Learning styles, availability, and utilization of instructional materials as correlates of grade 6 learners’ mathematics performance in Buffalo city
- Authors: Adu, Kemi Olajumoke
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Learning ability
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Education)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11374 , vital:39066
- Description: Mathematics is the foundation for the economic and technological development of any nation. It has been asserted that Mathematics is expected to help in accelerating social, economic and technological progress of any society. Performance of this subject is very important and there are different types of learners; such auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Auditory learners appreciate listening to the teachers and sit down close to the teachers in class. Visual learners like to see things physically during teaching. They learn by materials like charts, graphs, and pictures. Kinesthetic learners learn by doing. Students can prefer one, two, or three learning styles; all these are subject to the availability of instructional materials. The Primary school level is very important in any educational system and any lack at this level would permeate to other levels of the educational system. Hence, this thesis examines the Learning Styles, Availability, and Utilization of Instructional Materials as Correlates of Grade 6 Learners’ Mathematics Performance in Buffalo City. The study adopted the positivist paradigm and employed the quantitative approach in investigating the phenomenon. The thesis made use of correlational research design as it attempted to find out the effects of learning styles and instructional materials on learners’ performance in Mathematics. Stratified sampling was used to select participants. Stratified sampling is a process of dividing the sample frame into strata to obtain relatively homogenous subgroups; this gave us 1225 Grade 6 learners selected across 35 schools in Buffalo City as the sample of the study. Three instruments which are Students’ Learning Styles Scale (SLSS), Availability and Utilization of Instructional Materials Inventory (AUIMI), and Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT) whose reliability co-efficient are; 0.87, 0.78 and 0.89 respectively. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the study revealed among others; students learning style (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic) have a significant relationship on Grade 6 learners Mathematics performance (B=-.113, t=-3.886, p<0.05). Students learning style (∆R2=.012, ∆F (1, 1223) = 5.047, p < 0.05) emerged as the best predictor of Grade 6 learners Mathematics performance in Buffalo City, while the availability and utilization of instructional materials (∆R2 = .000), ∆F (1,223) = .018, P > 0.05), and gender (∆R2 = .000, ∆F (1,1223) = .036, p>0.05) emerged as better predictors. The study further iv revealed that, Grade six learners with visual learning style ( = 13.242, SD = 5.565) had the best performance in Mathematics at Buffalo City, followed by learners with auditory learning style ( = 12.996, SD = 3.883), and learners with Kinaesthetic learning style ( = 11.525, SD =3.800). The study concluded that one of the most fundamental issues to consider in improving Mathematics performance is the understanding of the learners’ learning styles and effective use of appropriate instructional materials for teaching Mathematics.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Adu, Kemi Olajumoke
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Learning ability
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Education)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11374 , vital:39066
- Description: Mathematics is the foundation for the economic and technological development of any nation. It has been asserted that Mathematics is expected to help in accelerating social, economic and technological progress of any society. Performance of this subject is very important and there are different types of learners; such auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Auditory learners appreciate listening to the teachers and sit down close to the teachers in class. Visual learners like to see things physically during teaching. They learn by materials like charts, graphs, and pictures. Kinesthetic learners learn by doing. Students can prefer one, two, or three learning styles; all these are subject to the availability of instructional materials. The Primary school level is very important in any educational system and any lack at this level would permeate to other levels of the educational system. Hence, this thesis examines the Learning Styles, Availability, and Utilization of Instructional Materials as Correlates of Grade 6 Learners’ Mathematics Performance in Buffalo City. The study adopted the positivist paradigm and employed the quantitative approach in investigating the phenomenon. The thesis made use of correlational research design as it attempted to find out the effects of learning styles and instructional materials on learners’ performance in Mathematics. Stratified sampling was used to select participants. Stratified sampling is a process of dividing the sample frame into strata to obtain relatively homogenous subgroups; this gave us 1225 Grade 6 learners selected across 35 schools in Buffalo City as the sample of the study. Three instruments which are Students’ Learning Styles Scale (SLSS), Availability and Utilization of Instructional Materials Inventory (AUIMI), and Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT) whose reliability co-efficient are; 0.87, 0.78 and 0.89 respectively. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the study revealed among others; students learning style (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic) have a significant relationship on Grade 6 learners Mathematics performance (B=-.113, t=-3.886, p<0.05). Students learning style (∆R2=.012, ∆F (1, 1223) = 5.047, p < 0.05) emerged as the best predictor of Grade 6 learners Mathematics performance in Buffalo City, while the availability and utilization of instructional materials (∆R2 = .000), ∆F (1,223) = .018, P > 0.05), and gender (∆R2 = .000, ∆F (1,1223) = .036, p>0.05) emerged as better predictors. The study further iv revealed that, Grade six learners with visual learning style ( = 13.242, SD = 5.565) had the best performance in Mathematics at Buffalo City, followed by learners with auditory learning style ( = 12.996, SD = 3.883), and learners with Kinaesthetic learning style ( = 11.525, SD =3.800). The study concluded that one of the most fundamental issues to consider in improving Mathematics performance is the understanding of the learners’ learning styles and effective use of appropriate instructional materials for teaching Mathematics.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions about the Value of Teaching Practice Assessment as a Catalyst to the Improvement of Quality Model
- Authors: Bako, Yellow
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Teaching -- Evaluation Effective teaching
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Education)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/17921 , vital:41978
- Description: Teaching Practice assessment is criticized for not promoting critical reflection and problem-solving thinking in pre-service teachers as expected. Pre-service teachers lack praxis: translating theoretical knowledge into authentic practice. Teaching Practice assessment is too traditional to offer authentic evaluation for life-long learning. Globally, Teaching Practice is the greatest academic process in training preservice teachers. However, there are concerns raised regarding what is regarded as inadequate teacher preparation, inconsistencies and subjectivity in Teaching Practice assessment, and misalignment between instructional theory and classroom practice have resulted in high demand for quality improvement of the Teaching Practice assessment framework. The research has adopted the post-positivism research paradigm, mixed methods research approach, and the QUAN-QUAL sequential explanatory research design. The population was all Post Graduate students at one university and all Diploma in Education students at on Teachers College in Zimbabwe. Data collection instruments used were: observations schedule, interviews, questionnaires, and documentary analysis. Results have shown that Teaching Practice assessment was of great value for academic, pedagogical, and teacher professional development. Subject content knowledge posed greater challenge to preservice teachers than pedagogical content knowledge during Teaching Practice assessment. School environment, accommodation, lack of material and financial resources, heavy workload, indiscipline, unexpected assessment visits, and contradictions by assessors were major factors that affected Teaching Practice assessment. Pre-service teachers preferred to be assessed by college-based to university-based assessors because they give them feedback for learning, they motivate, and they understand their plight, and they appear more professional in their conduct than university-based assessors. The study therefore suggests a framework for improving the quality of Teaching Practice that includes a balanced curriculum, intensified training on content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge; a proper collaboration between college and university assessors; training in ICT, and more focused Teaching Practice workload, and the practice of reflective, authentic, and emancipatory assessment practices for sustainable development.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Bako, Yellow
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Teaching -- Evaluation Effective teaching
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Education)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/17921 , vital:41978
- Description: Teaching Practice assessment is criticized for not promoting critical reflection and problem-solving thinking in pre-service teachers as expected. Pre-service teachers lack praxis: translating theoretical knowledge into authentic practice. Teaching Practice assessment is too traditional to offer authentic evaluation for life-long learning. Globally, Teaching Practice is the greatest academic process in training preservice teachers. However, there are concerns raised regarding what is regarded as inadequate teacher preparation, inconsistencies and subjectivity in Teaching Practice assessment, and misalignment between instructional theory and classroom practice have resulted in high demand for quality improvement of the Teaching Practice assessment framework. The research has adopted the post-positivism research paradigm, mixed methods research approach, and the QUAN-QUAL sequential explanatory research design. The population was all Post Graduate students at one university and all Diploma in Education students at on Teachers College in Zimbabwe. Data collection instruments used were: observations schedule, interviews, questionnaires, and documentary analysis. Results have shown that Teaching Practice assessment was of great value for academic, pedagogical, and teacher professional development. Subject content knowledge posed greater challenge to preservice teachers than pedagogical content knowledge during Teaching Practice assessment. School environment, accommodation, lack of material and financial resources, heavy workload, indiscipline, unexpected assessment visits, and contradictions by assessors were major factors that affected Teaching Practice assessment. Pre-service teachers preferred to be assessed by college-based to university-based assessors because they give them feedback for learning, they motivate, and they understand their plight, and they appear more professional in their conduct than university-based assessors. The study therefore suggests a framework for improving the quality of Teaching Practice that includes a balanced curriculum, intensified training on content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge; a proper collaboration between college and university assessors; training in ICT, and more focused Teaching Practice workload, and the practice of reflective, authentic, and emancipatory assessment practices for sustainable development.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
‘Implementation Strategies Used by Teachers’ Colleges to Prepare Pre-Service Teachers for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education in Harare Metropolitan Province in Zimbabwe
- Authors: Chimwe, Ananias
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Teachers -- In-service training -- Zimbabwe Teachers -- Education (Primary) -- Zimbabwe Science|xStudy and teaching (Primary) -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Education)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/17931 , vital:41981
- Description: The study was carried to establish the strategies used by teacher education colleges to prepare pre-service teachers for STEM Education in Zimbabwe. Invariably, the nature of research questions led the study to be located within the pragmatic paradigm. A mixed method approach and concurrent triangulation design was adopted to examine issues under study. The study adopted stratified random sampling and purposive sampling methods to identify its respondents and participants. Data were collected from respondents who were envisaged knowledgeable about critical issues under study. Several research instruments were used to solicit quantitative and qualitative data. These included: questionnaires, interview schedules, focus group discussions and documents. The sample of the study consisted of 20 lecturers, 50 pre-service teachers, 3 Department of Teacher Education lecturers and 2 Directors in the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education Science Innovation, Technology and Development. The study established that 95%of the teacher educators had the requisite STEM content knowledge. Pedagogical content knowledge, knowledge of organisation and education purpose, engineering content and pedagogical content was found lacking. Furthermore, the teacher educators employed 21st century STEM specific inquiry based and constructivist teaching strategies. More so, it was established that government, the Department of Teacher Education and other development partners rendered support to teacher education colleges to prepare for pre-service teachers for STEM education. In addition, the study revealed that preparation of pre-service teachers for STEM was impeded by several structural factors that obtained in teacher education colleges. Overall, the study concluded that teacher educators had requisite STEM knowledge and employed inquiry-based strategies to prepare pre-service teachers for STEM Education. Furthermore, the study recommended that teacher educators’ knowledge in engineering needs further strengthening through workshops and synergies with industry. An alternative model for effective STEM preparation was recommended for consideration.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Chimwe, Ananias
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Teachers -- In-service training -- Zimbabwe Teachers -- Education (Primary) -- Zimbabwe Science|xStudy and teaching (Primary) -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Education)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/17931 , vital:41981
- Description: The study was carried to establish the strategies used by teacher education colleges to prepare pre-service teachers for STEM Education in Zimbabwe. Invariably, the nature of research questions led the study to be located within the pragmatic paradigm. A mixed method approach and concurrent triangulation design was adopted to examine issues under study. The study adopted stratified random sampling and purposive sampling methods to identify its respondents and participants. Data were collected from respondents who were envisaged knowledgeable about critical issues under study. Several research instruments were used to solicit quantitative and qualitative data. These included: questionnaires, interview schedules, focus group discussions and documents. The sample of the study consisted of 20 lecturers, 50 pre-service teachers, 3 Department of Teacher Education lecturers and 2 Directors in the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education Science Innovation, Technology and Development. The study established that 95%of the teacher educators had the requisite STEM content knowledge. Pedagogical content knowledge, knowledge of organisation and education purpose, engineering content and pedagogical content was found lacking. Furthermore, the teacher educators employed 21st century STEM specific inquiry based and constructivist teaching strategies. More so, it was established that government, the Department of Teacher Education and other development partners rendered support to teacher education colleges to prepare for pre-service teachers for STEM education. In addition, the study revealed that preparation of pre-service teachers for STEM was impeded by several structural factors that obtained in teacher education colleges. Overall, the study concluded that teacher educators had requisite STEM knowledge and employed inquiry-based strategies to prepare pre-service teachers for STEM Education. Furthermore, the study recommended that teacher educators’ knowledge in engineering needs further strengthening through workshops and synergies with industry. An alternative model for effective STEM preparation was recommended for consideration.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
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