Exploring the use of “productive practice” in learning congruency and similarity in grade 9 Mathematics
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Date
2024
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University of the Western Cape
Abstract
Poor performance in geometry has been experienced by many learners within South Africa, and internationally. This wide underperformance has led to a number of research by various scholars. There is a shift in the discourse regarding teaching and learning amongst researchers and educators. Many researchers are now underscoring and supporting student learning, rather than teacher teaching. This shift has resulted in promoting a student learning approach. In this regard, this study focused on designing some instructional activities as part of the intervention to a complex problem of learner underperformance in geometry. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the use of “productive practice” can improve learner performance in learning congruence and similarity in grade 9 Mathematics. The research question asked was: How does implementing “productive practice” as a pedagogical strategy influence Grade 9 learner’s understanding, retention, and performance in congruence and similarity in geometry? This study was qualitative in nature, and employed design research, also known as educational design research/developmental research as an approach. Data was collected from participants using observational notes, audio recordings of learners’ discussion when they engaged with activities, and learners’ written work based on the designed activities. The framework that informed this study is “productive practice” and the Van Hiele theory of geometric thinking.
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Keywords
Productive practice, Mathematics, Congruency, Performance, Grade 9 learners