By
Siti Nurrochmah Dani
10313244004
Abstract
Psychological aspect in mathematics learning is importance to known. Psychological aspect in math learning influence in student achievement indirectly. There are two paradigm of mathematics learning that influence student psychology. The first paradigm is old paradigm. It is also called traditional paradigm. It can create student to be unconfidence and weakness person. In the other hand the second paradigm that is new paradigm or constructivist method of teaching. It build character student to be good person and good personality. Teacher as person that knows development of soul of student must organize psychology of student. Teacher should make planning and develop student activity in class. Teacher also has good personality, ability and pedagogy.
A. Introduction
Definition psychology
Psychology descends from words psyche and logos, where pshyche means soul and logos means study. So, psychology can be defined as study about soul. Psyche or soul is difficult to define, because soul is object that has abstract characteristic, difficult to see, although we can aware the existence. In this era soul term is changed by psychic. Some experts learn the psychic of human from psychic phenomena or indication.
Psychic phenomena of human can be distinguished by four phenomena. Those are cognitive, affective, conation, and psychomotor. Cognitive or introducing phenomena is a process or effort human for introducing many stimulation or information from senses then saving, connecting, analyzing, and solving problem base on stimulation. Perceptions, association, memory, thinking, intelligence are include in cognition. Affective or feeling phenomena is capability to feel a getting stimulation, where sad, happy, boring, angry, hate, and love are inside. Conation or desire is intention that is had by human. Whereas psychometric is mixing or merging from cognitive and affective. For example reading, studying, walking and eating.
Dakir (1993) said that psychology discussing human behavior and relation with environment. Muhibbin Syah (2001) conclude that psychology is study learning opened human behavior and closed human behavior as individual or group in relation between environment and them.
From definition above, we can conclude that psychology is study that learn about behave of human as individual and relation with environment. Human behavior can be seeing, but sometime can’t be see. It also can be conscious and unconscious. The meaning of behavior of human is very large; all of act or do is behavior. So the object of psychology is very large.
Psychology in general is more complex about soul of human, but here we want to talk about psychology in mathematics learning. Psychology of mathematics learning is study surround souls of student and teacher in a process learning mathematics. Here it is more prominent in student soul.
B. Basic Principles of Mathematics Learning
There are many kind of psychology. One of them is psychology of mathematics learning. But, before we learn more deeply about psychology of mathematics learning, we must know about basic principle of mathematics learning. There are four basic principles in psychology of mathematics learning. They are:
1. Education
Education is defined as a person process to become educate. Education also can be defined as a process to change attitude and behavior of person or group to make them adult. Poerbakawatja and Harahap (in Sugihartono. 2007:3) said that education is a willful effort of adult to upgrade the maturity.
2. Student
Student is person in society that effort to develops potency on her/him self through education. Usually student gets education in school, where he/she can study about many things and science.
3. Learning
Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information(wikipedia.org). Moreover, (1) Learning as a quantitative increase in knowledge. (2) Learning as memorizing. (3) Learning as acquiring facts, skills, and methods that can be retained and used as necessary. (4) Learning as making sense or abstracting meaning. (5) Learning as interpreting and understanding reality in a different way (infed.org).
From explanation above, learning has meaning that a human process to increasing knowledge, skills, information from the experience of sense.
4. Mathematics
Mathematics is a branch of study that deals with numbers. Counting, measuring, adding, subtracting, dividing, and multiplying are the kind where we live. But some people think it is a complicated subject to learn. But they can not avoid living with it. So mathematics is needed to learn.
There are two kind of Mathematics learning, they are pure mathematics and elementary mathematics. Elementary mathematics is learned by primary students at elementary school and junior high school. The reason why elementary mathematics given to primary student is they can not accept abstract materials. It must be explained by concrete object so the material is easier to accept. Examples of concrete objects are drum, tube, wheel and others object that similar with mathematical object. They are learned by observation.
The abstract material on math will be given to adult people like students in university and students in senior high school. As geometry, algebra, matrices, calculus are beyond mind of people, so it must be given slowly and with right method.
The different between abstract and concrete object lays on the characteristic of object. Object in pure mathematics is perfect object that is main object. But in concrete object that just on measurement and shape. It is not mathematical object. To get mathematical object we use abstraction. It means take certain characteristic that we want to learn. And we use idealism. It means put down as the perfect characteristic.
Mathematics is not release from problem solving, proving and building theorem systematically. It is also developed in formal system form. Math in this case is also called pure mathematics. The formal system form is called mathematics axiomatic. But just particular people absolutely learn mathematics in high grade.
On the other hand, mathematics in primary school always have problem to communicate mathematics. For younger people, math is difficult to understand. So, in school, we need easier way to talk math. Moreover, mathematics can be good and easy to learn for younger people. So, mathematics can be adaptable in teaching learning.
For explanation before we have seen about education, student, learning and mathematics. In psychology of mathematics learning they can not separate one with each other because they are uniting the world of mathematics learning.
C. Paradigms of Mathematics Learning that Influence the Psychology of Student in Mathematics Learning
Developing psychology of student in mathematics learning depend on how a teacher subjected the student in class. What the student become a subject or object learning. How method’s teacher is used in learning mathematics, lesson study or explanatory. How a teacher develop skill and ability of student. How the experience teacher teach mathematics. They are matters which influence the psychology of student in mathematics learning. They can uncover in paradigm of mathematics learning.
There are two paradigms in mathematics learning that influence the psychological of student. The first paradigm is old paradigm. It is also called traditional paradigm, where teacher is very active and dominant in class and student is more passive. Teacher transforms her/his knowledge to student. He/she explains mathematics with explanatory method and usually blackboard is media to teach. Student just listens and does worksheet if teacher give problem.
This method has applied on mathematics learning since yore until now. How about development of psychology of student if the method always use in mathematics leaning?
From a little research, some students claim that explanatory method is boring. Topic in mathematics is to be abstract and more theoretical. So they accept lesson difficulty. But they also claim that they need the explanatory method in some topic in mathematics learning, whereas the topics is more complicated and needed to understanding more.
Not only boring is effected by traditional method, but also it makes student to be afraid to say her/his opinion in front of class and afraid to the teacher. It can be happened if teacher teach math gruffly and seriously. Indirectly make character of student to be weak and unconfident person. In addition, student does not understand the real purpose of learning mathematics.
There are some reasons, traditional method is still used. They are (1) it make controllable condition in class, (2) it is more efficient communication between teacher and student, (3) it can make student more discipline, (4) it is easy to use.
From the advantages and disadvantages of using traditional method, we must push on how about psychological aspect of student if this method is still used. If teacher aware about it so teacher should use the second paradigm. It is new paradigm.
New paradigm is also called constructivist method or innovative teaching. It shows that teacher as facilitator and student is center of mathematics learning process. Innovative teaching builds relationship between teacher and students, where each of them will contribute in teaching learning. Teacher is to be their friend. So they can share their problems to the teacher without being afraid. Teacher also know well how to teach student where each student has a unique ability. Mathematics is empowering of students, so mathematics as education can not transform from teacher to student.
This paradigm is marked by group discussion and lesson study. There is creativity of student to think and solve mathematics problem. There is communication one student to each other to say the opinion about the problem. So intelligent of student more develop. Student is created to be good person in character because he/she strives for creative, active and confidence. In addition student knows what the purpose of leaning mathematics.
D. Psychological aspects in mathematics learning
In learning mathematics, teacher must know about met cognition and social-psychologist perception of student. Met cognition is person knowledge as a process and result study that happen in student mind and other things related. So teacher must understand and help student. Socio-psychology perception means how far the student understands math through perception process and the situation of related it. Result attitude cover cognitive, affective, and psychomotoric aspect. Teacher is expected can anticipation changing attitude aspect. It starts with good planning and developing class activity.
With effective learning mathematics, teaching learning process is expected to create student: (1) be autonomous person, (2) be effective learner, (3) be Productivity worker, (4) be part of good society. To create high human quality like that, there are four learning quality must be developed to student. They are: (1) learning to do, (2) learning to learn, (3) learning to be, (4) learning to live together.
Incarnated nice teach, character of mathematics teacher should be:
1. Has big proclivity on mathematics learning.
2. Has ability to predict personality of student.
3. Has forbearance and sensitivity to built spirit of mathematics learning.
4. Has imaginative thinking (conceptual) and practice when explain mathematics to student.
5. Has qualifying in mathematics and good method to teach.
6. Have flexibility and experimental method and technique.
7. Be diligent.
8. Has strong responsibility of sense.
9. Has average high ability and quality.
Not only explanations above to create good student in mathematics learning. Teacher must pay attention on motivation, caring, and remembering. What is mean? Teacher should motivate student to study or learn more deeply about mathematics, so that student is not to be frustration. Teacher also cares about problem of student to understand the mathematics topic. In influence, student achievement is increase. Teacher has to remembering student about mathematics topic.
What should teacher do to establish good character of student?
Teacher must know the nature of mathematics and the nature of student learning mathematics. The natures of mathematics are:
1. Mathematics research for pattern and relationship.
2. Mathematics is problem solving activity.
3. Mathematics is investigation activity.
4. Mathematics is a mean of communication.
There are four items on the nature of student learn math, so student learn math effectively.
1. Student has good motivation and good preparation.
2. Student can learn math in collaboration with others.
3. Student can learn math individually.
4. Student learn math contextually.
If teacher know the nature of student learn mathematics, he/she also know what the necessary of student learning mathematics and how to teach mathematics so that create good character of student, because psychology of student was organized by teacher.
E. Conclusion
Psychological aspect in mathematics learning is psychological aspects about anything in teaching learning process about mathematics include how teacher teach mathematics, how teacher create student to be a good person and how attitude of student when he/she learn mathematics as a lesson, how student accept topic on mathematics. All is must knew by a mathematics teacher.
Bibliography
Marsigit. 2004. Developing Mathematics Education in Indonesia. Paper.
Siswoyo. 2008. Ilmu Pendidikan. Yogyakarta. UNYPress
Sugihartono. 2007. Psikologi Pendidikan. Yogyakarta. UNYPress
http://mathematics-nurrochmahdani.blogspot.com/2011/05/paradigm-of-mathematics-in-teaching.html, access on Oct, 13th 2011 at 10.40 a.m.
http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-learn.htm , access on Oct, 13th 2011 at 09.58 a.m.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education, access on Oct, 14th 2011 at 11.35 a.m.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning, access on Oct, 14th 2011 at 11.28 a.m.
http://akhmadsudrajat.wordpress.com/2010/01/02/psikologi-pembelajaran-dan-pengajaran/, access on Oct, 12th 2011 at 15.26 a.m.
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