3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Giving feedback in investigative tasks in grade 10.(2010-08-16) Mathenjwa, Lerato JosephineThis study is an action research project where I study my own practice in giving feedback in investigative tasks. The aim is to find ways of improving my feedback by engaging learners in conversation and eliciting misconceptions. The study is framed by a sociocultural view of learning and teaching. The study was conducted in a high school with a class of Grade 10 learners who worked on an investigative task and six lessons were video recorded. Analysis was based on the investigative task, feedback given to learners, misconceptions that arose and conversations that took place during the lessons. The findings are that when developing an investigative task, the teacher should look for mathematical processes that can be developed as learners work on it. I found that I both took up and missed opportunities to work with learners’ misconceptions and that four components of mathematical conversations: questioning, explaining mathematical ideas, sources of mathematical ideas and responsibility were present at different levels in my classroom. On the basis of my findings I make a number of recommendations for my own further practice and for other teachers.Item An investigation of learners' symbol sense and interpretation of letters in early algebraic learning(2009-07-06T12:25:20Z) Naidoo, Kona Sagaren KanakasabyResearch in early algebra is critical because a smooth transition from arithmetic to algebra will influence future algebra learning that is central to school mathematics. This study investigated learners’ interpretation of letters in different levels of generalised arithmetic activities. Thirty grade nine learners from one inner city school participated in this study. All learners engaged with seventeen paper and pencil tasks encompassing six different interpretations of letters and six learners were then interviewed. Analysis of the data showed that the overall performance of learners was very poor and most learners have not been successful in making the transition from arithmetic to algebra. Learner responses suggested a strong arithmetical influence and a poor understanding of algebraic letter and basic manipulative skills. Throughout the data a number of misconceptions surfaced which suggested that most learners in this sample were lacking ‘symbol sense’.