Abstract
This study was to measure the Van Hiele’s levels of geometric thinking attained by Ghanaian Junior High School Form 3 (JHS 3) students before writing the BECE. A quantitative research approach was employed in the study and a sample of 105 students randomly selected from the four schools. The results showed that 22 students (20.95%) of the students could not attain any VHG level at all, that means they were in level 0. 65 students (61.91%) of the students attained Van Hiele’s level 1, 17 (16.19%) reached level 2, and only 1 (0.95%) reached level 3. An independent t-test yielded no statistically significant difference between public and private school students in their geometric thinking levels t(103) = 0.926, p > 0.05. The findings indicated that most of the Ghanaian JHS graduates do not attain satisfactory levels of VHGT. Recommendations are made for improving the teaching of geometry.
Highlights
There has being a growing interest in the teaching and learning of geometry since the mid of 1980s (e.g., Crowley, 1987; Gutierrez, Jaime, & Fortuny, 1991; Clements & Battista, 1990; Mason, 1997; Lappan, Fey, Fitzgerald, Friel, & Phillips, 1996; Baffoe & Mereku, 2010; Armah, Cofie & Okpoti, 2017; Asemani, Asiedu-Addo & Oppong 2017)
Ghana participated in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in order to find out how the performance of her eighth graders (JSS2) in science and mathematics compared with those of other countries
The VHGT which was developed by Usiskin (1982) under the Cognitive Development an achievement Secondary School Geometry (CDASSG) special programme was the main instrument for the research
Summary
There has being a growing interest in the teaching and learning of geometry since the mid of 1980s (e.g., Crowley, 1987; Gutierrez, Jaime, & Fortuny, 1991; Clements & Battista, 1990; Mason, 1997; Lappan, Fey, Fitzgerald, Friel, & Phillips, 1996; Baffoe & Mereku, 2010; Armah, Cofie & Okpoti, 2017; Asemani, Asiedu-Addo & Oppong 2017). According to TIMSS 2011 report, Ghanaian students’ performance in mathematics indicated that, algebra and geometry were the weak content areas (Mullis, Martin, Foy & Aron, 2011). In view of this abysmal performance of Ghanaian students, mathematics educators have put up maximum efforts aimed at identifying the major problems associated with the teaching and learning of mathematics in the nation’s schools. According to Atebe (2008) as cited in Asemani, Asiedu-Addo & Oppong (2017), geometry provides a more complete appreciation of the world we live in It is a major part of our synthetic world such as art, architecture, cars, machines, and virtually everything humans create. There has been a great deal of concern about the level of students understanding of geometry in Ghanaian schools
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