TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING IN THE FIELD OF NEUROEDUCATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE INITIAL MATHEMATICS TEACHING

Abstract

For the purposes of this paper, I define professional development as training teachers, who are in the process of educational practice, that is expressly aimed at improving educational practices in the field of neuroeducation for the needs of Mathematics.

In this paper neuroeducation is defined as a pedagogical discipline within the Neuropedagogy in which the School pedagogy, School hygiene, Psychotherapeutic pedagogy, School psychology and mental science (e.g.: Neurology, Biology, Mental Hygiene, Anatomy, etc.)are synergisticly integrated. They are placed in the function of education to create the conditions for effective learning based on the best ways to teach children. In neuroeducation result is not the primary, but the priority is placed on creativity based on the teaching of thinking, reasoning, evaluation, recognition and modeling process, linking ideas and knowledge in the concepts in order to critically approach the solving of (in this case) mathematical tasks and problems in the younger school age.

Author defines the Neuropedagogy as a discipline within the Pedagogy as a science that studies and investigates general development and educational processes that are aimed at improving the mental functions of the child. The main object of study in Neuropedagogy are the general postulates of neuroeducation.

The paper defines the rules to be followed by teachers in educational process, in order to improve mental ability of pupils for learning the contents of Mathematics.

The research part of the paper refers to the research of contents in teachers’ professional development training in 25 primary schools in Republic of Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

The aim of the research is to determine the contents of professional development of teachers in the sample.

The main conclusions:

1. The contents of teachers’ professional development training are inadequate to the needs of current teaching at younger school age;
2. Teachers’ professional development contents are not covering the current problems and needs in teaching the initial Mathematics.
3. With changing the contents of teachers’ training it can be changed the approach to the realization of contents in teaching the initial Mathematics;

The paper also lists the contents of teachers’ training that can change the approach to the realization of contents in teaching the initial Mathematics.