Masters Degrees (School of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology Education)
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Browsing Masters Degrees (School of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology Education) by Author "Moleko, M. M."
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Item Open Access Balancing mathematics assessment tasks to accommodate problem-solving in Grade 7 classes(University of the Free State, 2023) Bhekiswayo, Nomthandazo Moureen; Moleko, M. M.The present South African mathematics curriculum, The Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement, requires that learners be given the opportunity to acquire the ability to be systematic, generalise, solve problems, and think critically. These goals necessitate the use of assessment tasks that encourage learners' engagement in the development of mathematical thinking and reasoning. This means that teachers must exercise caution while designing assessment tasks and developing assessment strategies. Teachers must also be aware of the cognitive demands and nature of tasks and should include all in their assessment tasks. This study focused on to exploring how teachers balance mathematics assessment tasks to accommodate problem-solving and high-order cognitive demand in Grade 7. The model of mathematical task progression was adopted as a conceptual framework of this study. The selection of the model of mathematical tasks progression provided a lens through which the researcher could analyse the data and generate the empirical findings. The research followed a qualitative approach guided by a descriptive case study. The study was carried out in five schools, four township schools and a school in an urban area. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, lesson observations document analysis. Social constructivism underpinned this study as it enabled the researcher to observe the participants in their own social settings. Through the use of thematic data analysis, the researcher was able identify themes. The findings revealed that teachers lack pedagogical content knowledge, that is, knowledge and skills in balancing their own assessments tasks; secondly, the study revealed that teachers excluded problem -solving in their assessment tasks as their understanding of problem-solving was limited; thirdly, teachers used textbooks as their source of assessment tasks and insufficient time was given to learners to work on tasks; fourthly, high-order questions were excluded during learning assessment and low-level cognitive demands were dominant in all the assessment tasks. Finally, teachers used only a teacher-centred approach and used teacher-learner dialogue as their teaching and assessment strategy. The challenges that emerged from the study had implications for assessment and thus required the assessment of mathematics in Grade 7 to be approached differently to enable learners to engage more in meaningful and balanced assessment tasks. Further training for teachers is needed in order to address the complexities that exist within the balancing of mathematics assessment tasks to include problem-solving.Item Open Access The teaching of Euclidean geometry: a universal design for learning approach(University of the Free State, 2022) Thamae, Matheko Thabo; Moleko, M. M.Numerous studies have shown the effectiveness of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in supporting learners with extensive needs, disabilities and planning inclusive mathematics curricula. However, little has been documented about the effects of implementing UDL in the teaching Euclidean geometry. Hence the focus of this study was to explore the implementation of UDL to enhance the teaching of Euclidean geometry. Learners’ performance in Euclidean geometry had been a concern to all stakeholders in the education system locally and internationally. Several studies affirmed that the root cause of the poor performance in Euclidean geometry were the ineffective teaching strategies which resulted in teachers not meeting the needs of the learners in their classrooms. UDL is a curriculum framework designed to address diverse learners’ needs and create a conducive and enabling learning environment for all learners. The study was qualitative in nature, underpinned by social constructivism and adopted a participatory action research (PAR) as a research design. Data were collected from a team of five mathematics teachers with experience of more than ten years of teaching from Grades 8-10, the Mathematics HOD, the subject advisor, Mathematics coordinator for the senior phase, the Curriculum Education Specialist, and the UDL coach. The coach raised awareness about the diversity in classrooms and how the principles of UDL could be implemented to teach Euclidean geometry effectively. The lesson observations and focus group discussions were used as the primary data collection instruments. Data were generated through active engagement and discussion among the co-researchers using free attitude interview technique (FAI). The findings revealed that implementing UDL principles in teaching Euclidean geometry could make geometry content accessible and perceptible to all learners. This study could add to the body of knowledge as there was little documented about how UDL could be implemented to create inclusive and flexible teaching strategies for teaching Euclidean geometry and making the content accessible to the society of diverse learners.