An application of Suggestopedia method in teaching mathematics to 8th graders is presented in this thesis. The experiment was held in Tampereen Normaalikoulu during the springtime between 21.3.-1.4. 2016 for seven lessons.
Suggestopedia is a teaching method, which was developed by a Bulgarian psychiatrist George Lozanov in 1970. Suggestopedia is a portmanteau of the words “suggestion” and “pedagogy". In Suggestopedia the physical surroundings and the atmosphere in a classroom are the vital factors to make sure that the students feel comfortable and confident, including art and music.
In practice, during the implementation, the suggestopedic lesson was divided into three main parts: the warm up, the active concert and the passive concert. The experiment had the following structure: students were taught during the first three lessons with a normal teaching method and the next four lessons with Suggestopedia. In the end of both teaching methods, tests were given to the students. Furthermore, in the end of the experiment, the students were given a questionnaire, where they were asked their opinion about the method.
According to the results from both tests, the student's performance of solving exercises is dropping with the use of Suggestopedia, while the results of the questionnaire are showing that more than half of the students liked the Suggestopedic method. These results are understandable because of the short time of the implementation, which makes the result not statistically significant. Certainly, Suggestopedia is the method that has a lot of potentials. It can be very helpful for students who have difficulties in finding motivation or for hyperactive students. Moreover, Suggestopedia with Suggestological self-development might help with the fight against depression. It is not sure if that method can become a general teaching method in schools, but certainly it can be applied in some schools where the environment is suitable
