Teaching Mathematics Research Articles

Junior High School Teachers and Students’ Attitude toward Teaching and Learning Mathematics through Problem Solving: A Case Study from Mampong Municipality

Purpose: Effectiveness of education depends on factors which include teachers’ instructional role associated with students’ learning outcomes. Teachers’ attitude is an enduring system of their beliefs, feelings and actions which invariably influence students’ achievement in mathematics learning. This study sought to investigate into Junior High School (JHS) mathematics teachers and students’ attitudes toward teaching and learning mathematics through problem-solving instructional strategy.
 Methodology: A cross – sectional exploratory survey design was employed to obtain a snapshot of what pertained in the classrooms of the selected Junior High Schools. Questionnaires for measuring teachers and students’ attitude were pilot tested to ensure scale reliability. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for the data analysis. Spearman’ rank correlation was calculated to establish the nature of relationship between teachers and students’ attitude, at a fixed significance level of 0.05.
 Findings: It was revealed that there existed positive but weak relationship between teachers and students’ attitudes toward teaching and learning mathematics through problem solving. Findings from this study were not quite different from the studies reviewed in the literature that showed that teachers’ attitude influence their choice of teaching strategy and the quality of teaching students receive. Format for conducting external examination, time available for teaching topics in the syllabus, and students’ entry behaviour were found to be determining factors for teachers’ choice of instructional strategy. It can be inferred that though students considered problem solving instructional approach as challenging, but they do not despise its use in mathematics learning.
 Recommendations: From this study, subject-based workshops or professional development sessions must be organized by District Education Office at the beginning of every term for the JHS mathematics teachers. Students must equally be encouraged by teachers through specific assignments that involve the use of problem-solving strategies. workshops, District Education Office should provide mathematics teachers with materials that will enable them to model mathematical concepts in classroom.

Improving teaching and learning mathematics in Malawi primary schools: a review of reforms, interventions, successes and challenges

Teaching and learning mathematics in Malawi primary schools has been of concern for many years. This is because of the low learner achievement in national assessments by the Malawi National Examinations Board, where learners’ performance in mathematics at end of primary education has been consistently low. In other assessments, such as the Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (Brombacher, 2011) and the numeracy assessment by the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality (SACMEQ, 2011), the average performance of Malawi learners has been below the expectation of the curriculum. In an attempt to address the issues and improve the quality of teaching and learning of mathematics, there have been curriculum reforms which revised the content objective based curriculum to learner outcome based curriculum and aimed at shifting teaching from traditional teacher centred to more learner centred teaching approaches (Ministry of Education, 2007). In addition, over the years there have been interventions in the teaching and learning of mathematics; some interventions targeted mathematics teachers in schools to implement new teaching strategies, while other interventions targeted entire schools and communities. In this paper, we review the reforms and interventions, analyse their successes and challenges, and discuss the implications for improving the teaching and learning mathematics in Malawi primary schools.

A Study on the Application of Appreciation Education in Teaching Mathematics

Appreciation education is an educational method that helps students to get better development by finding and encouraging their shining points. With the deepening reform of quality education, the society’s concept of education has changed. It not only requires the all-round development of students’ moral grounding, intellectual ability, physical vigor, aesthetic sensibility, and work skills, but also encourages the application of appreciation for students’ education and classroom management. How to understand and use appreciation education has become the focus. By digging deeper and analyzing the connotation, theoretical basis and role of appreciation education, this study summarizes the current situation, characteristics and citation of the application of appreciation education in order to enhance the effectiveness of mathematics teaching and provide guidelines for theoretical researchers and front-line practitioners.

Further insight into Student Learning Outcomes of Derivative Materials: Numbered Head Together and Expository Learning Model

This study aims to determine the effect of the Numbered Head Together (NHT) and Expository Learning Model (ELM) learning models on student learning outcomes in derived mathematics. The method used in this research is a quasi-experimental method, namely the Nonequaivalent Control Group Design. The experimental class was given a Numbered Head Together (NHT) The NHT model for class XI SMA IPA 5 and XI SMA IPA 1 as conventional classes is given in the form of the ELM model. Data analysis used the t test, where the results showed: 1) there was a significant increase in student learning outcomes in derived material using the Learning Numbered Head Together (NHT) model, 2) student learning outcomes in mathematics were higher using the Learning Numbered Head Together model. (NHT) than the learning outcomes obtained with the Expository Learning Model (ELM) model. This can be seen from the test results with the t. Test, mark Tcount = 89,12 And value ofT’ table = 1,67 so that TCount>T’table = 89,2>1,67, so rejected and accepted. In conclusion, students who are taught mathematics using the NHT model understand much more and have very good results compared to the ELM model. Suggestions, in implementing mathematics material, it is expected that educators use the NTH learning model to improve learning outcomes and produce good thinking concepts in mathematics.

Mathematics textbook: motivation, experiences, and didactical aspect from authors’ perspectives

ABSTRACT Textbooks play a vital role in the Nepali education system since they are one of the main resources for teaching and learning mathematics. Because of poor physical infrastructure and inadequate educational resources, both teachers and students heavily rely on textbooks. In this regard, this study investigated the mathematics textbook authors' experiences and motivation, and what types of didactical knowledge were utilised while writing textbooks. A convenient yet purposeful sampling method was utilised to select four participants. The data analysis unveiled that each textbook author had different types of motivation and experiences, and only one participant was aware of the ideas of didactical knowledge and utilised them to some extent in textbooks. The writing process was more influenced by the examination, mathematical content, and classroom experiences. As a result, textbooks seemed to be content-heavy and examination-oriented. Additional professional development programmes likely would help authors to produce more effective textbooks in Nepal.

Teaching and learning discrete mathematics

In this paper, we provide an overall perspective on the teaching and learning of discrete mathematics. Our aim is to highlight what research has been conducted in this area and to connect it to existing research ideas for future work. We begin by characterizing discrete mathematics and its role in the school curriculum, highlighting themes, topics, and mathematical practices that distinguish discrete mathematics. We then present potential benefits of focusing on discrete mathematics topics for mathematics education; in particular, we discuss the accessibility of topics in discrete mathematics, the connection to mathematical processes and affect, and the relevance of discrete mathematics in our current society. We also emphasize discrete mathematics from an international perspective, highlighting studies from the US, Italy, France, Chile, and Germany, which are across all school levels–primary, middle, and secondary school, and with some implications for post-secondary education. We particularly discuss discrete topics including number theory, combinatorics, iteration and recursion, graph theory, and discrete games and puzzles; we describe and situate these topics within literature. We also suggest the additional topics of game theory and the mathematics of fairness that we hope to see addressed in future studies.

WORKING WITH GIFTED CHILDREN IN TEACHING MATHEMATICS IN PRIMARY GRADES

WORKING WITH GIFTED CHILDREN IN TEACHING MATHEMATICS IN PRIMARY GRADES

Using Field Trips to Create Relevant Social Justice Informed Mathematics Lessons in an Elementary Teacher Education Program: An Action Research Study

ABSTRACT Teaching mathematics for social justice is a rich research area in which field trips have been under examined. The paucity of literature on math-based field trips for social justice, specifically, warrants further investigation. This action research study aims to improve our practice of empowering elementary preservice teachers to design math-based field trips to enhance student awareness of social justice issues. Two research questions (RQ) guided this project: (RQ1) How can teacher educators inspire social change within math education via the preparation of future elementary teachers using math-based field trips? (RQ2) What are preservice teachers’ perceptions of designing socially just math lessons using fieldtrips? We provide an overview of previous literature, describe the project we designed, and provide an analysis of preservice teachers’ experiences and perceptions of this project. Thematic analysis of student journals and final assignments generated eight overarching themes and three subordinate themes organized by three phases. Organization by phases indicates a structural approach that teacher educators may use when introducing a similar activity. Further analysis revealed elementary preservice teachers emphasized the beneficial challenge of this assignment, suggesting that math-based social justice field trips are important additions to teacher education programs. Finally, we discuss what we learned from this study as teacher educators and researchers and provide recommendations to the field of teacher education.

Assessing Mathematics and Science Self-Efficacy Beliefs for Teaching

The study used a questionnaire survey to collect quantitative data from respondents. The independent variables of interest were level of math and science self-efficacy beliefs, as well as self-efficacy for teaching math and science. The questionnaire survey was voluntarily completed by 60 teachers, comprising 45 male and 15 female. The respondents ranged in age from 19 to 38 years. The findings of the study revealed that the mathematics and science teachers at the basic school had high level of self-efficacy beliefs. The study further discovered that though not strong, there is a positive relationship between math and science teachers’ self-efficacy and their ability to teach math and science. The findings also found that math and science teachers’ scores on the MSSEB scale for mathematics and science self-efficacy beliefs were generally higher than their scores on the SETMS scale for self-efficacy for teaching mathematics and science. The ability to effectively explain math /science concepts to students received the lowest mean rating in comparison to others. Teachers' self-efficacy beliefs and self-efficacy can be important considerations for teacher professional development training as a powerful intervening factor for teacher effectiveness and student performance outcomes.

Effectiveness of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Integrated Teaching and Learning in Primary Schools

The aim of this study was to explore the effectiveness of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integrated teaching and learning at primary level in Public Private Partnership (PPP) schools. The study also investigated how ICT is integrated for teaching and learning at primary level in PPP schools. The study was qualitative in design and employed phenomenological approach. Data for the study were collected through semi structured interviews, lesson observations and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). The study participants were 15 teachers and 5 head teachers. The study indicated that the schools used Smart LED TVs and Tablet PCs with interactive e-learning application and story-based animated content of Science, English and Mathematics for teaching and learning in classroom. The findings of the study showed that ICT integration improved students’ academic achievements, increased their interest in learning and also increased students’ attendance and enrolment. The findings of the study also presented that ICT integration shifted teachers’ teaching practices from teacher centered to student centered, increased their interest in teaching and made teaching easier for them. The findings of the study may be helpful for different stakeholders working to improve the quality of education in the context of underprivileged areas especially PPP organizations, schools and teachers. 
 Keywords: Teaching and Learning, ICT Integration, Primary Schools, Technology Effectiveness, Public Private Partnership

Mathematics self-belief comparison and examination of pre-service teacher (PST) through a flipped-open calculation based on numbers (ABN) learning method

Teaching mathematics in higher education has been followed traditionally by teacher-centered methodology. With this methodology, there are always certain difficulties in mathematics learning, revealing students are not capable of dealing properly with calculations and/or problems. This research presents the comparison and examination of two different instruction methodologies, traditional-classroom methodology (TCM) and flipped-classroom methodology (FCM) about self-belief of pre-service teacher (PST) in a mathematics course. Here, an open calculation based on numbers (ABN) method originally from the Spanish teaching methodology (abierto basado en números) was used in both teaching methodologies. The 274 PSTs participated in the course: 131 students to T-ABN and 143 students to F-ABN. The results after applying the questionnaire (Cronbach's α = 0.897) showed F-ABN had significant influences in PSTs' self-belief toward the course and made classes more interactive based on parametric-statistical tests. PSTs' self-belief for four studied groups (pre- and post-test in control and experimental group) indicated significant differences found by ANOVA test. Additionally, significant differences were only observed in educational background not in gender of PSTs' self-belief according to factorial ANVOA. In all cases, when significant differences were found, effect size and post-hoc tests were conducted. Therefore, more student-centered methodology allowed to build positive teaching/learning environment for PSTs as future teachers, which consequently expects better learning outputs for children as their future students.

Personas Characterising Secondary School Mathematics Students: Development and Applications to Educational Technology

Information technology plays an increasingly prominent role in our personal and professional lives. It also plays an important role in schools, and especially in mathematics education. To realise their full potential in education, technologies should be designed in a way that addresses the characteristics of the target students. In the context of learning mathematics, students often experience anxiety with regard to the content that needs to be learnt; therefore, this work considers mathematics anxiety as a characteristic that should be particularly relevant when designing technologies that assist with teaching and learning mathematics. The development of personas, i.e., prototypical and simplified user descriptions, is a widely used tool in user experience (UX) research that supports design processes. In this methodological paper, we combine this UX methodology with a grounded theory approach. This combination of methodologies could facilitate the establishment of guidelines for developing personas representing secondary school mathematics students, which constitutes the goal of this paper. We review existing persona development techniques in other fields and adapt them to the context of secondary mathematics education using qualitative secondary data. Our aim is to provide a research approach that produces a better understanding of students’ characteristics, needs, and fears. Despite limitations in terms of the amount of data included in developing and piloting this methodology, this work forms the basis for increasing the usability of educational technologies and for adapting them to individual learning styles to reduce mathematics anxiety.

Mastery Learning and the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Teaching and Learning Mathematics in Romanian Schools

COVID-19 pandemic has had a great influence on educational systems all over the world. The changes which occurred during the last year and a half were related to adapting the teaching-learning process to the online environment, to students’ and teachers’ behaviour regarding the way they got involved in educational activities, and to the lack of proper training for both categories. The mastery learning model can be adapted to the new teaching and learning conditions, being a great advantage, especially for students who encounter different difficulties in learning mathematics. The purpose of this qualitative research was to determine how effective the implementation of a mastery learning strategy is for both in-class and online math lessons. The implemented mastery learning strategies found a fertile ground in this new learning environment and have revealed that math anxiety and test anxiety were reduced due to the constant use of formative assessments and to the opportunity to revise contents that had not been previously understood.

What Do Students’ of (15-17) Year’s Old Beliefs and Feelings Tell Us about Teaching and Learning Mathematics

This study aimed to reveal students of (15-17) year’s old beliefs about teaching and learning mathematics, using the qualitative method. (104) male and female students participated in the study; they are divided into the ninth, tenth, and eleventh grades (48, 21, 35) respectively. The results showed that the students believed that the mathematics teacher and his/her teaching methods were the main reason students liked or disliked mathematics. Some of them believe that mathematics is difficult and complicated, while others believe that it is boring; on the other hand, there are those who believe of its importance. In light of the results, the researchers strongly recommend the necessity of qualifying mathematics teachers to deal positively with their students, and enrich the content with activities that are attractive to students

EFFECTIVENESS OF FLIPPED CLASSROOM MODEL THROUGH MULTIMEDIA TECHNOLOGY IN IMPROVING STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN DIRECTED NUMBERS

The recent globalisation and the emergency of COVID-19 require a teaching and learning environment that encourages the use of technology. Through a mixed-method design and an action research approach, this study investigated the effectiveness of a flipped classroom model through multimedia technology in improving students’ performance in directed numbers, given the difficulty and misconceptions of students in this mathematical concept. A total of 30 Year 9 students conveniently sampled from one of the secondary schools in Brunei Darussalam served as participants. The action taken involved a pretest, intervention, posttest, and interviews. The results of the paired sample t-test revealed that students’ performance in directed numbers significantly improved after the flipped classroom intervention. Students had positive perceptions of the flipped classroom model as it encouraged their readiness, participation, and motivation. Challenges such as time constraints and distractions when studying from home were reported. These results imply that amid COVID-19, a flipped classroom through multimedia technology can be an effective and alternative way of teaching and learning directed numbers. It has the potential of encouraging student-centred learning and creativity, which are vital in teaching and learning mathematics.

Secondary school teacher’s conception and reflection of computer programming with Scratch

AbstractThe present study explores teachers' conception and reflection of computer programming with a Scratch in terms of technological and pedagogical aspects. A mixed research approach specifically sequential explanatory research design was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data. The population was comprised of two hundred and four in-service Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, and Biology teachers from Kayonza district, Rwanda. However, only 34 were randomly selected to participate in the study. An achievement test and structured interview were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. The quantitative data obtained from pre- and post-tests were analyzed using a pairedttest, and the data from the interview was analyzed by descriptive, and interpretive analyses. It was revealed that secondary school teachers have a respectable conception and constructive reflection of Scratch programming once attending scratch training. Quantitative findings showed that there was an important difference in the mean among pre- and post-tests with 0.171 learning gain and an effect size of 0.53 (df = 33,p < 0.05). It was also revealed that Scratch is an operational instructional tool for teaching and learning Mathematics and Sciences. Furthermore, teachers articulated progressive views of using scratch in teaching and learning Mathematics and Sciences as it supports them to visualize abstract content, improves students' interest and impetus, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, and acts as an assessment tool.

NEW INNOVATIVE IDEAS IN THE METHODS OF TEACHING MATHEMATICS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL AND METHODS OF TEACHING MATHEMATICS

NEW INNOVATIVE IDEAS IN THE METHODS OF TEACHING MATHEMATICS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL AND METHODS OF TEACHING MATHEMATICS

PELAKSANAAN PEMBELAJARAN DARING DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN GOOGLE MEET DAN WHATSAPP PADA MATA PELAJARAN MATEMATIKA

This research aims to find out and describe the implementation ofonline learning using google meet and whatsapp conducted by teachersin teaching mathematics at Singkawang State Junior High School 4.The research methods used in this study are descriptive. The subjectsin this study were 13 learners. The data collection tools used areobservation sheets, learning outcomes, and questionnaires. Based onthe results of observations, the implementation of online learningcarried out by teachers is mostly in accordance with the learningimplementation plan. Student learning activities in online learning areclassified as inactive with a percentage of 40%. The learning results oflearners in flat side room building materials are classified as highcompletion of at least 75% of 85%. Students' response to theimplementation of online learning using google meet and whatsapp isrelatively positive with a percentage of 73.65%.

ЛІНГВОМЕТОДИЧНІ ОСНОВИ НАВЧАННЯ ІНОЗЕМНИХ СЛУХАЧІВ ПІДГОТОВЧИХ ВІДДІЛЕНЬ НАУКОВОМУ СТИЛЮ МОВЛЕННЯ ПРИ ВИВЧЕННІ ПРИРОДНИЧИХ ДИСЦИПЛІН

Improving the quality of training of foreign students at preparatory departments is a priority, which requires improving the forms, methods and technologies of teaching foreign students languages and the formation of scientific functional-linguistic style, which is the basis of communication in the professional sphere. The problem of systematic analysis of linguistic and methodological bases of teaching the scientific style of speech of foreign students at the preparatory departments has its own features and difficulties, overcoming which is associated with the search for new methodological approaches and models. The article reveals the linguistic-methodological approaches to the systematic and activity teaching of foreign students the scientific style of speech and the main components of the scientific style of speech as a kind of modern literary language using as an example teaching physics and mathematics in pre-university training. The structure of educational texts which consist of certain functional blocks and act as model for formation of communicatively-motivated kinds of speech activity is offered. The evaluation of educational and scientific texts in physics and mathematics is made in terms of their information indicators (redundancy, density of teaching material, the average index of complexity). Informational evaluation of educational texts of general and natural sciences opens the possibility of developing objective criteria for optimization and minimization of educational and professional material. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is ensured by a number of relevant and effective linguistic and methodological recommendations. The effectiveness of students’ speech activity in a foreign language is determined by addressing the description of the material of the scientific language, its organization in terms of communicative and professional orientation and functional and stylistic expediency. The study of linguistic and methodological bases of teaching foreign students the scientific style of speech in the study of natural sciences allows us to conclude about the effectiveness of combining professional, linguistic and speech aspects of teaching, coordinated work of language teachers and natural sciences in forming the main components of scientific style. The method of formation of basic themes of educational texts is offered, the most important component of which is their accurate structure, sequence and logic of the statement. It is shown that the standardization of syntactic models, structures of scientific style of speech, lexical structure of scientific speech, its syntactic features are of great importance. It is shown that teaching certain types of speech activity on the material of the language of the specialty must be built differently, considering the psychological capabilities of different categories of foreign students.

NEW METHODOLOGICAL METHODS AND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES IN TEACHING MATHEMATICS

NEW METHODOLOGICAL METHODS AND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES IN TEACHING MATHEMATICS