Current Issue : January-March Volume : 2013 Issue Number : 1 Articles : 2 Articles
The study discusses the effect of differentiated instruction in the teaching and learning of Loci Construction in secondary school Mathematics. It includes background information and details on a differentiated unit on Loci Construction. The purpose of the study is to determine if differentiated instruction can enhance students’ problems solving skills. Thirteen (13) students of Government Secondary School, Bwari, Federal Capital Territory Abuja, Nigeria, who belong to the very weak group are the subjects. Before the lesson on Loci Construction, the students were given pre-test using questions from past West African School Certificate Examination (WAEC) question papers to assess the students’ knowledge of this topic. The pre-test items were drawn in such a way that the first four levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy: knowledge, comprehension, application, and analysis would be tested. Other questions were also included that asked students to self-report preferred learning style and the students confidence in solving problems bothering on Loci Construction. An assessment of students’ achievement on Loci Construction before and after differentiated lesson on the topic was done using two-sample paired t-test. The result revealed a significant increase in the students’ problems solving abilities Also, students’ responses to the survey questions (pre and post), to assert their interest about the differentiated lesson was analyzed using two-sample paired t-test, but this showed no significant increase in their interest. The test results suggest that the students after receiving the differentiated lesson did better. Interestingly, further analysis revealed a statistical significant increase in the girls’ problems solving skills but not in the boys....
Students poor performance in Mathematics and Probability Theory in particular in the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO) calls for investigation to identify the factors that affect the teaching and learning of probability theory. The aim of this work is to identify the factors affecting the teaching and learning probability theory in selected schools in Isuikwuato Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria. Two sets of questionnaires were developed for Mathematics teachers and students of senior secondary classes to complete. The selected secondary schools are: Isuikwuato High School, Isuikwuato; Ovim Girls’ Model School, Isuikwuato; Uturu Secondary School, Uturu; and Achara Uturu, Secondary School, Uturu. The target sampled was made up of teachers and students drawn from the selected schools. It constitutes the students of senior secondary schools (SSI – SSIII) and their teachers of Mathematics. In each school, a systematic random sampling was used to select twenty-five (25) students (respondents) on who the research instrument was administered.The questionnaires were constructed to suit the interest of the teachers and students. To make sure that appropriate and honest opinions of the students and teachers were obtained, one hundred (100) questionnaires were administered to the students in the selected school. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive analysis involving percentages and tables. The analysis showed that the students do not have positive attitude to probability theory. There were few or no instructional resources in the schools for teaching this mathematical concept, among other factors affecting the teaching and learning probability theory in senior secondary schools. It is recommended among others that to improve the teaching and learning of probability theory in schools, mathematics teachers should try their best to improvise instructional resources to be able to teach the topic effectively and efficiently. Teachers of Mathematics should inculcate the habit of teaching probability concept using natural phenomena, for example rainfalls, whether etc....
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