Junior high school mathematics teachers’ knowledge in calculators (original) (raw)
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Lesson starts are transitional events which may cause management problems for teachers. This study sought junior secondary school mathematics teachers’ beliefs about calculator use in mathematics instruction in Botswana and was descriptive in nature adopting a survey de-sign. The sample of seventeen (17) mathematics teachers from four (4) junior secondary schools in the Tutume Sub-district in Central Educational Region was selected through a pur-posive random sampling procedure. A questionnaire comprising both closed and open ended questions was designed to collect data then the analysis of results was carried out using de-scriptive and inferential statistics. As an illustration, a t-test was used to test for differences in teachers’ beliefs by gender while a one-way ANOVA was used to test for difference in their beliefs by experience. The study revealed that most of the teachers expressed their lack of confidence and were incompetent with the use of a calculator in their teaching with female teachers feeling less confident to explain different functions of a calculator than their male counterparts. In addition, the study showed that most of the teachers believed that a calculator was a technological tool that could be useful to the students in the future. On the contrary, most teachers felt that the overuse of calculators by the students could hamper the develop-ment of basic computational skills. Therefore, it was recommended that school based training on calculator use should be provided so as to empower teachers with the necessary technolog-ical skills for effective classroom instruction. The study findings have implications to research and practice as it provides unique and comprehensive data that will lead to insight for curricu-lum designers, policy implementers and instructional leaders on effective calculator use in math instruction. Key Words: Secondary education, teachers’ beliefs, mathematics instruction, calculators, technology
Background: With rapid technological advancement, mankind's dealings have been greatly affected in many ways, especially in the fields of learning and teaching of mathematics and other scientifically related subjects in schools, not even talking about the occurrences in our homes, offices, market places and other employment fields. To make dealings with all these aspects of life faster and easier, calculators and other forms of calculating machines, example the computer, are used. However, the use of calculator at the basic level in any Ghanaian school is not allowed by law, either for teaching or in any form of examination. The purpose of the study was therefore to investigate whether the use of calculators in the mathematics problem-solving abilities of pupils at the basic level would enhance their learning of mathematics. Materials and Methods: Two types of achievement tests namely, pre-test and post-test, were used to collect the data for the study. The data was collected from the University Junior High School, Cape Coast, after instructional sessions with two randomly selected classes. The school was purposively selected for the study. The formulated hypothesis of the study was to find whether there was a significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental and the control groups at five percent level of significance. The data collected was analyzed using the student t-test and covariance. Results: The results showed that at five percent significance level, there was a significant difference between the mean score of the experimental group and that of the control group. Hence, the use of calculators positively affected the performance of the pupils in the mathematical problem-solving abilities.
DLOS Journal, 2022
This study was conducted to determine the effect of calculator usage on the performance and attitude of secondary school students in mathematics in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State. The sample for this study was 240 Senior Secondary School Two (SSS2) students from two (2) government grant aided secondary schools in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State. Apparently, the study adopted a quasi-experimental design of non-randomized group, specifically, the pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group and two instruments were used for data collection: The Calculator Usage Performance Test (CUPT) and Calculator Usage Attitude Scale (CUAS). The collected data for the study was analyzed to answer research questions using mean and standard deviation and ANCOVA to test the hypotheses. The results showed that there is significant difference between the mean performance scores of secondary school students using calculator in learning mathematics and those not using calculator in learning mathematics. It also revealed that there is significant difference
Journal of education and training studies, 2023
The study sought to investigate technology use among Ghanaian Junior High School mathematics teachers in the Ahafo-Ano South District of Ghana. Descriptive survey (cross-sectional survey) design with mixed quantitative and qualitative data was gathered for the study. The population of the study comprised of all JHS mathematics teachers in Ahafo-Ano South District, Ashanti region. A stratified sampling technique was used to select 60 JHS mathematics teachers from rural, peri-urban and urban schools in the district. The findings revealed that mathematics teachers technology use in teaching Mathematics at the Junior High School level in the district was low (2.048 ± .85388). These technologies were grouped into manipulatives, digital/computer-based and audiovisual technologies. The results established that most of the teachers used manipulates in teaching Mathematics (3.120 ± 1.063). On the contrary, the results also showed that digital/computerbased technologies such as virtual protractors, calculators, geometry pad, stepping stones 2.0 comprehensive mathematics and computer game programs such as Globaloria etc., were never used by mathematics teachers in the district (1.621 ± .840). Similarly, evidence from the study adds that audiovisual technologies including television, pie chart assignment to students based on TV program and other audiovisual devices were never in use by mathematics teachers in the district (1.416 ± .712).
hienmans (pty), 2019
Educational technology is recognized as an essential component of the instructional process. In particular, scientific calculator has emerged as a useful tool for teaching and learning of Mathematics in Kenya. From the year 2002, the Kenya Ministry of Education approved the use of scientific calculators in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination, in addition to their use in the classroom. This was intended to avoid wastage of time in solving mathematical problems and improve students' performance as before. This has raised questions as to the potential contribution of scientific calculators to the teaching and learning of Mathematics as performance did not improve with their use. It was also not clear what challenges were faced by users of this gadget. The purpose of this study therefore was to establish challenges and benefits that may result from the use of scientific calculators in the teaching and learning of Mathematics. The study was based on descriptive survey design. The study population was 44 Mathematics teachers, two Quality Assurance and Standards Officers, 24 Head teachers and 1,680 Form IV students drawn from 24 secondary schools in Emuhaya district, Kenya. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, that is, frequency counts, percentages and means. Qualitative data was received in verbatim form, transcribed and reported according to emergent themes.
2019
The purpose of this study was to assess the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)with emphasis on the level of Mathematics tutors’ ICT Competency in teaching; tutors’ pedagogical practices with ICT; and the barriers to overcome when using ICT in teaching of Mathematics in Al-Faruq College of Education, Wenchi-Ghana. A cross-sectional descriptive survey was used for the study with questionnaires being the main tools to collect the data. The analysis suggests that Mathematics tutors’ ICT competency level is low, but they still do their best. The findings also indicted that tutors seldom use the appropriate pedagogy in relation to the use of ICT in teaching Mathematics. More so, respondents are aware of the benefits of good pedagogical practices in a lesson. Finally, it was found that tutors are challenged with a lot of ICT barriers that include absence of training opportunities and infrastructure when using ICT in the teaching and learning of Mathematics in the College...
African Journal of Educational Studies in Mathematics and Sciences, 2015
The study sought to investigate technology use among Ghanaian Senior High School mathematics teachers and to also uncover the factors influencing their technology use. A cross-sectional survey design with mixed quantitative and qualitative data was gathered for the study. The population of the study comprised of all mathematics teachers in Ashanti region. A stratified sampling technique was used to select 80 mathematics teachers from both rural and urban districts in Ashanti region. The findings revealed that the extent to which SHS mathematics teachers use technology in teaching was very low. The Independent samples t-test revealed that the male mathematics teachers use more technology (Mean = 2.65, SD = 1.12) than the female teachers (Mean = 1.51, SD =0.47) and teachers with high perceived efficacy use more technology (Mean = 2.94, SD = 1.10) than those with low perceived efficacy (Mean = 1.63, SD = 0.51). The analysis revealed that the differences in the mean technology use between male and female teachers and self-perceived efficacy in technology use were statistically significance (t =-2.44, p = 0.02) and (t =-4.23, p = 0.00) respectively.
Introduction Calculators are now here with us. We use them in our homes, offices, commerce, markets and recreation time. Today many pupils in our basic schools have their own calculators. It is an open secret that candidates are using the device even though the West African Examination Council does not approve of its use at the basic level. In spite of its tremendous advantages, the Ministry of Education and Sports is yet to announce a clear national educational policy on the use of calculators in the teaching and learning of mathematics in basic schools. Now calculators are freely used in mathematics education in many developing countries and many have moved a step further to the use of computers.
Singapore recently mandated the use of scientific calculators in the curriculum for students in upper primary grades. The current sought to gain an understanding of prospective and practicing primary school teachers' beliefs of their role in the implementation of the new curriculum as well as the impact of the scientific calculator on the teaching and learning of primary school mathematics. Survey participants were enrolled in courses or a workshop at Singapore's National Institute of Education and each participant completed a survey consisting of both scaled response items and openended commentaries. Analyses of the survey indicated that the pre-service primary school teachers were more inclined to regard calculators as a crutch whereas practicing teachers' responses indicated that calculators served as a catalyst for enhancing students' mathematical achievement. Responses by the prospective and practicing teachers also differed with respect to belief categories related to teaching knowledge and practices with the future teachers expressing less confidence in their capabilities to teach with the technology and practicing teachers indicating beliefs more supportive of calculator-enhanced instructional practices. Conclusions include recommendations for increasing future primary school teachers' (1) exposure to, and knowledge of, teaching mathematical topics through the use of the scientific calculator, and (2) pedagogical knowledge pertaining to the use of the scientific calculator in promoting critical thinking, problem solving, and reasoning skills for their students. Since practicing teachers expressed greater confidence in being able to integrate the scientific calculators into their future teaching, it is suggested that teacher education institutions consider using practicing teachers as resources in improving the technological expertise of new teachers.
The Paradox of Ghanaian High School Mathematics Teachers’ Perspectives on ICT Use
African Journal of Teacher Education
The paper sought to investigate the perceived use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) of high school mathematics teachers in Ghana. A hundred high school mathematics teachers from 20 public schools,10 each located in the rural and urban areas respectively in the Central region of Ghana, were stratified and used in the study. A questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. The result of the study indicated low levels of perceived knowledge/skills of ICT use by high school mathematics teachers, contrary to their reported high usage levels of ICTs. The findings of the study also indicated that the high school mathematics teachers’ ICT use in a professional related context (instructional delivery, assessment, and professional learning network) was minimal compared to use for social networking, although they seemed to be fully aware of the relevance of using ICT in a professional related manner. Similarly, their reported technical knowledge/skills of I...