Teaching with Analogies: A Strategy for Teaching Radicals to Junior Secondary Mathematics Learners

Abstract

Teachers choose various ways to present content material in a classroom. The choice depends on several factors. Determinant factors for selecting a teaching method include the available time and resources, students' interest and background knowledge, and learning abilities, while other factors affecting selection of a method are teachers' skills or the content conveyed to the learners." One of the teaching strategies through which mathematics content can be presented to learners is via the use of analogies. To create an analogy is to compare one thing to another, with the purpose of explaining, clarifying, conveying and facilitating meaning-making. Mathematics teachers often make and use analogies in their classrooms, whether they are aware of it or not. The purpose of this paper is to start a discussion and illustrate how junior secondary mathematics teachers can teach radicals using analogies. Presented here, are personally constructed examples that teachers could exploit to teach radicals to junior secondary mathematics learners.