An Observational Study of Classroom Processes Used by Senior Secondary School Mathematics Teachers in Edo State
CHAPTER ONE
Purpose of Study
The purpose of this study is for the researcher to assess the effectiveness of mathematics teachers under the following objectives:
- Assess mathematics teachers preparation and planning of lessons.
- Assess mathematics teachers’ use of appropriate teaching methods while teaching.
- Assess mathematics teachers’ communication skills while teaching
- Assess mathematics teachers’ knowledge of subject matter.
- Assess if mathematics teachers create good learning environments while teaching.
- Assess mathematics teachers if they are able to assess their students during teaching-learning.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Importance of Mathematics
Every individual require the knowledge of mathematics to function effectively and efficiently in today’s world irrespective of his/her job or profession. Daily, people are confronted with varied demands for mathematical competence. The housewife for instance frequently needs halving, doubling or tripling recipes consisting of such measures as 11/2 cups, 1¼ teaspoon, ¾ cups etc. She also needs to prepare family budget for food and other items that would be needed in the house. She needs to compare costs and decide which article to purchase and which not to. All of these situations require ample mathematical knowledge for wise decisions to be made. Nurses or Medical personnel have a lot to do with mixing substances of different strengths. They therefore should know relative sizes, volumes, weights and capacities of bottles. Business men and women also make considerations about fast selling goods to purchase and decide on price cut for slow moving items. Besides, they study increase in sales as a result of advertisement and compare that with the cost of advertisement. The bus or truck driver, carpenter, painter, brick-layer, gardener, farmer, etc all have to put up with a lot of mathematical processes on quantitative situations. The value of mathematics in all fields of learning such as engineering, medicine, architecture, agriculture, etc., can also not be over emphasized. Mathematics encourages the habit of self-reliance and assists learners to think and solve their problems themselves [2]. All mathematical topics, beyond computational skills, also have one good habit or trait they inculcate to the students. Topics in geometry, for instance, demand some amount of logical reasoning and analytical thinking from individuals so that they can be able to establish a relationship between known and required facts. Such topics and others in algebra help people to reason logically and to realize that facts can be utterly established, and so consequently develop the habit of desiring and demanding that in their affairs with others. Proofs also help learners to reason deductively and so are able to apply that knowledge in deducing the cause/effect of things that happen around them and within their environment. They can therefore react with understanding, for instance, to claims made by the media, their leaders or even the government on any issue. Furthermore, mathematics is an exact and precise body of knowledge. The procedure by which the final answer is arrived at may be different, but the answer remains the same. There is therefore no half truth in mathematics. A statement is either true or false and an answer is either correct or not correct and can be verified by a reverse process. Accuracy and exactness are thus the pillars on which mathematics stands. It is a subject that cannot be learnt through vagueness of thought or argument. It therefore trains and disciplines the mind. A student of mathematics learns the value of accuracy and adopts it as a principle of life. Knowledge of mathematics, thus, promotes the habit of accuracy, logical, systematic and orderly arrangements of facts in the individual learner.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to an observational study of classroom process used by senior secondary school mathematics teachers in Edo state
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
(i)Primary source and
(ii)Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items or things. The researcher is interested in getting information an observational study of classroom process used by senior secondary school mathematics teachers in Edo state. 200 staff of selected secondary schools in Edo state were selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
DATA ANALYSIS
The data collected from the respondents were analyzed in tabular form with simple percentage for easy understanding.
A total of 133(one hundred and thirty three) questionnaires were distributed and 133 questionnaires were returned.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain an observational study of classroom processes used by senior secondary school mathematics teachers in Edo state. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of an observational study of classroom processes used by senior secondary school mathematics teachers in Edo state
Summary
This study was on an observational study of classroom processes used by senior secondary school mathematics teachers in Edo state. Six objectives were raised which included: Assess mathematics teachers preparation and planning of lessons, assess mathematics teachers’ use of appropriate teaching methods while teaching, assess mathematics teachers’ communication skills while teaching, assess mathematics teachers’ knowledge of subject matter, assess if mathematics teachers create good learning environments while teaching and assess mathematics teachers if they are able to assess their students during teaching-learning. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 staffs of selected secondary schools in Edo state. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made principals, vice principals and senior staff and junior staffs students were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
Mathematics is not a subject to be toyed with by any individual that wants to be productive or any nation that strives for scientific/technological development. Nigerian children’s poor achievement in the subject as evidenced in the analysis presented by and is indeed worrisome just as it is for many other African countries. This therefore calls for immediate action or the country would be trailing behind many others scientifically and technologically for not adequately equipping its citizens with mathematical knowledge and skills pointed out the necessity of transforming mathematics lessons from teacher-centred to learner centred and the need to make mathematics learning meaningful for the students. Children in Nigerian primary and secondary schools if properly guided to discover the beauty of mathematics can learn mathematical concepts with maximum understanding. The problem however is that very early in their school lives, many children get the impression that mathematics is an abstract and difficult subject reserved for a selected few with ‘magic’ brain as confirmed by, and as far as the children are concerned, no one has been able to disprove this
Recommendation
Government should employ qualified teachers that can handle mathematics very well to understandable of students.
References
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