Study On Lapsus In Middle School Mathematics Teaching And Countermeasures

Mathematics is an important basic course in middle schools. How to carry out mathematics teaching in a more effective way has long been a subject that many math teachers have paid close attention to. This paper, from a new perspective, tries to probe into mathematics teaching issues by studying mathematics teaching lapsus, so as to discuss the effects, causes and consequences brought about by the lapsus, and the corresponding countermeasures in mathematics teaching.In recent years, abundant research has been done in mathematics teaching. However, the study on teaching lapsus in mathematics instruction is comparatively few. Searching the Chinese periodical full text database (1994 - 2002), one comes up with 6610 theses on mathematics instruction. But there are only four theses related to "mathematics teaching lapsus", which means it is a new field in the theoretical study of middle school mathematics teaching. The study would be of practical significance for strengthening substantial results in math learning and instruction, and for further implementing quality-oriented education and the new course reform.What is referred to as middle school mathematics teaching lapsus is, among the math teachers in middle schools, the teaching theory, teaching method, teaching practice and teaching assessment that fail to meet the demands of the objective laws of mathematics instruction, thus leading to certain departure and maladjustment in the course of teaching. This failure not only hinders the normal function of teaching, resulting in a lack of proper mathematics adequacy among the students, but also brings about delayed and even blocked physical and psychological development among the students.Focusing on the teachers as the principal parts who are responsible for the lapsus in mathematics instruction, the paper classifies the lapsus into four categories and deals with each of them in an analytical way: ㎜apsus in the teaching goal of mathematics, which manifests the mistaken idea regarding the so-called "normal distribution theory" in mathematics teaching strategies-taking mathematics only as a discipline on skill training, regarding mathematics teaching as the result of mental work. ㎜apsus in organizing the instruction, which shows a lack of humanism spirit in mathematics teaching; the absence of the education of the mathematics history; lapsus in mathematics LOGO, problem solution, assignment, etc. (3) Lapsus in the choice of the teaching modes, which reveals inadequacy in heuristic educational practice, mathematics classroom question design, multimedia-assisted teaching andpopularization of mathematics teaching modes. (4)Lapsus in assessment, which shows an alienation from the right appraising purpose, one-sided appraisal contents, lack of appraisal objectivity, ignoring the interaction between estimators and those being appraised.The lapsus in mathematics teaching has a direct side effect on the formation of student's good mathematics accomplishment. This paper focuses on the discussion of the four negative consequences caused by the lapsus in mathematics teaching in middle schools: (1)Shortage of validity in math classroom instruction, resulting in a great difference in learning opportunities for different students as well as heavy density and poor quality of classroom instruction, hence inadequate knowledge transferring ability among the students. (2)Absence of creativity in classroom instruction of mathematics, displaying an excessive emphasis on the so-called systematicness, logics and instrumentalness of knowledge, while lacking the due life meaning and life value; emphasizing excessively the teaching results, thus seriously suppressing the full play of the students' creativeness. (3) Entity disappearance in classroom instruction of mathematics, which shows total absence of self-motivated activities among the students as principal learning parts as well as insufficiency in student intercommunion. (4)Lack of emotion in the classroom instruction of mathematics: showing an emphasis on mathematics knowle...