This paper represents a revolutionary advancement in our knowledge of postgraduate education which is of increasing significance to national knowledge systems. South African universities produce 26 doctoral graduates for every one million citizens. This means that the low doctoral graduates’ throughput is a huge challenge in South Africa and needs to be addressed. The paper investigated the challenges experienced by postgraduate students (Honors) at an institution of higher education in Limpopo province of South Africa. The group studied consisted of postgraduate students (Honors) from the Department of Mathematics Science and Technology Education, Faculty of Education. Using a qualitative approach, open-ended questionnaire and interview data were collected from eight participants. Data were analyzed thematically and the results revealed that students find it difficult to walk the landmine-infested postgraduate education road without means to shield themselves from the subsequent explosion. The study recommends aspects that improve postgraduate programs’ performance in the Department of Mathematics Science and Technology Education.

This is a preliminary paper about a large research project on social mathematics. It proposes points mathematics, a variant of social mathematics, as a viable context for teaching mathematics to adults. Points mathematics, focuses on observing, representing and investigating patterns, regularities and quantitative relationships stemming from convertible points, that businesses offer to their customers/clients for the purpose of encouraging loyalty and for boosting up sales in competitive markets. Using ten illustrative examples, the paper asserts that points mathematics provides practical, realistic context for teaching fundamental mathematics concepts and skills to adult students. These include, but not limited to, the four operations of mathematics (addition, division, subtraction and multiplication), variable, linear equation, graph, rates, percent, ratio, patterns and proportion. The paper is grounded in the theory of realistic mathematics education (RME), that posits that the teaching and learning of mathematics should be contextually-based; entails explaining and solving contextual problems; and establishing high-level interactive relationship between learning and teaching. The paper concludes with three recommendations to guide mathematics teachers of adults who want to implement points mathematics as part of their mathematics curriculum. However, the paper is the first phase of a large research project that explores social mathematics and how it could be integrated in mathematics curricular contents for adult students.

This mixed methods, investigative case study explored student patterns of use within the online PeerWise platform to identify the most influencing activities and to build a model capable of predicting performance based on these influencing activities. Peerwise is designed to facilitate student peer-to-peer engagement through creating, answering and ranking multiple choice questions; this study sought to understand the relationship between student engagement in Peerwise and learning performance. To address the research question, various usage metrics were explored, visualized and modelled, using social network analysis with Gephi, Tableau and Python. These findings were subsequently analyzed in light of the qualitative survey data gathered. The most significant activity metrics were evaluated leading to rich data visualisations and identified the activities that influenced academic performance in this study. The alignment of the key qualitative and quantitative findings converged on answering questions as having the greatest positive impact on learner performance. Furthermore, from a quantitative perspective the Average Comment Length and Average Explanation Length correlated positively with superior academic performance. Qualitatively, the motivating nature of PeerWise community also engaged learners. The key limitation of the size of the data set within the investigative case study suggests further research, with additional student cohorts as part of an action research paradigm, to broaden these findings.

Using engineering design to teach science requires teachers to engage in noticing, interpreting, and responding to students’ needs in real-time. While research has begun to focus on how elementary teachers do so, less is known about how teachers instructionally support and optimize students’ ideas through engineering design feedback. In this study we investigate what instructional moves two elementary teachers’ employ to leverage students’ ideas and reasoning and create opportunities for students to exchange design feedback. Data were gathered using classroom observations of teachers’ implementations of a design task focused on sound and energy transformation. Observations were coded for teachers’ use of high-leverage practices, and event maps were created to chronicle teachers’ implementation of the task from start to finish. Event maps were analyzed and compared for discrete instructional activities and modes of classroom organization that supported opportunities for feedback. Findings suggested that while teachers used similar instructional moves, how and when they created opportunities for student design feedback differed, resulting in diverse ways of assessing and supporting students’ understandings. Implications suggest design feedback as both a purposeful and naturally present phenomenon throughout the design process, reflective of the nature of engineering design.

In this paper, the categories and influence of teachers’ classroom characteristics relative to effective mathematics teaching in secondary schools in Plateau state, Nigeria were examined. The aim was to see how students are assisted to learn mathematics from teachers engaging fully their professional practices fully. Exploratory and descriptive survey research methods were used to examine the trajectories. Sample for the study consisted of 60 trained mathematics teachers from secondary schools in Plateau state that participated in a week-long capacity building workshop on teaching new concepts from secondary school mathematics curriculum in Nigeria organized recently by the state chapter of the Mathematics Association of Nigeria. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the sample based on the fact that the study targeted only mathematics teachers that participated in the capacity building workshop. A 52-item TCCQ on teacher effectiveness, interest, rapport with students, etc. was used for data collection. The findings from the study revealed that mathematics teachers’ ability to teach effectively is significantly associated with many factors including the use of different strategies (χ2=52.75), revision (χ2=47.13), good lesson plans (χ2=53.93) and being friendly with students (χ2=35.66). There was no significant variation regarding how the characteristics influence teacher effectiveness based on qualification (F2, 58=0.689). Among other things, therefore, it was recommended that teachers should be committed to teaching mathematics effectively in the classroom by taking cognizance of the variables especially designing of good lesson plans and previous knowledge irrespective of their qualifications.

School education should not only provide students with content knowledge but also with effective skills that will be appropriate in their adult lives, such as the competence in solving problems individually or being able to work as a member of a team. Students should be active participants instead of passive listeners in their lessons. There is a wide variety of teaching methods that practicing teachers can choose from to make their lessons varied. The present article explains the outline of an experiment that was based on Spencer Kagan’s cooperative learning focusing on one particular lesson. The mathematics lesson was planned using cooperative teaching techniques and was taught in secondary mathematics education. We analyse how well cooperative learning can be used for improving participation and effective problem-solving in the classroom.

Research on students’ perceptions of scientists is ongoing, starting with early research by Mead and Metraux in the 1950s and continuing in the present. Continued research interest in this area is likely due to scholarship suggesting adolescents’ impressions of scientists are sourced in-part from media, which influence their interests in science and identity in becoming a scientist. A significant source of images, in which adolescents (or middle school students) view science and scientists, is in their science textbooks. A qualitative content analysis explored images of scientists in three of the major U.S.-based middle grade science textbooks published in the new millennium: sixth grade biology, seventh grade earth science, and eighth grade physical science. The Draw A Scientist Test (DAST) Checklist was employed to assess scientists’ images and the stereotypes therein. From nine textbooks, 435 images of scientists were coded and analyzed by publisher and grade level / area by DAST constructs of appearance, location, careers, and scientific activities. Statistical analyses showed significant variances between grade levels and textbook publishers of scientists. Despite scientists portrayed in active endeavors, traditional tropes of the scowling, older, solitary, white male scientist persist. This study offers insight in leveraging improved images of scientists in textbooks.

Mathematical connection ability is very important to be mastered by prospective mathematics teacher students as competency to teach in secondary schools. However, the facts show that there are still many students who have weak mathematical connection abilities. This qualitative descriptive study aimed to explore how the process, and product of the mathematical connection made by prospective mathematics teacher students when solving the integral calculus problems based on their prior knowledge. The research subjects were 58 students who were prospective high school mathematics teachers at the University of Jember, Indonesia. Data were collected using documentation, questionnaire, test, and interview methods. After the test results of all subjects were analyzed, six students were interviewed. To find the match between the results of the written test and the results of the interview, a triangulation method was carried out. Data analysis used descriptive qualitative analysis with steps of data categorization, data presentation, interpretation, and making conclusions. The results show that the research subjects have connected and used mathematical ideas in the form of procedures, facts, concepts/principles, and representations in solving integral calculus problems. Students with high prior knowledge abilities can make better mathematical connections than students with moderate and low prior abilities. From these results, it is recommended that lecturers need to improve students' prior knowledge and train the students more intensely to solve integral calculus problems so all students can develop their mathematical connection abilities into very strong categories.

The study on mathematical performance was significant enough to be studied further to measure students' self-efficacy. Although studies on student self-efficacy in math performance from a gender perspective were abundant, studies on this relationship from the perspectives of ethnic culture and gender were scarce. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the self-efficacy of Bugis Junior High School students in solving math problems based on gender. The researchers used an algebra problem in the context of the Bugis ethnic culture. For this data set, two of 25 students at a public junior high school in Bone, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, were interviewed based on ethnicity and gender. Qualitatively, the triangulation technique was employed for data analysis. The study results revealed that male students outperformed girls in terms of self-efficacy, namely magnitude, strength, and generality, in math performance. Furthermore, female students had lower self-efficacy in terms of confidence, supportive experience in completing math tasks, and confidence in their ability to complete math tasks in similar or different contexts, compared to male students, who had higher self-efficacy. This result provided new knowledge by exploring the characteristics of students' self-efficacy by integrating ethnicity and gender.

Learning in STEM subjects is to a high degree based upon understanding logic, especially in subjects like mathematics. It has always been challenging to preserve the benefits of on-campus teaching and learning while digitalizing the teaching of mathematics. In this article an approach to design for a suitable online pre-calculus course is discussed, that aims to address the challenges. The main focus will be on student active learning in synchronous online environments, technical teaching methods in lectures, and pre-planning of the course. The final exam in the course was held as a closed-book proctored exam on-campus with pen and paper, providing data on comparisons of the final exam scores with the exam from the previous year, in which the entire course was held on-campus. The results indicate a positive effect from the presented design. Also, student surveys indicated high student satisfaction.

The current study investigated whether: (1) using an interactive presentation (IP) platform could affect the amount of usage of the practices of making orchestrating mathematical discourse- sequencing and connecting students' responses. (2) using an interactive presentation (IP) platform could affect the amount of narratives constructed by students. Fifty seventh-grade students participated in the study; those students were divided into control and experimental groups. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed based on voice recordings and field notes. The results revealed that the teacher using (IP) asked nearly three times more questions that connected students’ responses (i.e., questions that involved valuing students' ideas, exploring students' answers, incorporating students’ background knowledge, and encouraging student-to-student communication). We also saw that the students participated in the learning processes. The students in the experimental group presented three times as many narratives as those in the control group. We present several excerpts from the transcripts of the classroom discussions to illustrate our findings. Discussion of the implications and limitations of these results and make recommendations based on those results.

The diversity of definitions of science literacy has resulted in a diversity of measurement tools. However, adult science literacy is mainly assessed on short standardized and non-contextualized questions, thus making the study of adult science literacy more qualitative than quantitative. Here we describe the rationale, development, and validation of a questionnaire that associates the use of science in the specific science-related setting of parents of hard of hearing children with general and topic-specific science knowledge. The questionnaire went through four developmental steps: (1) gathering input from hearing rehabilitation experts and parents, (2) testing the close-ended questionnaire (n=10), (3) open-ended questionnaire (n=24), (4) online close-ended questionnaire (n=91). These all assessed general science knowledge, contextual science knowledge in the field of hearing and parents' advocacy knowledge and attitudes. These steps and the resulting assessment tool can thus inform the further development of measures of adult science literacy in context. The findings suggest that although general science knowledge enables the application of science to everyday science-related problems it only explained a small proportion of the variance in contextual science knowledge. Thus, the results strongly point to the importance of measuring adults' science literacy in a context that is relevant to the responders. The findings also underscored the disappointing outcomes of secondary science education, in that formal scientific background predicted general science knowledge but did not account for contextual science knowledge at all. This should elicit concern as to the ability of students to use science knowledge in future personally important science related contexts.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate synchronous and asynchronous mathematics teaching modalities at Isabela State University. The qualitative research method was used to collect information, opinions, and experiences of Isabela State University mathematics faculty in employing synchronous and asynchronous modes in teaching mathematical courses in terms of strengths, weaknesses, possibilities, and problems. The study's subjects were 15 Mathematics Instructors chosen at random from Isabela State University's nine campuses. A structured interview was created and distributed to participants using Google Form. The limitations on face-to-face encounters prompted the use of such data-gathering technique. The researcher followed up with another video call interview to validate the participants' responses. The data was transcribed and processed using thematic analysis. The findings demonstrated that the synchronous and asynchronous learning modalities both have strengths and disadvantages that influence the quality of the teaching-learning process throughout the epidemic. Given this, distant learning is thought to be more effective when both modalities are used rather to just one of the aforementioned. This is because the strengths of one of the two modalities can solve the flaws highlighted in the other. As a result, mathematics instructors may receive more in-depth training in both asynchronous and synchronous teaching approaches, as well as strategies for becoming more successful teachers during the present school closures.

This study tested hypotheses of a hypothetical model determining the influence of teacher clarity and real-world applications while teaching group theory concepts on students’ achievement in modern algebra. The data collected from 139 undergraduate students were analyzed by regression analysis using Stata14’s structural equation model building and estimation. The path regression analysis of the model using SEM model building and estimation confirmed the research hypotheses. First, the utilization of real-world application problems while teaching group theory concepts has a significant influence on students’ achievement in modern algebra. Second, the clear presentation of group theory concepts by the teacher has a significant influence on students’ achievement in modern algebra. Finally, both teachers’ clear presentation of group theory concepts and utilization of its real-world applications have a significant influence on students’ achievement in modern algebra.

This study examined the impact of the Rwanda African Institute for Mathematical Science, Teacher Training Program (AIMS-TTP) on 228 secondary school students’ interest to learn Mathematics and science taught by 7058-trained teachers over 5-years across 14 districts. Students were exposed to various AIMS-TTP interventions, including industrial visits, science hours, and international day for women and girls in science, mathematics competition, robotics and mathematics challenge, and the Pan African Mathematics Olympiad (PAMO). A survey research design was employed to collect data about students’ interest to learn Mathematics and science, and data on students’ choices of combinations were obtained from the National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA) for the academic years 2017 to 2022. Data analysis using bivariate correlation and regression analyses revealed a positive and significant relationship (p<.05) between AIMS-TTP interventions and students’ interest to learn Mathematics and science. Besides, linear regression model indicated that hands-on activities, exposure to mathematics and science role models, science hour and smart classroom were the best predictors of students’ interest to learn mathematics and science (β=.197, p< .05; β=.217, p<.05; β=.234, p< .05; and β=.218, p<.05 respectively). They contributed 66.7 % (Adjusted, R2 = .667, p < .05) of the variance in students’ interest in learning mathematics and science. The AIMS-TTP interventions significantly improved students’ interest to learning mathematics and science. Recommendations include comprehensive training programs with direct student engagement, diverse competitions, and ongoing teacher support through professional development. Future research should focus on students’ STEM interest in Technical, Vocational Education, and Training schools.

Bring your own device (BYOD) policy implementation in schools worldwide has allowed students to learn subjects, including mathematics, using personal mobile devices (PMDs). PMD use has enhanced students’ mathematics enjoyment by bridging the gap between theoretical mathematics concepts and their practical applications, which makes mathematics more meaningful and leads to improved results. Nonetheless, students in Namibian basic education are not authorised to learn with PMDs in school. While students’ PMD use in school remains a topic of debate, there remains a need to investigate its impact on students’ mathematics learning and teachers’ perceptions of BYOD in mathematics classrooms. This study evaluated the perceptions and intentions of 209 Namibian mathematics teachers from the Omusati and Khomas regions regarding students’ mathematics learning using PMDs in schools. Data were collected through an online survey. A structural equation model revealed teachers’ positive intentions towards students’ use of PMDs through BYOD in learning mathematics in school. Perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEoU), and price value (PV) factors directly affected the teachers’ behavioural intentions (BI) towards students learning mathematics through BYOD. PEoU significantly affected teachers’ PU, and PV significantly affected teachers’ PEoU and PU. PU significantly mediated the relationship between PEoU and teachers’ intentions. PV significantly indirectly affected teachers’ intentions through PU. PEoU non-significantly mediated the PV and intention relationship. Practical implications are discussed, and recommendations are offered for the Namibian Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture and teacher training institutions.

Teachers and teaching styles are two important factors influencing students’ academic performance. In this action research study, we investigated the differential effectiveness of two teaching methods, conventional learning (CL) and peer-cooperative learning (PCL), on students’ academic performance in fractions. A sample of 120 tenth grade mathematics students from Ibadan North Local Government Area of Oyo State in Nigeria was used for the study. The students were selected from three different secondary schools and grouped into two groups: the experimental (PCL) group and the control (CL) group, each having 60 students. A sample of 5 multiple-choice objective and 5 theory test questions titled Fraction Performance Test (FPT) was used to measure their academic performance after the treatment, and the assessment test scores were recorded. Descriptive statistics of the mean were used to answer the research question, while the two-way ANOVA technique was adopted for testing the research hypothesis at an alpha of 0.05. Summarily, the F (3, 116) statistic (= 8.55, p < .001) indicates significant differences in the effectiveness of the teaching methods. The mean scores also reveal that peer-cooperative learning was more effective than the conventional teaching approach. While the former proved to be a more efficacious treatment for female students, the latter was more suitable for male students. We recommend that different approaches be attempted by teachers, and the most effective in overcoming students’ resistance to learning and improving their academic performance be adopted.

The study investigated the impact of YouTube video assisted instructions (YVAI) on pre-service teachers’(PSTs) attitudes and academic performance in chemistry classroom. A quasi-experimental design was adopted for the study. One hundred and twenty (120) Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) pursuing primary education programme constituted the participants of the study. Sixty (60) PSTs each were non-randomly assigned to the Experimental Group (EG) and Control Group (CG). Data on PSTs’ attitude and performance were collected with PSTAS and GCPT respectively. The SPSS software version 20 was used to analyse the data to generate descriptive and inferential statistics. A non-parametric analysis was used in the inferential statistics. The attitude means rank (MR=78.62) of EG (U = 713.000, Z=-6.924, p <.001) was statistically higher than CG (MR=42.38) (U = 713.000, Z=-6.924, p <.001) after treatment. The EG after treatment recorded a mean rank (80.86) statistically higher than CG (40.14), U = 578.500, Z = -6.441, p <.001 after treatment. YVAI was proven as an effective instructional strategy that enhances learners’ altitudinal changes and performance. The study recommended the use of YouTube technological-driven instructions to support classroom instructions.

Science, magic, and education have always been linked, from science-based magic shows to teachers presenting demonstrations as magic tricks to capture their students’ interest and provide a mnemonic reference for the topics under discussion. Magic as an art form is also often used to convey information or act as an analogy for invisible phenomena. This study examined how the use of a magic effect designed as an analogy for active and passive transport in cells affected student scores and perception of the activity when compared to a standard story analogy in a high school integrated science course. To determine this, students participated in either a magic-based analogy activity (MBAA) or a concrete story-based analogy activity (SBAA), and then data was collected and analysed using a pre-test/post-test for the content and a Likert-scale anonymous survey for the student perception of the activity. The MBAA was shown to be similar to the SBAA in helping students learn but had the added benefit of increasing students’ reported engagement with the activity. This study shows how bringing magic into the science classroom can have a positive impact on student engagement and provides teachers with another option to support student learning.

Research shows that learning enjoyment in specific socio-scientific issues (SSI) plays an important role in predicting grade 10 students’ learning interest and learning enjoyment (i.e., genuine interest) in SSI subjects generally. However, it remains unexplored whether learning enjoyment also mediates a predictive effect of learning interest in a Big Science SSI of pressing contemporary global concern—COVID-19—on grade 12 high school students’ learning interest in SSI generally. The purpose of this study is to investigate how learning enjoyment may mediate the predictive effect of learning interest in the specific Big Science SSI of COVID-19 specifically on students’ learning interest in SSI subjects generally. Latent variable modeling using data collected from grade 12 students (N = 691) showed personal perceptions of learning enjoyment in SSI partially mediated the predictive effect of learning interest in the SSI of COVID-19 on learning interest in other Big Science SSI subjects. Implications for promoting among science educators and policy specialists the active development of students’ individual interests and involvement in other 21st century Big Science SSI challenges are forwarded.