Hyderabad City: A recent study highlighted that a staggering 58 percent of in-service math teachers harbor similar misconceptions as their students, according to one study.
Conducted by Educational Initiatives, the study analyzed the mathematics subject knowledge of 1,357 teachers from 152 schools in India, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia and found a need for improved teacher training to increase the effectiveness of primary and secondary mathematics teaching.
The assessment focused on fundamental mathematical concepts such as proportion, proportional reasoning, algebraic reasoning and estimation. The results were worrying: almost 80 percent of teachers were unable to correctly answer questions related to these concepts.
The study revealed that misconceptions among teachers were as common as those among their students. For example, in the concept of proportion, only 15.9 percent of teachers selected the correct answer, while a significant 58.9 percent reported a common misconception.
Praveena Katragadda and Nishchal Shukla, researchers at Educational Initiatives, said in their report that “the level of misconceptions among teachers was almost as high as that of students. This suggests that teachers may be unconsciously perpetuating these misconceptions in their classrooms.”
The study identified several specific misconceptions. One of the main misconceptions was that adding the same value to both terms of a proportion would maintain the proportion (for example, 6:8 to 9:11). Another was that the perimeter of a figure formed by joining parts is the sum of the perimeters of the parts. In addition, many teachers incorrectly ordered decimal numbers by comparing the digits in the decimal part to whole numbers, leading to errors in understanding and teaching.
Reactions from the teaching community have been mixed. Many teachers acknowledged the need to upskill regularly, but pointed to systemic challenges. “We are often overwhelmed by administrative tasks and tight schedules, leaving us little time for professional development,” said Anjali Rao, from a private school in Habsiguda. “While we recognize the need to upskill, finding the time is a major challenge.”
Some agreed that there is an urgent need for continuous learning. “It is essential to keep up to date with the latest teaching methodologies and regularly review our subject knowledge,” said Neelima R, another secondary school mathematics and physics teacher. “Better assessments and regular training sessions can help us become more effective educators,” she added.
However, not all teachers were convinced by the study’s findings. “One study cannot be the sole basis for such broad generalisations about teachers’ competencies,” said Fatima Begum, adding that there are many factors at play and that “we need more comprehensive data to draw such conclusions.”
