School of Science & Mathematics Education

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Browsing by Author "Davids, Jade Ethel"

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    An auto ethnography of implementing productive practice
    (University of the Western Cape, 2024) Davids, Jade Ethel
    This autoethnographic research chronicles a thirteen-year journey of teaching Mathematics at a socio-economically disadvantaged high school in the Western Cape, South Africa. Positioned within a context marked by systemic inequality, resource scarcity and frequent institutional disruptions, this research provides a deeply personal and reflective account of growth. Through the lens of lived experience and ongoing reflective diary entries, it explores how the integration of productive practice structured, purposeful learning activities which served as a central strategy to enhance learner engagement, persistence and achievement, particularly in the face of high-stakes national examinations. The research considers multiple intersecting challenges that shaped the teaching and learning environment, namely: classroom management in overcrowded settings, learner’s foundational knowledge gaps, inconsistent homework completion and low levels of motivation and self-efficacy. Despite these difficulties, the research reveals how deliberate, scaffolded productive practice activities created space for learners to engage meaningfully with mathematical concepts, develop critical thinking skills and build confidence through collaboration and repeated exposure to problem-solving tasks. Central to this process has been the role of productive practice in transforming teaching strategies over time. The research illustrates how sustained self-reflection led to a shift in pedagogical focus from a traditional teacher-centred approach, towards a more learner-centered approach that values dialogue, mistakes and iterative learning. My evolving understanding of my learners’ needs, informed by day-to-day classroom experiences, enabled the development of more adaptive, responsive teaching methodologies that aligned with both curriculum and contextual realities. This research also highlights how small, consistent innovations like productive practice, rooted in care, reflection and intention can foster a sense of agency and academic growth. The research thereby offers insight into the complex interplay between teacher identity, reflective practice and learner development. It presents a hopeful and practical perspective on the potential for meaningful educational change within under-resourced schools, underscoring the power of commitment, creativity and critical reflection in shaping transformative teaching and learning experiences.
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    Implementing an intentional teaching model to investigate the algebraic reasoning of grade 9 mathematics learners
    (University of the Western Cape, 2019) Davids, Jade Ethel; Mbekwa, Monde
    This research has employed an intentional teaching model to investigate the algebraic reasoning of grade 9 learners from a low socio-economic background. It has also sought to study how learners engage with algebra to make generalizations and to scrutinize any misconceptions deriving from the experience. They looked for patterns, paid attention to aspects of the patterns that are important and then generalized from familiar to unfamiliar situations. Algebraic reasoning underpins all mathematical thinking including arithmetic because it allows us to explore the structure of mathematics. This study is based on the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement which states that learners are expected to investigate patterns to establish the relationships between variables, as well as represent and analyse the change of patterns. The study also had a huge emphasis on algebra. According to Mphuthi & Machaba (2016): “Algebraic expressions form part of the senior phase CAPS curriculum in South Africa. A substantial amount of time is allocated to this section on evaluating expressions and simplifications of algebraic expressions in grade 7-9.” The study is premised on a qualitative research paradigm and a design-based research methodology for data collection. A set of tasks based on algebraic patterns and generalizations was given to an opportunistic sample of 20 grade 9 learners in a school in Delft, a low socio-economic suburb about 30 kilometres from Cape Town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Three weeks after completing the tasks, learners were interviewed to identify their reasoning and how they felt about the tasks. The results of the study show that the majority of the learners struggled with tasks especially when asked what the rules they could derive from the patterns. Learners did not seem to understand what they were doing because they were unable to articulate the given tasks in words and did not have knowledge of concepts like the perimeter.