Understanding the nature and characteristics of young adolescent development can focus effort in meeting the needs of these students. The National Middle School Association (USA, 1995) identified the nature of students in term of their intellectual, social, physical, emotionality and psychology, and moral. Young adolescent learners are curious, motivated to achieve when challenged and capable of problem-solving and complex thinking. There is an intense need to belong and be accepted by their peers while finding their own place in the world. They are engaged in forming and questioning their own identities on many levels. The students may be mature at different rates and experience rapid and irregular growth, with bodily changes causing awkward and uncoordinated movements. In terms of emotional and psychological aspects, they are vulnerable and self-conscious, and often experience unpredictable mood swings. While in the case of moral, they are idealistic and want to have an impact on making the world a better place.
Most of the teachers always pay much attention to the nature of student’s ability. We also need to have an answer how to facilitate poor and low-ability children in understanding, learning and schooling. Intellectuality is really important to realize mental ability; while, their work depends on motivation. It seems that motivation is the crucial factor for the students to perform their ability. In general, some teachers are also aware that the character of teaching learning process is a strong factor influencing student’s ability. We need to regard the pupils as central to our concerns if our provision for all the pupils is to be appropriate and effective; some aspects of teaching for appropriateness for students might be: matching their state of knowledge, identifying and responding to their particular difficulties, extending them to develop their potential in mathematics, providing some continuities of teaching with a demonstrated interest in progress, developing an awareness of themselves as learners using the teacher as a resource, and providing regular feedback on progress (Ashley, 1988). Those who teach mathematics must take into account the great variations which exist between pupils both in their rate of learning and also in their level of attainment at any given age (Cockroft Report, 1982, para. 801).
Philosophically, the aims of mathematics education stretch from the movement of back to basic of arithmetic teaching, certification, transfer of knowledge, creativity, up to developing students’ understanding. Once upon a time, a mathematics teacher delivered his notion that the objective of his mathematical lesson was to use better mathematical, more advanced terminology and to grasp a certain concept of mathematics. Other teacher claimed that the objective of his mathematical lesson was to achieve notions stated in the syllabi. While others might state that his aim was to get the true knowledge of mathematics. So, the purpose of mathematics education should enable students to realize, understand, judge, utilize and sometimes also perform the application of mathematics in society, in particular to situations which are significant to their private, social and professional lives (Niss, 1983, in Ernest, 1991). Accordingly, the curriculum should be based on the project to help the pupil's self-development and self-reliance; the life situation of the learner is the starting point of educational planning; knowledge acquisition is the part of the projects; and social change is the ultimate aim of the curriculum (Ernest, 1991).
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