Mathematics resources repository

PrimTEd spin-offs: PrimTEd testing and Maths 4 Primary Teachers

Presentation to the Initial Teacher Education Hackathon on the ongoing work of the PrimTEd 2 EFAL and Maths Assessments in the B.Ed.

The need for relevant initial teacher education for primary mathematics: evidence from the primary teacher education project in South Africa

Report of the work conducted by the Assessment Working Group of PrimTEd to design a common assessment in mathematics for higher education institutions use with their with Bachelor of Education student intakes. The assessment instrument is an online test of 90 minutes, consisting of 50 items on different mathematics concepts pertaining to foundation and intermediate phase school mathematics for teaching. The authors, analysed the performance of the 2017 pilot testing with first year students from two universities, and the 2018 national assessment from seven higher education institutions. The results revelaed similar patterns of performance. As the test was set at the level of mathematics at which the students are expected to teach, it is concerning that the majority of students (71%) were not able to obtain more than 60%. This brings into question the assumptions made about the mathematics skills and competencies that entrants into the B.Ed programme bring with them into tertiary education.

The need for relevant initial teacher education for primary mathematics: evidence from the primary teacher education project in South Africa

Report of the work conducted by the Assessment Working Group of PrimTEd to design a common assessment in mathematics for higher education institutions use with their with Bachelor of Education student intakes. The assessment instrument is an online test of 90 minutes, consisting of 50 items on different mathematics concepts pertaining to foundation and intermediate phase school mathematics for teaching. The authors, analysed the performance of the 2017 pilot testing with first year students from two universities, and the 2018 national assessment from seven higher education institutions. The results revelaed similar patterns of performance. As the test was set at the level of mathematics at which the students are expected to teach, it is concerning that the majority of students (71%) were not able to obtain more than 60%. This brings into question the assumptions made about the mathematics skills and competencies that entrants into the B.Ed programme bring with them into tertiary education.

Multiplicative reasoning: An intervention’s impact on Foundation Phase learners’ understanding

Report on research undertaken to improve learners’ understanding of and attainment in multiplicative reasoning when solving context-based problems. The research site was a suburban school serving a predominantly historically disadvantaged learner population, and involved teachers and learners from three classes in each of Grades 1–3. A 4-week intervention piloted the use of context-based problems and array images to encourage learners to model (through pictures and diagrams) the problem situations, with the models produced used both to support problem solving and to support understanding of the multiplicative structures of the contexts. The findings of this study demonstrate that young learners can be helped to better understand and improve their attainment in multiplicative reasoning,

Learning from disruptive classroom behaviour in a Grade 2 mathematics lesson

In this article a descriptive ‘account-of’ an unsuccessful mathematics lesson is followed by detailed analysis , which drew on theory and literature and provides an example of a South African teacher-researcher’s self-study on disruptive learner behaviour in her Foundation Phase mathematics class. It shows is useful at the practitioner level, in which it details how increasingly critical layers of pedagogic reflection can be used to transform mathematics teaching, and via this route, to improve access to mathematical learning in a challenging context. At the research and policy levels, the findings question the separation of attention to mathematics and learner behaviour, rather than addressing the two in combination.