Skemp Activities for the Intelligent Learning of Mathematics

This paper looks at the ideas of R. Skemp which emphasize fostering "intelligent learning " in the teaching of mathematics. Skemp posits that schematic learning takes place when new concepts are constructed by the learner. Three modes of building such internal schema are proposed. Teachers are urged to ensure that at every stage the new concepts to be learned can be assimilated by the children's available schemas. Suggested teaching strategies include: (1) sequencing new material schematically, (2) using structured practical activities, and (3) beginning with a do-and-say approach followed by written work only when the connections between thoughts and verbal symbols are well established. (DB) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document