Response to Skemp's approaches to learning and teaching

While I was reading Skemp's article, the one thing that stood out to me the most was when he mentioned how teachers want their students to learn relationally but instead, students are learning instrumentally. It struck me because often times students were not taught relationally at a young age which resulted in them memorizing equations and answers as they grew older, which raises another challenge because when the questions are worded differently, students may not know what to do. Another thing that caught my eye was when Skemp was talking about the "Devil's Advocate". Skemp mentioned the three advantages of instrumental advantages that are so beneficial that a great number of teachers are using them. While reading the "Devil's Advocate", I related to this because this was what I did with my students when I was tutoring math: giving them equations and telling them the steps to do. The students were satisfied that they received quick answers felt confident about themselves. However, since a large number of educators are using instrumental teaching, it makes me wonder if most educators simply want the easier option and whether it is ideal for students in the long run? The last part that stood out to me was when Skemp talked about why many children are only taught instrumental mathematics in school. It amazes me how even though relational teaching is a better method in the long run, most still choose instrumental teaching and it makes me wonder if there is a way where we can convince educators to use relational teaching on a more consistent basis.

After reading Skemp's article, I agree with his standpoint about the issue where relational teaching is not used as often as instrumental teaching, and at the same time, relational teaching is superior to the latter, such that the comprehension of concepts developed from the basics is able to contribute as students grow and learn newer materials. To expand on what Skemp mentioned near the end of his article, he also talked about how relational teaching takes too much effort and is too difficult to achieve. However, I believe that there are circumstances where relational teaching can prove to be useful, such as implementing it at an early stage when students are still young and the learning materials are not as complicated. By doing this, when students grow up they would be able to build on what they've learned previously and apply the knowledge as they learn new concepts. So, I do think both instrumental and relational teaching are beneficial, depending on the stage of when each is used.