Abstract
Isolation, lack of connection and/or belonging, difficulty maintaining engagement and motivation for learning are common complaints for students separated from teaching and support staff in distance education. Using a mixed-methods approach, this article utilises dimensions of student engagement: cognitive, emotional and social behaviour to argue on student-teachers’ engagement in mathematics learning for teaching in the Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL) context. A survey was administered to 654 students in an institution registered for Postgraduate Certificate in Education mathematics didactics course. Furthermore, five of the students were interviewed using emails and audio-recorded telephone calls. Findings reveal that student-teachers sometimes feel hopeless due to connectivity and data issues, which then impacts their time to engage with mathematics content. They also revealed that when they engage in discussion forums, they enjoy learning mathematics with their peers. It was also revealed that feedback on their assignments guides them on the correctness of their solutions as they otherwise would not have been able to do this on their own. It is recommended that further work be done to establish how cognitive engagement with mathematics can be positively impacted in an ODeL context.
Highlights
The preparation of mathematics teachers through Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL) has been a challenge due to the nature of communication with student-teachers and material delivery during instruction
From critical research and interpretivist epistemologies, this article reports from an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach research project that analysed how student teachers in an Open Distance e-Learning context engaged with learning Further Education and Training (FET) mathematics
I have tried to outline how student-teachers engage with mathematics in an Open Distance e-Learning context
Summary
The preparation of mathematics teachers through Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL) has been a challenge due to the nature of communication with student-teachers and material delivery during instruction. Drawing from the modification of Kilpatrick et al.’s five strands of mathematical proficiency (Graven & Stott, 2012), the proposed framework prescribes that for the transformation of mathematics teaching in the country, teachers must (i) teach mathematics for conceptual understanding to enable comprehension of mathematical concepts, operations and relations; (ii) teach so that learners develop procedural fluency that involves skill in carrying out procedures flexibly, accurately, efficiently and appropriately; (iii) develop learners’ strategic competence in which the ability to formulate, represent and decide on appropriate strategies to solve mathematical problems is promoted; (iv) provide multiple and varied opportunities for learners to develop their mathematical reasoning skills with capacity for logical thought, reflection, explanation and justification; and (v) promote a learner-centred classroom that enables all of the above, supported by teachers engaging with learners in ways that foreground mathematical learning for all (Department of Basic Education, 2018). Mathematics teacher preparation should be an intuitive process that equips learners with skills that enable learning and the construction of the concepts in their own minds
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