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African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education

ISSN:
1811-7295
E-ISSN: 2469-7656
E-ISSN: 2469-7656
This publication that is hosted on SA ePublications is only available to sub-Saharan countries.
The editorial policy of the African Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education is to disseminate, as widely as possible, high quality research findings and well written articles on theory and practice in science, mathematics and technology education. Articles that promote the understanding of curricular policy and diverse socio-cultural issues and those which stimulate epistemological and methodological debates are welcome.
This journal continues Journal of the Southern African Association for Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education
Publisher | Taylor & Francis |
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Frequency | Tri-annually |
Coverage | Vol 6 2002 - current |
Accreditation(s) |
Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) |
Language | English |
Journal Status | Active |
Collection(s) |
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Prompts used by biology lecturers in large lecture group settings to promote student interaction
Using Piaget’s perspective of individual cognition and Vygotsky’s theory of social constructivism as lenses, this paper reports on the instructional prompts that are used by biology lecturers to promote student interaction. The study further reports on the link between the prompts used and the subsequent quality of the interaction. Three lecturers were observed teaching third- and fourth-year pre-service teachers at a university. The first author used an observation schedule to describe what was observed in detail. Observational data and vignettes were coded for instructional prompts, and the codes were categorised subsequently. This study found that lecturers used a variety of formats of instructional prompts including the use of teaching and learning aids, teaching strategies, teaching procedures and teaching and learning activities to foster interaction. The study also found that, while the quality of the interaction could be dependent on the use of a particular type of instructional prompt (like the novel stories used in this study), it was also dependent on how the lecturer facilitated the interaction. An interesting finding that came out of this study is that allowing for cognitive interaction before social interaction enhanced the quality of student interaction in terms of engagement for learning. The study recommends that lecturers should allow students to first interact cognitively (using tools such as a worksheet) to allow for restructuring of their thinking that would then be showcased in the social interaction.
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Exploring the nature of dialogue within South African pre-service teachers’ calculus lecture rooms
This paper seeks to explore the nature of dialogue within calculus lecture rooms. This paper reports on part of a larger study, in which the participants were two lecturers lecturing to 198 third year pre-service teachers at a University in South Africa. This qualitative interpretive study was framed within the ambits of social constructivism and aspects of Mortimer and Scott’s framework were used to analyse dialogue in the lecture room. Data for this paper were generated through video-recorded lecture observations. Subsequently, a qualitative data analysis of the generated data revealed that dialogue within the calculus lecture rooms under study may be in the form of explanations and questioning. Questioning included questions that assess students’ prior knowledge, probing, follow-up and guiding questions. The findings of this study are of value to both lecturers and students within higher education with implications for teaching and learning mathematics within higher education are presented.
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Factors affecting programming performance of first year students at a university in Botswana
One of the challenges encountered in programming courses offered at first year level is high failure rate, which is a serious concern to lecturers and university management. To address the issue of high failure rate, it is important to have a clear understanding of the factors that may affect performance. This study investigates the effect of gender and prior academic experience on performance in an introductory programming course. These factors have special significance related to the societal and educational context in which the study is conducted. Moreover, prior academic experience is commonly used as an admission criterion and hence its validity needs to be assessed. Data were collected from 146 first year computing students who took an introductory programming course during semester 1 of the 2016/2017 academic year. The study found a statistically significant correlation between high school performance in mathematics and physics (albeit moderate and weak correlations respectively) and performance in an introductory programming course. Surprisingly, the study found no statistically significant correlation between performance in high school computer studies (where programming is taught) and performance in the introductory programming course. A discussion of the potential reasons for this discrepancy and its implications is provided.
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The effect of learners’ knowledge of the divisibility rules on their gaze behaviour
The Department of Basic Education in South Africa has identified factorisation as a problem area in Mathematics teaching. Learners in earlier grades are exposed to mathematical tasks, involving concepts, such as factors of integers, fractions, equivalent fractions and prime numbers, that are easier to solve when the divisibility rules are applied. An experiment was designed to investigate the effect of learners’ knowledge and their application of the divisibility rules on their gaze behaviour. Seventy-eight learners in Grades 4–7 participated in an eye-tracking study where questions on divisibility were presented on a computer screen. Learners were expected to indicate whether a five-digit dividend was divisible by a divisor and provide reasons for their answers. Gaze behaviour (expressed as the percentage of total fixation time that was spent on each digit), along with learners’ verbal responses were used to determine whether a given divisibility rule was applied correctly. The findings show that learners apply different strategies to inspect the dividend when they know the divisibility rules and apply them correctly as opposed to when they do not know the rules and/or apply them incorrectly. It is argued that, since knowledge of the divisibility rules is a reliable predictor for gaze behaviour, gaze behaviour can in turn be used to assist teachers to identify a lack of knowledge and/or the incorrect application of the divisibility rules. Teachers can then cautiously intervene with revision to assist learners whose gaze behaviour indicates that they need assistance.
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A cross-cultural validation of adapted questionnaire for assessing motivation to learn science
The aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of a questionnaire adapted from Students’ Motivation Towards Science Learning questionnaire developed by Tuan and colleagues, to assess motivation to learn science among Namibian Grade 12 students (N = 755). The overall reliability of the scores on the 19-item questionnaire was 0.79. The reliability of the individual factors ranged from 0.66 to 0.77. The sample was split into two for exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Exploratory factor analysis (N = 403) using principal components extraction with varimax rotation revealed an interpretable factor structure and the factor solution accounted for 56.1% of the total variance. The measurement model was validated by means of confirmatory factor analysis (N = 352) and the results showed that the model had adequate statistical fit for the data, with the following fit indices: χ2/d.f. = 1.54, RMSEA = 0.039, SRMR = 0.047, TLI = 0.94 and CFI = 0.95. Construct validity was confirmed through the assessment of convergent and discriminant validity and both were found tenable. These findings indicate that the adapted questionnaire has adequate construct validity and reliability. Moreover, the findings suggest that the adapted questionnaire is suitable for assessing Namibian Grade 12 science students’ motivation to learn science.
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Exploring effective pedagogies using computer simulations to improve Grade 12 learners’ understanding of the photoelectric effect
The study aimed to determine the most effective of three pedagogies to improve Grade 12 learners’ understanding of the photoelectric effect when the teaching was done using chalk and talk, guided learning with computer simulations (CS) as a demonstration tool and semi-autonomous learning where the learners used the CS individually with limited support. A randomised pre-/post-test control group design was implemented. A paired-sample t-test on the post-test scores indicated that the guided learning experimental group (N=10) performed better than the semi-autonomous learning experimental group (N=10) [t-statistics, t(9) = −6.135, p < 0.05]. Even the control group (N=10) where the teacher used chalk and talk performed better than the semi-autonomous learning experimental group. An analysis of covariance on the post-test scores with learners’ pre-test scores showed a significant effect on the instructional group favouring the guided learning experimental group. It is, therefore, suggested that guided learning where the teacher manipulates the CS is a better method for the effective teaching of the photoelectric effect.
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ISSN:
1811-7295
E-ISSN: 2469-7656
E-ISSN: 2469-7656
© Publisher: Taylor & Francis

ISSN:
1811-7295
E-ISSN: 2469-7656
E-ISSN: 2469-7656
© Publisher: Taylor & Francis