Pre-service primary teachers' cognition of MTK for Euclidean geometric patterns and its effects in classroom practice
| dc.contributor.author | Dlamini, Simon N | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-06-06T11:04:26Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-06-06T11:04:26Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2021 | |
| dc.description | A dissertation submitted to the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in fulfilment of the Requirements for a Master of Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, 2021. | |
| dc.description.abstract | This study investigates the mathematical knowledge for teaching Euclidean geometric patterns held by pre-service primary school mathematics teachers during their final year of study. This investigation was intended to establish the cognition of the pre-service teachers on MKT for geometric patterns and its effect in classroom practice. The literature on teacher knowledge alludes to the fact that many teachers exit university with limited knowledge for teaching mathematics. This study seeks to determine the pre-service teachers‘ mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) geometric patterns. Using a mixed methods design, the study investigated the applicability of the LMT measures in Eswatini, the cognition of pre-service teachers on geometric patterns and the effect of this cognition on classroom practice. The MKT framework underpinned the study in data collection and data analysis. Data analysed to respond to the three research questions was collected through a pilot study, pen-andpaper cognition test and lesson observations. The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase investigates the applicability of the LMT measures in Eswatini, through a pilot study, and determines the cognition of the pre-service teachers on geometric patterns. The pilot study involved 34 pre-service primary school mathematics teachers who were given the LMT measures in the form of a pen-and-paper cognition test. The data from the pilot study was statistically analysed to adapt the measures to the local context and to establish their applicability in Eswatini. The results indicated that the difficulty index of the measures was higher for the Eswatini pre-service teachers than it was reported for the USA teachers. Hence, the measures are only valid in identifying teachers with high levels of MKT in Eswatini. To determine the cognition of the pre-service teachers on geometric patterns, the adapted measures were administered to a sample of 94 (n=94) final year pre-service primary school mathematics teachers registered for a Primary Teachers Diploma programme. The study revealed that the pre-service teachers' cognition of Euclidean geometric patterns was varied, with most teachers having low levels of mathematical knowledge for teaching (Mean = 45%, SD = 17). The second phase of the study investigates the effect of the pre-service teachers‘ cognition on geometric patterns in classroom practice. Data was collected through classroom observations, which were video-recorded, of lessons on geometric patterns conducted by three stratified sampled teachers. The classroom observation videos were analysed using the Assessing Quality of Instruction in Primary Mathematics (AQIPM) framework. The results showed that there was a positive correlation between the pre-service teachers' level of mathematical knowledge for teaching and their quality of mathematics lessons (r = .99, p < .05). These results indicate that teacher development of mathematical knowledge for teaching in pre-service teachers. Further study is recommended in this area to help develop a teaching model that will facilitate the acquisition of mathematical knowledge for teaching in teacher education institutions. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://uzspace.unizulu.ac.za/handle/10530/2360 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | University of Zululand | |
| dc.title | Pre-service primary teachers' cognition of MTK for Euclidean geometric patterns and its effects in classroom practice | |
| dc.type | Thesis |
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