Teaching Styles in the Teaching of Mathematics Thematically

particular thematic style. Teachers’ judgement of students’ ability to handle the 
abstractness or complexity of the theme and its mathematical content is an additional 
significant factor in choosing a particular thematic style. Usually this is a powerful 
deterrent to teaching thematically, particularly when the teacher realises that classroom 
management problems such as discipline and class noise levels may arise in open-ended 
tasks. 
Linked to the factors presented above is the teacher’s expectation of the level of 
motivation that the theme can generate among students. In addition, a teacher may feel 
very competent to teach through topics but not thematically, or vice versa, and this 
realisation can determine the teacher’s choice of teaching style. Generally, as some head 
teachers suggested, mathematics teachers are very traditional in their teaching and are 
very unwilling to change. Another factor affecting the selection of a particular style was 
the capacity of the mathematical concept to fit in with the theme context since some 
mathematical concepts are more difficult than others to teach within a theme. For some 
forms of content, a teacher may prefer to begin from the theme and then move to the 
basic skills, while other types of content require the inverse procedure. Last but not least, 
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teachers’ technical knowledge of the theme itself emerged as an important factor in 
undertaking a theme because some self-research and independent study was needed. For 
example, a theme concerning building design requires drawing skills that may be 
challenging to some teachers. In conclusion, these findings show that there are many 
factors that a teacher considers when deciding as to what teaching style to adopt. In 
general, opting for a more complex style is considered by teachers to be risky and more 
challenging.