By: Indah Septia Dewi N
Abstract: Some students feel difficult to study mathematics. There are many factors that can affect students difficult to study mathematics. One of the factors is teacher. How teacher delivered the material influences the assumption students about the material. To make students interested with mathematics, teachers should make innovation on their method of teaching. Developing technology in teaching learning process is one ways to make students more interest with the subject.
I. Introduction
Psychology is the study of psychiatric symptoms. It is dealing with human behavior. Psychiatric symptoms are covering cognitive aspect, affective aspect, conative aspect and psychometrics aspect. There are two kind of psychology; general psychology and particular psychology. General psychology study about human generally. Meanwhile, particular psychology is study about aspect and set in particular, like psychology of learning mathematics.
Basic principles of psychology consist of four important aspects that are students, learning, mathematics and education. Each aspects are influence each other. The nature of mathematics education consists of two paradigms, that are innovative and traditional. The nature students learning mathematics will be effective if students have:
1. motivation from themselves,
2. students able to collaboration,
3. student able to learn mathematics individually, and
4. students able to learn mathematics contextually.
In education cases, teachers have influences for developments students. They have important role to make students understand with the material. The method that used by teachers is one of the factor that can be support students to learn mathematics.
Generally, people think that mathematics is difficult. Mathematical problems are identical with number and counting. This is challenge for teachers to make mathematics acceptable by students well. This is challenge for teachers to change point of view students about mathematics that think that mathematics is difficult.
In the past, almost teachers use traditional method to taught students. In this method, teachers just transferring knowledge to students. Teachers give and direct. The student cannot explorer their ability because the teachers just give the lesson and not let the students to explorer the lesson by themselves. It makes students become passive.
Now, teachers should use constructivism method to teach students. Constructivism is the term refers to the idea that learners construct knowledge for themselves as he or she learns. Through this method, students can explore their ability in mathematics. They have to be active to find information and study by themselves. Through constructivism method, the students can increase their ability to find information about mathematics.
Viewed from the psychological aspects, there are some factors that made students difficult to study mathematics. One of them is the way teachers explain about mathematics. Make students understand with the material is not a simple thing. This is challenge for teachers to make innovation on their method of teaching so that students can accept the material well.
II. Psychological Aspects of Mathematics Learning
Based on the mini research those have been done, students already know about mathematics from kinder garden. They learn about digit and number. In elementary school, mathematics that has been taught is real mathematics. In junior high school, mathematics that is taught is real mathematics but there are abstract concepts too. In senior high school mathematics that is taught is more abstract than on junior high school but it is real too.
In senior high school, students feel difficult to study trigonometry. There are students that difficult to memorize the value of trigonometry. Some students usually memorize the value of trigonometry, but they not understand the concept. It is make them easy to forgettable.
The way teachers teach students influences to student’s assumption about mathematics. Students that like mathematics can be dislike mathematics because teacher’s factor. Otherwise, students that dislike mathematics can be like mathematics because the teachers. Because each student is different with each other to catch the material, teacher should use method of teaching that suitable with the conditions of students. Teachers should know characteristics of their students, planned the activities that suitable with the ability of students, give opportunity to students to cooperate with others and established the concept by themselves.
Generally, students need teacher that can make mathematics become interested subject. Many students have assumption that mathematics is difficult subject. They have to study hard to understand about the material. Teachers should be creative to make mathematics become easier to be studied.
One of the ways to make students interested with mathematics is change method of teaching students. Effectiveness of time to teach students should be improved. Children will reach their full potential in the schools, if teachers use in effective teaching practices. Teachers can use technology to help teaching learning process. There are many software and program that can support the subject. Studies with technology make students explorer their ability in science and technology. They not only can get the material but also can follow the developments of era. With technology, like use graph calculators, students can imagine the real graphic of the function.
Education that based on curriculum that applied now, can be alternative way to hold teaching learning process that emphasize with competences that should be students have. Teachers teach based on the curriculum, but it is not close probability for develop method to teach students.
Students will study if they have motivation. Teachers as facilitators should make study mathematics become gratify, observe what students want, established understanding based on what students know, make atmospheres in class become conducive to study, give challenge activities, give appreciate with what students do and soon.
Sometimes students feel bored or scary to study mathematics. Teachers should make students more active in teaching learning process. To make students not bored and scary, teachers can use discussion method, use teaching aid to make students more interested and make mathematics more real in their daily life, use problem solving method and soon.
Teaching learning process will be run well if not only teachers and students that should support the process but also school. In other word, school should be support teaching learning process too. Availability of facilities that can be support students to develop their ability in all subjects, especially mathematics is the one ways to make students have spirit to study the subject.
III. Conclusion
Teachers have big influences for their students. Teachers should support students to study mathematics. To make mathematics more interested for students, teachers can use many kind of teaching method that suitable with the condition of their students. Teachers make teaching planed that considers of students need and the ability of students self. Teacher is one of people that involve students to understand about mathematics.
References
Sugihartono, Tathiyah,Kartika Nur, dkk. 2007. Psikologi Pendidikan. Yogyakarta: UNY Press.
http://www.exploratorium.edu/IFI/resources/constructivistlearning.html, accessed on Oct, 15th 2011
http://marsigitpsiko.blogspot.com/2008/12/hakekat-matematika-sekolah-dan-siswa.html, accessed on Oct, 15th 2011
http://blog.unsri.ac.id/bani/pengetahuan/aspek-aspek-psikologi-yang-mempengaruhi-belajar-dan-pembelajaran/mrdetail/14772, accessed on Oct, 13th 2011.
http://staff.uny.ac.id/, accessed on Sept, 14th 2011
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