Browsing by Author "Smith, Charles"

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    The integration of semiotic resources and modalities in the teaching of geometry in a Grade 9 class in a South African high school: The four cases of congruency
    (Education Association of South Africa (EASA), 2020) Smith, Charles; Julie, Cyril; Gierdien, Mohammad
    In this article we examine the nature of inter-semiotic and intermodal construction in the exposition of a solution for a geometry rider. In the tradition of hermeneutic phenomenology, this case study involved an exploration of the oral discourse and visual texts used in a mathematics lesson. This research was intended to contribute to the understanding of the difficulties in teaching and learning geometry at school level. Results indicate that relational markings, oral and visual modalities in conjunction with gesturing constitute the primary semiotic resources employed by the teacher. This leads to the conclusion that the semiotic perspective, in conjunction with other perspectives on geometry teaching in schools, may provide a mechanism by which to reflect on the complexity of geometry teaching and learning in schools.
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    Keeping sites in sight: Conversations with teachers about the design of toolkits peculiar to a continuous professional development initiative
    (AOSIS, 2019) Gierdien, Faaiz; Smith, Charles; Julie, Cyril
    The aim of this article is to shift the notion of ‘sites’ as places of work peculiar to continuous professional development (CPD) to a theoretical level, independent of, yet intimately connected to, their physical meanings, for example universities and schools. Most CPD initiatives have to contend with at least one of these two sites, in which university-based mathematics educators and school teachers can have different and at times overlapping ways of talking about the same mathematics. Using research on number and operations, non-visually salient rules in algebra and algebraic fractions, and analytic tools and notions peculiar to conversation analysis and ethnomethodology, the authors identify and analyse site-related issues in the design of particular problem sets in Grade 8 and Grade 9 toolkits and related conversations between a mathematics educator and participating teachers. The article concludes with the implications of ‘keeping in sight’ ways in which universities and schools talk and work when it comes to designing and discussing toolkits.