Interventions to improve teaching and learning in first year mathematics courses

In keeping with the national mandate of increasing graduates in the sciences in South Africa, a concerted effort in improving the first year experience becomes imperative. First year mathematics courses commonly provide the base knowledge necessary for progression in different degree programmes at university. Success in mathematics courses influences throughputs, retention and graduation rates of various degree programmes. Due to the highly complex and integrated nature of issues pertaining to improving teaching and learning in these courses, a multi-dimensional approach was conceptualized and implemented at the University of Pretoria. This paper reports on the development of a coherent framework, and the process and strategy for improving student success through a number of teaching and learning interventions in the first year mathematics courses, addressing the different dimensions of the framework. The process embarked upon resulted in a coherent, resource-focused approach with a replicable model for similar contexts.University of Pretoria.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tmes202016-08-30hb201

South African primary mathematics teachers' experiences and perspectives about lesson study

This study aims to investigate the perspectives of primary school teachers in South Africa, who participated in a Lesson Study (LS) project, on this professional development process and about their professional learning. The study followed a mixed approach, with data collected through a questionnaire, followed up by interviews. A novel approach in this study was to source teachers’ experiences of the individual stages of LS as well as of the integrated process. Teachers’ perspectives on LS were categorised into 5 themes: collaboration — commitment and the free rider effect, confidence issues, teachers’ knowledge and skills, misconceptions about the LS approach, and external issues including concerns over time of teachers and learners, systemic challenges and school management. Using teachers’ individual and focus group inputs in the questionnaire and the interviews, we report about their experiences.http://link.springer.comjournal/107632022-09-03hj2022Science, Mathematics and Technology Educatio

Personal learning network clusters : a comparison between mathematics and computer science students

Personal learning environments (PLEs) and personal learning networks (PLNs) are well-known concepts. A personal learning network cluster is a small group of people who regularly interact academically and whose PLNs have a non-empty intersection that includes all the other members. At university level PLN clusters form spontaneously among students and are known to last over an extended period of time. Little is known regarding the workings of these PLN clusters of students. The claim is that these PLN clusters are at the heart of student learning and are aligned with the current trend of a knowledge-pull community of learning. In this paper we investigate the activities and characteristics of PLN clusters in two different fields of study at a South African university, namely mathematics and computer science. We discuss the benefits that these clusters offer, investigate the mashup of activities and tools and we contrast experiences in the two fields of study. It is the commonalities rather than differences that are striking between the two groups of students. Although computer science students lean more towards digital communication, both groups impress with the pride they take in their PLN clusters and are vocal in describing the benefits that these clusters offer.http://www.ifets.infoam201

Strategies involved in teaching large groups of undergraduate students

The study is set at a large, research-intensive university in South Africa. The teaching model in mathematics for entry level students is that of large group teaching, with up to five hundred students per group. The principles required for the success of large group teaching in mathematics, as identified by the teachers involved, are classified hierarchically into two broad categories. The first category concerns organisational principles and the second involves social principles based on the human element. The study shows that organisational fluency such as suitable and well-equipped venues, and the skilful use of technology is essential. What also emerges is the importance of ‘soft’ skills such as knowledge of large group thinking, and the ability to deploy strategies to build a group identity and group coherence, as well as for making the individual feel recognised. The recommendation is for these skills to be developed to cultivate an environment within which large group learning is optimised.http://www.journals.co.za/content/journal/jedsam2018Mathematics and Applied MathematicsScience, Mathematics and Technology Educatio

Will we ever teach mathematics again in the way we used to before the pandemic?

After about two years of emergency remote teaching during the pandemic, the teaching of mathematics is slowly returning to (what used to be called) normal. However, after the period of mostly teaching online, there is uncertainty about the extent to which we will return to the way we were teaching before. In this survey paper we attempt to give some background to the impact that emergency remote teaching may have had on teaching mathematics. We examine the possible social implications and then focus on the changing mathematics classroom, focusing on the actual mathematics curriculum, learning design and assessment, the role of collaborative activities and social media, educational videos, and the role of family and parents in future. There are indicators from the literature that educators may not return to the traditional way of teaching entirely, especially in secondary and higher education. We conclude with describing some possible new research areas that have developed through emergency remote teaching, including online education for younger learners, local learning ecosystems, the role of family and parents, instructional design, and the mathematics content of curricula

Validity and diagnostic attributes of a mathematics olympiad for junior high school contestants

The purpose of mathematics competitions, and in our case the South African Mathematics Olympiad (SAMO), is to promote problem solving skills and strategies, to generate interest and enthusiasm for mathematics and to identify the most talented mathematical minds. SAMO is organised in two divisions – a junior and a senior division - over three rounds. We analysed the results of the junior second round over seven years 2006-2012. Based on the literature a mathematical content framework was developed, dividing the mathematical content into seven broad content areas. In this paper we investigate the face validity, diagnostic attributes and predictive criterion validity of mathematics olympiad question papers over the period by focussing on the frequency of content area occurrence in the different items. We also look at performance of contestants in the different content areas as a broad diagnosis. Lastly we investigate the item performance, comparing the expected performance by the problem committee of experts setting the question papers and the actual performance of contestants. Topics such as numbers, algebra, patterns and functions, measurement, applications, modelling and logic were used abundantly whereas (quite surprisingly) there were few items on graphs, decimal fractions, spatial logic and vertices and edges of polygons, indicating that the face validity can be improved. Contestants performed best in items on algebra and weakest in items on statistics. The ability of the problem committee to anticipate student item performance varied considerably and was significantly worse in 2012 than in 2006, indicating better predictive criterion validity in 2006.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rmse202017-06-30hb2016Science, Mathematics and Technology Educatio

Implementing supplemental instruction for a large group in mathematics

The supplemental instruction (SI) programme has been well-established worldwide and the resulting success of the programme is indisputable. The University of Pretoria has decided on SI as the model to be used for addressing the underpreparedness of students entering the university, largely brought about by the changes in the curricula at secondary school level. The SI model was piloted in two courses, one in mathematics and another in chemistry, each consisting of more than a thousand students. This article addresses implementation issues of SI for such a large group of students in mathematics. It cautions would-be implementers to pitfalls and shortcomings of the SI model and suggests how the model could be adapted to answer the current needs. This article also shows that despite problems in strictly adhering to SI principles in the implementation of the programme, participants showed increased performance.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tmes20nf201

Conceptual or procedural mathematics for engineering students – views of two qualified engineers from two countries

This study forms part of a collaboration project between universities in South Africa and Sweden in which we investigate whether the emphasis in undergraduate mathematics courses for engineering students would benefit from being more conceptually oriented than a traditional more procedurally oriented way of teaching. In this paper, we report in some detail from two interviews with professional engineers, selected to represent two different ‘poles’ of engineering work. The aim was to explore different kinds of arguments regarding the role of mathematics in engineering work, as well as some common across contexts. Both interviewees feel that conceptual mathematics is more important for engineering work, although the role of the procedural aspect was seen by one of the interviewees also to be important, but in a very intricate way.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tmes202016-11-30hb201

Does the chalkboard still hold its own against modern technology in teaching mathematics? A case study

The purpose of this case study is to explore the integration of technology into teaching at a mathematics department at a large South African University. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from staff teaching undergraduate mathematics. The study shows that many staff members feel that chalkboards are still more suitable than technology for teaching mathematics. This finding supports the idea of a strong subject culture. Age does not emerge as a determinant for preference of either technology or the chalkboard, although gender and academic qualifications do. Subject culture is strongly rooted under the male members of staff, while female staff members feel more positive towards the use of technology in teaching. Use of chalkboards has decreased significantly over the past 10 years, while the use of modern technologies has increased accordingly. Teaching of large groups has necessitated the use of technology in the classroom. Despite the strong subject culture, a shift in attitude towards technology use in teaching is noticed and there is a definite trend of moving towards using new technologies.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tmes202019-02-08hj2019Mathematics and Applied MathematicsScience, Mathematics and Technology Educatio

Student enrichment in mathematics : a case study with first year university students

This paper presents an enrichment case study to showcase a possible avenue for attending to the needs of academically strong mathematics students. We report on a group of university students who were presented with the opportunity of exploring a specific first year mathematics topic deeper, using an inquiry-based learning approach as part of an enrichment programme. Following the intervention, students completed a questionnaire and a few were interviewed to establish their experiences of the enrichment programme. We discuss the successes and pitfalls of the intervention and report on the impact it had on the participants.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tmes20hj2017Mathematics and Applied MathematicsScience, Mathematics and Technology Educatio