Original Higher Education Experience of Graduating Students of Mathematics Education in Nigeria: An Autoethnographic Approach

In the face of bizarre challenges, many Nigerian higher education students are surviving out of sure doggedness and determination to succeed. Out of improvisation, deprivation and sheer hard work, many students have attained graduation with outstanding qualities. This study employs autoethnography to report the author’s personal narrative of graduating in mathematics education in a public university in Nigeria. Reflective writings from three graduating students of mathematics education added voices to the autoethnography. Emerging themes deduced from the reports indicate a general mixed expectation for higher education, Students’ tenacity in the face of a tense school climate, and a productive social interaction as constituting broad experience of graduating students of mathematics education in Nigeria

Teaching Computational Thinking

Computational thinking is a fundamental skill for everyone, not just computer scientists. Computational thinking is the thought processes involved in formulating problems and their solutions so that the solutions are represented in a form that can be effectively carried out by an information processing agent. Teaching Computational Thinking introduces the fundamental principles of communicating computing to learners across all levels. The book delves into the philosophical and psychological foundations of computer science as a school subject as well as specific teaching methods, curriculum, tools, and research approaches in computing education. This book is intended as a guide and teaching companion for pre-service and in-service computer science teachers

Revisiting the Mathematics of our Ancestors

Long before the advent of publishing, the people of Nigeria are known to openly display their rich cultures and traditions. Embedded in this expressive culture are tangible evidence of mathematical elements in the form of geometric shapes, numbers, counting systems and exotic patterns. Ancient Nigerian peoples and cultures devised numbering systems, counted objects, constructed homes, and designed works of art based on mathematical principles that are presently taught in schools under different names. Still, many indigenous perspectives in mathematics are fading into oblivion, further mystifying the subject. This book use the scoping review framework to showcase early revolutionary reactions to the suppression of information on the development of indigenous mathematics in Nigeria. It traces ample scholarly evidence of Nigerian’s skills in the use of numbers and other elements of mathematics long before the arrival of the White Men. This work is intended to serve as a bridge to our noble mathematical past as preserved by great thinkers from diverse fields, locations and cultures. It sought to beam the searchlight on what we are missing as modern academic societies when we turn our back on rich instructional aids hidden in the cultural practices of our people

Advocating Mathematics Teacher Research Prowess for Improved Professionalism

While serving in the field of practice, teachers have continued to hold to the view that research is an activity carried out by professional researchers based outside the basic schools. This is because traditionally, class teachers have never been expected to comment on the theory and practice of their work. However, recent push by the Teacher Research movement across the globe has emphasized teacher research as a process in which educators note problems in the context of their own schools and classrooms and propose investigative methods appropriate to address the problems. On this premise, this review first considers the ramification of mathematics teacher research in improving professionalism in the teaching and learning of mathematics. Secondly, teacher professionalism in mathematics education was given a detailed coverage. Thirdly, the task of mathematics teachers as researchers was considered. The role of higher education in nurturing fruitful collaborations with basic schools was discussed along with the implications of mathematics teacher research for classroom practice in Nigeria

An Appeal in the Case involving Conventional Teaching: Emphasizing the Transformation to Enhanced Conventional Teaching in Mathematics Education

The conventional teaching methodology has severally been condemned as inefficient, rigid and outdated by scholars and researchers who are intent on furthering the course of new instructional approaches. Often, educationists evade the simple confrontation of what the supposed duty of a good teacher is. This discourse took on the issues surrounding conventional mathematics teaching with a focus on the adaptability of the instructional approach to encompass present-day technology and cultural augmentation. The conventional job of the teacher was considered in detail as a task of society building, a mission of re-invention, and a position of accountability. The submission of this appeal was that the current global best practice in the field of mathematics education should dictate what amounts to conventional teaching

Low achievers and the quest for institutional standard in mathematics education: A phenomenology of subject matter experts’ opinions from Nigerian higher education

This study adopts a phenomenological paradigm to present mathematics experts’ opinions on the existence of low achievers in Nigeria’s higher education system. Six career mathematicians volunteered from among the participants at a conference of one of Nigeria’s elite academic group to give their in-depth opinion on the role of educational institutions in handling low achievers, their impact on Nigeria’s quest for quality education, and personal approaches for managing low achievers in the mathematics classroom. The explication of the responses of the mathematics experts indicates concerns about the admission system of higher educational institutions and some pertinent pedagogical inadequacies of pure mathematicians. The study also revealed that the continual existence of low achievers in the discipline encourages high rate of dropping-out, poor quality of mathematics educators, and examination malpractice. Participants suggest counseling intervention, retraining of mathematics lecturers in teaching methodologies, and special mindset-boosting programmes as ways of handling low achievers in mathematics education. The phenomenology also unveiled certain unintended outcomes that may form the basis for future research into the peculiar attitudinal characteristics of academic mathematicians

CALIBRATING THE WEIGHING SCALE: TEST ITEM CONSTRUCTION AND ANALYSIS GUIDE FOR MATHEMATICS TEACHERS

All measuring tools require consistent “servicing” or “calibrating” to ensure they are measuring accurately what they are designed to measure. In the same way, assessment instruments within and outside the classroom require calibration and improvement. This vital task of the teacher is done by looking at the data obtained from the instruments. Knowing that tests and examinations measure abstract quantities, also called traits or construct, there remains a lot that can be learned from the results or data that can help the teacher improve the tools for present or future use. This calibration mechanism is what is called Item Analysis. The idea of this Book was conceived in response to the lack of practical treatment of the vital task of test development. Calibrating The Weighing Scale: Test Item Construction and Analysis Guide for Mathematics Teacher avoided the use of screenshot software outputs and adopted a manual, step by step computation of various indices, enriching the presentation with practical interpretations, applications and case scenarios. The point in the style of this textbook is for the mathematics teacher to first understand the procedural mechanisms of the test development cycle before resorting to software deployment for large sample sizes or even for practice. This guide was developed to be a teacher’s companion and to serve as an easily adaptable template for item analysis in schools everywhere

Academic Outcomes in Language-Dependent and Computation-Dependent Courses among Mathematics Education Students in a Nigerian University: Top-Achievers Still Best of both Extremes

In the field of mathematics education, there is an increased awareness of the need to account for the connection between mathematics and language. Despite the emphasis on this existing interconnectivity, students often erroneously distinguish themselves as better oriented to one extreme or the other. This study explores the pattern of academic performance of mathematics education students in language-dependent and computation-dependent courses. The study built on the Monitor Theory of second language acquisition to observe that school works existing as the practical result of learned language and grammar are among the reasons some students unnecessarily fear language-dependent courses. Ex- post facto research design was adopted to analyze the scores of 48 students enrolled in a programme in mathematics education at a university in North Central Nigeria. A total of 29 core courses across six (6) semesters were split into two dichotomous extremes of language-dependent and computation-dependent based on content and scope. Each student’s scores were averaged across each category, with the absolute difference between the two averages taken as measure of achievement gap between the two extremes. A paired samples t-test of students average scores in the two categories indicates a statistically significant difference (t0.05,47 = 7.3244, p = 0.0000). Further analysis shows that 41.67% of the students are language-dependent, 2.08% computation-dependent, and 56.25% not dependent on any of the extremes. Additional analysis of variance (ANOVA) among three (3) identified performance categories reveals that the achievement gap differ significantly among bottom, middle and top achievers, with the mean achievement gap lowest among top Achievers. The findings of this study stressed the reality of inherent and superficial categorization based on the two extremes among mathematics education students

Viewing basic math through the lens of history: Undergraduates’ reflective learning in a history-augmented mathematics classroom

This study is aimed at determining first-year university students’ reflections when Fibonacci tiling, the ancient Chinese fang cheng procedures, and the ancient Indian meru prastara recursions were introduced as historical snippets in an adventure pedagogy for basic mathematics. Seventy-eight first year students enrolled in a course in basic mathematics at a University in North Central Nigerian provided composite self-reports in an action research paradigm, describing their reflective learning after exposure to the historical snippets. Qualitative data reduction strategies were used to explore the students’ reflections and progress in the course. The results of the study revealed that the introduction of the historical snippets aids in concretizing of concepts, spurring of behavioural engagement in learners, adding of aesthetic value to mathematics, sustaining of students attention, computational ease and effective recall of mathematical procedures. The activities of the cultural and historical augmentation were reported by participants as plays that accomplish real mathematical tasks. The outcome of this study has strengthened the belief that the history-as-a-tool style of mathematics instruction stimulates curiosity and sustains interest in students while establishing meaningful relationships between abstract ideas and practical applications in the context of the real world

Theoretical and Conceptual Framework for Digital Inclusion among Mathematics Education Students in Nigeria

The term digital inclusion has been used to articulate the policy, research and practical efforts to look beyond issues of access to computers and the Internet and toward a more robust understanding of the skills, content and services needed to support individuals, families and communities in their abilities to truly adopt computers and the internet. Presently, the deep penetration of digital technologies into the fabric of society have boosted growth, expand opportunities and improved service delivery, resulting in a high level of connectivity between people, businesses and governments. This present review examines the theoretical and conceptual foundations of digital inclusion in light of developmental realities in Nigeria. Specifically, this review considers the framework for inquiry into the technological divide, the new psychological model of e-adoption within the context of the digital divide, the three-step path to engaging with the internet, and a model of digital literacy. The review also considers key conceptual definitions of digital inclusion, the stages of digital inclusion, and approaches to measuring digital inclusion. The implication of digital inclusion for mathematics education students and the Nigerian economy was also discussed