African Journal of Educational Studies in Mathematics and Sciences

Problem Based Learning: Errors Minimization, Conceptual and Procedural Understanding in Trigonometry

Emmanuel Kwadzo Sallah — 2023-10-04

This study investigated problem-based learning by utilizing mixed method approach in which 100 pre-service teachers were randomly selected from four Colleges of Education in the Volta-Oti Region of Ghana and assigned to control and experimental groups. Trigonometry Achievement Test (TAT) and semi structured interviews were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data respectively. During treatment, problem-based learning (PBL) method of instruction was used to teach the experimental group while the control group was taught by conventional instructional approach. Both pre-test (pre-TAT) and post-test (post-TAT) were administered to pre-service teachers and their responses were scored to obtain quantitative data. The results revealed that pre-service teachers in both groups had improved in their post-TAT compared to their pre-TAT. However, it was revealed that pre-service teachers in the experimental group performed better in the post TAT than those in the control group. Finally, the findings revealed that PBL instruction promotes students’ motivation. In conclusion, PBL instructional approach to teaching and learning of trigonometry concepts was found to promote students’ motivation and increased achievement in trigonometry than the conventional instruction. Subsequently, the implications for practice and research are discussed.

Impact of Activity-Based Instruction on Grade 11 Learners’ Achievement in Plane Geometry

Muftawu Adams — 2023-12-11

The study was designed to investigate the efficacy of activity–based instruction on learners’ achievement in geometry. The subjects of this study consisted 83 Grade 11 high school learners from two senior high schools, purposely selected from two towns in the Northern part of Ghana. The study adopts an experimental design involving on a pre-test and post-test control design. The experimental group was facilitated using activity-based instruction while the control group was taught using the traditional ‘talk and chalk’ teaching approach. The instruments used for data generation were geometric achievement pretest and posttest. The test was based on two geometric concepts (perimeter and area). Learners’ achievements on the posttest were analysed using an independent t-test. The study showed a significant difference in the posttest geometric achievements for learners in favour of those facilitated using the activity-based method of instruction. Thus, the use of activity-based instruction proved to be a very effective and promising technique to teach geometric concepts. The study also revealed that there was no significant difference in the academic achievement of male and female learners exposed to activity-based teaching. Based on the findings, it is recommended that mathematics teachers should employ activity-based method to facilitate the teaching and learning of geometric concepts.

Effect of conceptual transformation on electrochemistry performance of high-performing high school learners in South Africa

Kwaku Darko Amponsah — 2023-12-11

In the Ximhungwe circuit of the Bohlabela district in the South African province of Mpumalanga, learners studying physical sciences participated in wider research to establish the influence of a constructivist approach to learning on learners’ understanding of electrochemistry principles. The study examined how learners in high achieving schools (HAS) responded to the conceptual change teaching strategy (CCTS), also known as collaboration on their understanding of electrochemistry principles. The investigation implemented a non-equivalent pre-test and post-test control group quasi-experimental research design. The sociocultural theory, commonly referred to as Vygotsky's theory of social constructivism, served as the foundation for the study's theoretical framework. Using a table of random numbers, a sample of 51 physical sciences students in the 12th grade from two top-performing public schools in the circuit was chosen at random to take part in the study. Both a pre- and post-test were provided to the learners: the ECT (Electrochemistry Concept Test) and the CCEQ (Chemistry Classroom Environment Questionnaire). Students taught using the CCTS significantly outperformed students taught using the traditional teaching method (TTM) in terms of learning scientific conceptions related to electrochemistry, according to one-way between group analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and post hoc analysis with a Bonferroni adjustment performed on ECT. A substantial correlation between performance and students' perceptions of their chemistry classroom setting was also found using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation. The study offers statistical proof of the value of social interaction and meaningful learning in raising students' grasp of electrochemistry.

Effect of Gender on Senior High School Students' Performance and Perception of Core Mathematics in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana

Yaw Efa — 2023-12-11

This study investigated the gender differences in senior high school student's performance and perception of core mathematics in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana. A mixed approach was used specifically the sequential explanation mixed method. A purposive, convenient, simple and stratified sampling method was employed in the study to select 393 senior high school students, consisting of 212 males and 181 females. Data was collected through the use of Mathematics Perception Questionnaires (MPQ), a mathematics test, and an interview protocol. Quantitative data (questionnaires and mathematics tests) was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, while qualitative data (interviews) was analysed on a thematic basis. The results of the study revealed that there was a significant gender difference in students’ performance in mathematics in favour of females. Female students reported feeling more supported in mathematics by both parents and teachers than male students. Additionally, the results revealed that there was no significant difference between males and females in their perceptions of mathematics. Both males and females had a positive perception of mathematics because they saw the subject to be an integral part of daily life, also a way to succeed in many other areas The study recommends that stakeholders in the education sector should provide equal opportunities for both male and female students to learn and excel in core mathematics and also mathematics teachers in SHS should employ positive behaviours during teaching and learning to help students of both genders perform better.