to mathematics as an effective way of practicing critical thinking. All students have the ability to enhance and expand their critical thinking when learning mathematics. Students can develop this ability when confronting mathematical problems, identifying possible solutions and evaluating and justifying their reasons for the results, thereby allowing students to become confident critical thinkers. Critical thinking and reasoning allows students to think about how they utilize their discipline of mathematical skills (i.e., they think about their method of thinking). Metacognition helps students to recognize that math is logical reasoning on solutions to problems. Students are taught how to: identify scenarios; evaluate; select problem-solving strategies; identify possible conclusions; select logical conclusions; describe how a solution was summarized; and indicate how those solutions can be applied to more advanced math problems. This paper indicates the necessity of applying critical thinking and provides an example of how critical thinking; creativity and flexibility in finding such ways help students to better understand the concepts of number sense. This discipline of reasoning results with students who develop the ability with focused thinking, planning and strategizing, which have been identified as key aspects of organizational success, decision making, and life choices.