THE EFFECTS OF INTEGRATING MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE & SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHING IN LEARNING MATHEMATICS

Milenko Curcic¹, Dragica Milinkovic²* i Dragana Radivojevic^3
1Prof. Dr., University of East Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, ljekobilje@teol.net
²Assoc. Prof. Dr., University of East Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, sadra@teol.net
³Assist. Prof. Dr., University of East Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, dragan-r1@live.com
*Corresponding author

Abstract
The Primary Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina is still being dominated by the concept of science-oriented teaching according to which teachers are "forced" to implement relatively strict division of educational areas within even more stringent and divided subjects from the first class. In such circumstances, in mathematics teaching of the basic and developmental cycle of primary school pupils are most often "served" tasks isolated from the authentic context, that they solve mechanically, trailing only algorithmic steps. A problem arises when they face the need for the application of acquired knowledge in the real life situations. This implies that the initial teaching of mathematics predominantly activates students’ cognitive area, but in a significant deficit of other psycho-physical areas, which is brought into collision with the basic natural needs of children. Taking into account their strongly expressed need for simultaneous performance of different activities, there is a demand for connecting and integrating scientific and educational areas, both within one subject and between different subjects. Bearing in mind that the natural and social environment represents a starting point and a source on which are based all the cognitions that the child acquires in the elementary grades, the integration of teaching mathematics and teaching science & social studies imposes naturally.

Accordingly, the work deals with the learning of mathematics through the integration of the syllabus contents of science & social studies. The aim is to help students not perceive mathematics as a set of definitions, axioms, theorems and proofs. In a sample of 278 students aged 8 to 9 years, an experimental research has been carried out in order to examine the effects of an interdisciplinary approach to teaching mathematics and reactions of students to this model of teaching and learning.

All the students have reacted positively to this approach to teaching mathematics, as demonstrated in the results of assessments, suggesting that a multidimensional approach to learning significantly contributes to a better understanding of mathematical contents and concepts and to the better understanding of science & social studies content.  It also remarkably raises the quality of the functional and applicable knowledge and motivation for learning in general.

Keywords: integration of teaching mathematics and science & social studies, understanding of mathematical contents and concepts, the application of acquired knowledge, motivation to learn mathematics.