FAKULTI PENDIDIKAN DAN BAHASA

SEMESTER SEPTEMBER 2014

HBMT 4303-V2

TEACHING OF UPPER SECONDARY MATHEMATICS PART II

NAMA

SITI MASNI BT. AHMAD

NO. MATRIKULASI

790522025694001

NO. KAD PENGENALAN

790522 02 - 5694

NO. TELEFON

013 9112225

E-MEL

sitimasni.ahmad@yahoo.com

PUSAT PEMBELAJARAN

SG. PETANI LEARNING CENTER

1.0 Introduction
Mathematics is an interesting subject and it should be an enjoyable experience for the
students to learn it. However, in reality either students at the school level or advanced
studies in college or universities facing difficulties to achieve such experience in the class.
Moreover, the students perceived that Mathematics subject is a difficult and complicated
to be learned especially an advance version as in Malaysia we have Additional
Mathematics. Statements such as "Mathematics is a killer subject", "I hate the teacher
who is teaching us Mathematics, she is very strict", and "Why do I have to do so many
exercises in Math class". So often, since we stepped into school's life, there is one of the
stigmas that will be inherited by most of us which is Mathematics's teacher is always
fierce and very strict with students. As we growing up and maturing ourselves from
primary school students until secondary school students, some of us are still carrying that
stigma which somehow affecting their performance in Mathematics subject. When the
statistics for big exam such as Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia showed a declining in
performance, we started to finger point each other as a way to avoid the shame. Who is at
fault for this matter? The so called strict teacher? Education system? The spoiled students?
It might be the combination of those three and maybe so much more reasons that
constraining the effectiveness of students especially in Malaysia to learn Mathematics.
We often heard that one of the effective ways to create a good learning and teaching
environment is by creating two-ways communication between the teacher and his
students. The communication between the two parties are important not only to build an
enjoyable surrounding in learning new thing but also to reduce the stress and tense of
handling some difficult chapters and formulas in Mathematics. According to Nor'ain et.al
(2011), teaching and learning should show an active and dynamic classroom as students
thinking, exploring and applying what they have learned. But the big question mark is, is
it dynamic and active enough to attract the students to learn the topic? In Mathematics,
topics such as differentiation and integration are considered as moderately difficult for
some students and very tough for weaker students. In finance world, there is no worries
for the 'some students' as they could perform well in their exams, but the risks are more
for the weaker students as these students will generally being the left out among their
colleagues because they always get low grades for this subject which at the end of the day

will affect the overall performance for the school as many students failed to deliver good
results for Mathematics subject.
As an educator, the teacher has a big responsibility to change this situation and what
sort of changes are required to cater the problems? As for this paper will focusing on two
topics which are differentiation and integration, a more specific question is needed. What
is/are the best teaching methods that can help the students to learn differentiation and
integration more effectively? Therefore, to answer the questions, the paper will review
three teaching methods with other supporting literatures to show the strengths for each of
these methods. After that, a dynamic and creative teaching method will be proposed in
teaching the students on differentiation and integration. Lastly, a teaching activity will be
provided to show the structure of daily lesson for this two topics of interest.
Before stretching the discussion to a deeper part, an introduction to the concepts for
both topics are necessary as an icebreaking for the newcomers who had zero knowledge
on this area and also as a refreshment for the one who already used to the concepts for
each topic being discussed.

1.1 Differentiation
Differentiation is the term used to for the process of finding the rates of changes or
derivatives of a function with respect to one of its variables. This is equivalent to finding
the slope of the tangent line to the function at a point. It usually denotes as dy/ dx which
means that "the first derivative of y with respect to x." There are three commonly used
ways to express the definition of the derivative as showed in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Expressions of derivative definition

1.2 Integration
It is the term applied to the operation of finding a function when given its derivatives.
Integration is a contradiction to differentiation as differentiation is an operation to find the
derivatives where the function is given while the integration involves the inverse
operation. It can be used to find the areas, volumes, central points and etc.

2.0 Teaching Methods

Around the world, there are many approaches being used by the educators to teach on
differentiation and integration chapters which also known as the ingredients of Calculus 1.
In order to conduct an effective teaching for the students, the most suitable method must
be adopted by a teacher. The traditional method that usually being used by most of
teachers is the lecture method. This method takes the form of presentation where the
instructor should have the knowledge on the topic that will be presented and must know
how to organize and deliver the lecture. According to Kadry and Shalkamy (2012),
lecture method is used to introduce new topics, present graphical subjects, summarize
ideas, present coding, display the main points of the lecture, and show the relation
between the theory and the practice. Though this method is widely used by most of
teachers in schools but is it effective enough to teach the students on a more advanced
Mathematics topics such as differentiation and integration? Therefore, this section will
discussing on three teaching methods which been proposed by researchers in teaching
differentiation and integration topics.
2.1 Microsoft Excel
Besides products from Apple, almost all technology devices such as desktops, tablets,
laptops and notebooks will install Microsoft Office to run their works. One of the
branches for Microsoft Office is Microsoft Excel. Excel is an electronic spread sheet
software where the end user can use it to store and structure their data in a tabular form. It
allows the user to do any arithmetic application and utilize a huge set of mathematics to
build the formula. Microsoft Excel is useful because it offers a wide range features that
consist of calculation, draw graphics, create formulas, and solve equations and many
mathematical functions. According to Hammer (2000) and Mykytyn (2007), this method

has been found to enhance the student knowledge as it incorporates aspects of

experiential and problem based learning. The teacher must have the skills and also
knowledge on using the Excel to teach it to the students. It might takes time for the
teachers to master the steps and procedures involved in using the Excel to solve the
problems on differentiation and integration but its worth their efforts if the students really
take it seriously in the classroom. The observations by the researcher showed that the
Excel-based learning provides benefit for the students in three ways (Jiajuan and Martin,
2008).
1. The hands-on approach of solving Excel problems throughout the class improves the
students ability to stay focus. The teacher will set the time to solve a question and the
students must listen carefully to the explanation for each concepts and steps in using the
Excel so that they will not being the left out from the lesson.
2. The use of visual approach through Excel graphing and other procedures seems to be
effective learning approach for our students. According to Kadry and Shalkamy (2012),
the visual approach improves the percentage of concentration of the students and they are
able to produce result or the answers in a short time.
3. Students entering into more advanced quantitative analysis courses are more efficient
in Excel techniques and hence enhance student learning
Research by Kadry and Shalkamy (2012) prolonged the benefits of using Excel to
teach integration and differentiation as follows:
1. The students understand the topics in calculus very well in an attractive way
2. The students get more experience and knowledge in Excel which will be using it in
the future.

2.2 Computer Algebra System (CAS)

Historically, Computer Algebra System or CAS already being introduced to the
world of computer technology on 1970s and also on microcomputers around 1980s. As
the technology is becoming more advanced, it is now accessible as CAS calculators that
have increasing demand from the secondary school students. CAS calculators capabilities
include graphics calculator together with capabilities for symbolic algebra. It has abilities
to perform algebraic procedures including calculus, drawing graphs, and others. CAS

calculators' model which is known as T1-92 have excellent graphical and numerical
capabilities as well as a symbolic algebra capability that allows manipulation of symbols
according to certain algorithmic procedures which enable a wide range of tasks including
differentiation to perform very quickly and precisely. The data analysis shows that the
CAS activities is supporting the student learning on derivative concepts. The functional
CAS assisted the students to learn formulation competencies that related with graphical,
symbolic, and numerical representation of differentiation while the pedagogical CAS
activities seems to assist the students at learning on some of the interpretation
competencies and formula competencies. The study found that the chance to enhance
students' understanding can be achieved through few reasons such as the teachers have
deep mathematics knowledge, skillful, confidence and willingness to use CAS. From
students perspectives, it helps them to do a quick and accurate performance of wide range
of numerical, graphical and symbolic procedures as it can simultaneously performing two
works in a split screen features.

2.3 Graphing Calculator

As technology is getting advanced day by day, it is tactical-wise to adapt one of the
technologies that can be used in the classroom by the students. The technology does not
need to be too advanced but the functions of the device and its features are good enough
to improve students' performance in the class. Calculator is one of the essential gadgets in
Mathematics classes because most of the topics involving big numbers and complicated
functions which explained why we have to rely on calculators instead of using other
traditional tools such as paper and sempoa. There are varieties of calculator available in
the market that serving the needs of students especially the upper secondary students and
the college students. One of the popular calculators among the students is graphing
calculator. According to Kor and Lim (2004), graphing calculator is a hand-held ,
powered by battery that is equipped with functions to "plot graphs, give numerical
solutions to equations, and perform statistical calculations, operation on matrices, and to
perform more advanced mathematical functions such as algebra, geometry, and advanced
statistics." The graphing calculator is not only useful because it enables the students to
solve the mathematical problems by engaging themselves in doing the mathematics

(Noraini et. al, 2011), but also forming a better understanding among the students of the
mathematics involved and are motivated to solve any complex problems by using the
device. This has been proven by many studies throughout the world in this particular tool
in assisting the students to enhance their understanding on differentiation and integration
topics. Alkhateeb and Wampler (2002) found that the use of graphing calculator increased
the performance of the students in a test compared to the students who did not use it for
the test. In addition, a similar study had been conducted by Tiwari (2007) who found that
students that are using graphing calculator have higher tendency to achieve conceptual
understanding and problem solving abilities in both topics. For this particular paper, the
model that will be utilized is TI-Nspire. The feedbacks from the students after they used
TI-Nspire:
1.

Colorful and clear screen

2.

Fast and flexible to work with

3.

Manage more difficult tasks

4.

Learn and understand Mathematics better

5.

Mathematics is more interesting and fun when working with TI-Nspire

However there are also some difficulties in using this calculator which are listed as
follow:
1. Hard to start using TI-Nspire
2. Takes time to learn TI-Nspire
3. Difficult to use different tools
4. When you work with pencil and paper you understand better
Overall, the researcher found that the graphing calculator stimulates mathematical
thinking and also helps the students to visualize the abstract and complex concepts. Last
but not least, it allows the students to enjoy the learning process and makes the teaching
more fun and meaningful.

3.0 Teaching Materials

After a thorough discussion and literature reviews being made in earlier sections,
there is a need to construct the best teaching material that can be used to teach the
students on both topics that have been the limelight for this paper which are
differentiation and integration. All of the teaching methods being discussed in previous
sections show the influences of technology to the education nowadays. We cannot argue
the contributions of these technologies on enhancement of teaching and learning
environment especially in Malaysia where the government is encouraging the efforts to
adapt and adopt more technologies in education system. It has becoming a national
agenda to increase the quality of education among Malaysian students especially the new
generations. It is rather impossible to rely just on teachers' skills and knowledge in
achieving the goal of our government. Therefore, by using teaching aids along with the
knowledgeable and trained teachers, the goals are very likely to be achieved as the
government and other non- government organizations cooperatively working together to
support them.
It might be a traditional way to teach the students, but so often it serves the purpose
very well. Lecture method has been used by many educators at all level around the world
despites many devices and alternatives have been introduced to replace this method.
Lecture method allows the teacher to teach the students important concepts for a topic.
However, in order to make the method working more efficiently it must be combined
with another method which is discussion method. The lecture method usually only
involve the teacher and its teaching materials such as text books and whiteboard in
teaching the students without any active participation by the students and most of the time
only the teacher is talking in front of the class. By combining lecture and discussion
methods, the teacher will encourage the students to participate in the class and they will
having more opportunities to ask any doubts that they have and share their answers to the
whole class. This is called as student-centered approach as the teacher will only facilitate
the students on each topic instead of 'feeding' everything to them. This approach will
allow the students to understand each concept rather effectively. According to Kadry and
Shalkamy (2012), the target of the instructor is to draw out what the students understand
instead of spending the entire class period to tell them about the topics. But, there is

always a room for improvement in everything, therefore these two methods are good
enough for certain topic that is not very difficult to understand.
However, topics like differentiation and integration might require an additional
teaching aid that can help students to solve an advanced mathematical problems. The
graphing calculator is a good option because it has been proven by many researchers on
its effectiveness to enhance students' understanding and also to attract them to learn those
complicated formulas by using this device. It is portable and very user friendly to the
general consumers. National Council of Teachers of Malaysia or NCTM encouraging the
usage of graphing calculator because it can enhance the students' experience with
multiple representation of mathematical ideas (NCTM, 1989). For the students, the
graphing calculator gives them a quick and accurate solutions for their mathematical
problems. The lesson for both topics will take two weeks to complete. At the initial stage,
students will be trained on how to use the graphing calculators in order to familiarize the
students with the features and functions of the calculators. Next, training sessions will be
conducted to introduce the interface design and use the algebraic, graphical and
numerical functions of the TI-Nspire. The teacher will conduct lectures to introduce the
concepts of differentiation and integration.
The lesson plan must be planned carefully so that the learning objectives are
achieved. The students must understand every features on the graphing calculators and
how each features are functioning. This is important to avoid them from being the left out
in the class as the lesson must be continued as planned. After the lesson for both lecture
and guidelines to use T1-Nspire are completed, the teacher will give some questions to
test on two things. Firstly, to measure the students understanding on both topics and the
second objective is to investigate the ability of students to apply the TI-Nspire to solve
the problems related to topics of differentiation and integration.

4.0 Teaching Plan

The following table describing the lesson plan for this topic and each learning
objectives must be achieved at the end of the lesson to show the effectiveness of
TI-Nspire on students understanding for topic Integration and differentiation.

Daily Lesson Plan

Topic: Probability I

Date: 19th November 2014 (Wednesday)

Subtopic: Probability concepts

Time: 9 am - 11 am

Learning Objectives:

Teaching Outline:

1. Students learn how to use graphing Students 1. Teach the students how to use the graphing
can define the concepts of Differentiation
2. Students

can

define

the

concepts

calculator
of 2. Lesson on Introduction to the concepts of

Integration

Differentiation and Integration

3. Students can differentiate each concepts

3. Discussion on both topics

4. Students can give examples for each terms

4. Solve the questions related to integration

5. Students able to solve differentiation and and differentiation.

integration problems by using the TI-Nspire
Classroom Design
Materials: TI-Nspire, Mathematics textbook
Warm up: Teacher will guide and explain the features and functions of the graphing calculator.
Lesson: Topic review by teacher and detail explanation on both topics which are integration and
differentiation
Activities:
a. Students will solve simple problems by using paper and pencil method
b. Students will solve problems by using graphing calculator
c. Solve the exercise for this topic
Closing: Students will be given homework for both topics.

5.0 Reflective Report

The teacher must have the necessary knowledge and skills on handling the graphing
calculator. This is vital because he or she needs to explain it to the students clearly so that
they will understand the explanation which is useful for them to use it in solving the
problems related to topic of integration and differentiation. The students should fully
focused on the guidelines from their teacher and fully utilized the graphing calculator to
increase their ability to provide the solutions on each exercises rather quickly and pin
point accuracy. The usage of this calculator is hoping to reduce the issues related to
teachers' problems in teaching both topics to their students. The traditional lecturing
method which basically teacher-centered learning process usually will create a gap among
the students who are not that quick to absorb all the knowledge given by the teachers.
Therefore, the graphing calculator is a good choice to cater this problem because it can
solve most of the mathematical problems in a short time.
However, there are two adjustment that can be made to improve the efficiency of
using graphing calculator among the students in learning integration and differentiation.
Firstly, the teacher should ask the students to learn about the features and functions of the
graphing calculator at their home instead of doing it in classroom because it could be time
consuming if they did it in the classroom. The teacher just need to give them a brief
explanation on it and let the students do their own exploration of that calculator as a
homework. Besides that, the usage of TI-Nspire should be nurtured at earlier stage of
learning mathematics subject. This will allow the students to be well-prepared when the
want to use the calculator in future time. Its an important decision to be decided by the
teacher and school if they want to buy the graphing calculator or the normal scientific
calculator because it is quite costly to purchase both type of calculators. Therefore, the
purchase of graphing calculator will allow the students to be very well-skilled on many
topics for Mathematics subject. In conclusion, the graphing calculator is a useful
handheld device in improving teaching and learning process in teaching two topics which
are integration and differentiation.

Reference

Alkhateeb, H., &Wampler, J. (2002).Graphing calculators and students' conceptions of

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Hamer, L. (2000). The Additive effects of Semistructured Classroom Activities on
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Jiajuan, L., & Martin, L. (2008). An Excel-Aided Method for Teaching Calculus-Bases
Business Mathematics. College Teaching Methods & Styles Journal. 4 (11).
Kadry, Seifedine, & Shalkamy, M.E. (2012). Toward New Vision in Teaching Calculus.
Lim Chap Sam and Kor Liew Kee 2004. Teaching statistics with graphical calculators in
Malaysia: challenges and constraint. Micromath. 20(2): 30-33.
Mykytyn, P. Educating Our Students in computer Application concepts: A Case for
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National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (1989). Curriculum and Evaluation
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Norain Mohd. Tajudin, Rohani Ahmad Tarmizi, Wan Zah Wan Ali, & Mohd. Majid
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