Research Article
Radha Devi Shrestha, Bal Chandra Luitel, Shashidhar Belbase
Contemporary Mathematics and Science Education, Volume 2, Issue 2, Article No: ep21010
ABSTRACT
There is limited evidence of underachieving students’ mathematical experiences and the challenges they face in mathematics classes in the context of Nepal. This study explores the lived experiences of underachiever students in learning mathematics in a public school in Kathmandu, Nepal. The study participants were three ninth-grade students (two females and one male) who failed mathematics and repeated the grade. A sequence of in-depth interviews was administered with each participant to explore their lived experience of mathematics. The participants’ narratives were constructed based on the temporal sequence of event analysis concerning their mathematics learning experience. Their narratives revealed three critical concerns in their experience of learning mathematics: mathematics is complicated, mathematics is abstract, and mathematics learning is rote memorization. Change of schools was one of the main reasons they had difficulty adjusting to the new environment, affecting their mathematics learning. Another concern they revealed was the obligation to support their parents during the out of school time or even during school time and being frequently absent in the class.
Keywords: underachievers in mathematics, learning mathematics, teaching mathematics, Nepal
Research Article
Priestly Malambo
Contemporary Mathematics and Science Education, Volume 2, Issue 2, Article No: ep21011
ABSTRACT
The likelihood of misunderstanding and misrepresenting trigonometric ideas motivated an investigation of implicit misconceptions in prospective mathematics teachers’ reasoning about particular trigonometric concepts. To access the participants’ implicit misconceptions, a qualitative approach and case study design in particular were employed. Three prospective teachers chosen purposefully composed the sample. The student teachers majored in mathematics and were in the final year of training. Four diagnostic questions based on trigonometry were administered followed by semi-structured interviews. Qualitative analyses of calculations and interview transcripts revealed implicit misconceptions in participants’ reasoning. The prospective teachers reasoned that trigonometric equations can be resolved in the same way as conventional algebraic equations. Likewise, they demonstrated an erroneous notion that inverse trigonometric functions are evaluated just like indices. Besides, the participants incorrectly considered elements of domains of trigonometric functions to be synonymous with such functions’ extreme values. Overall, prospective teachers’ reasoning demonstrated didactical obstacles. It is therefore proposed that mathematics teacher education should include opportunities for prospective teachers to reason about mathematics concepts in a manner that prevents didactical obstacles. Furthermore, mathematics educators should engage in instructional practices which facilitate prospective teachers’ acquisition of in-depth understanding of mathematics conceptual relationships and differences.
Keywords: implicit misconceptions, trigonometric concepts, conceptual relationships and differences, prospective mathematics teachers
Research Article
Anas Seidu Salifu, Michael Johnson Nabie, Jones Apawu
Contemporary Mathematics and Science Education, Volume 2, Issue 2, Article No: ep21012
ABSTRACT
This study investigated gender differences in pre-service teachers’ attitude towards geometry in Northern Region of Ghana. The research design was descriptive cross-sectional survey. A concurrent mixed-methods approach was adopted using both closed and open-ended questionnaire items. The population for the study was one thousand, six hundred and sixty-nine (1669) level 200 Pre-service Teachers (PSTs). The sample composed of two hundred and forty (240), comprising 120 PSTs each of female and male. The sampling procedure was convenient, stratified and simple random. The instrument used was 32 item Utley Geometry Attitude Scales (UGAS) that was developed by Utley (2007) and 4 opened ended questions. Statistically significant difference was detected between the male and female in their responses to usefulness of learning geometry, confidence to learning geometry and enjoyment of learning geometry which all favored the male PSTs who showed positive attitude towards geometry.
Keywords: attitude, geometry, gender differences, usefulness, confidence, enjoyment, College of Education (CoE), Pre-service Teachers (PSTs)
Research Article
Peter Akayuure
Contemporary Mathematics and Science Education, Volume 2, Issue 2, Article No: ep21013
ABSTRACT
The mathematics teacher’s ability to assess and integrate assessment data into instructions is a function of their assessment literacy. While the teacher’s assessment literacy level is a determinant of quality of mathematics education delivery, research in the domain is limited. The study employed a descriptive survey design to explore perceived levels of assessment literacy of mathematics teachers in implementing classroom assessment within the school based assessment framework. A 35-item classroom assessment inventory was adopted, modified and administered to a purposive sample of 96 mathematics teachers from eleven Senior High Schools in Ghana. Seven other items were included to further collect data on their self-efficacy beliefs about their assessment literacy. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Mann Whitney U test and correlation analysis. The result shows that majority of the participants did not attain the required assessment literacy standards for quality assessment in mathematics classroom. Moreover, there was a mismatch between participants’ assessment literacy and their self-efficacy beliefs in assessment in mathematics education even when gender and teacher experience were controlled. The study recommends that institutions training mathematics teachers or providing professional development should accentuate assessment literacy development to ensure standard assessment practices and quality instruction in mathematics at senior high schools. The assessment inventory used in this study could be adapted for use in college of education in Ghana to measure mathematics teachers’ literacies in assessing students.
Keywords: assessment literacy, mathematics teachers, self-efficacy beliefs, senior high schools