The hypothesis that a structured, sequenced, approach to mathematics learning, based on the application of learnt facts, decreases mathematics anxiety and increases mathematics achievement is tested. A literature study and an empirical investigation were conducted with respect to the relationships between maths anxiety, maths achievement and teaching methods. A qualitative research design which focussed on the cross-case analysis of different case studies was used. The qualitative case study involves multiple methods such as interviews, observations and a pretest, posttest design. It analyses and compares the effects of the Kuman method, used as the intervention programme, on maths anxiety and maths achievement of an experimental group and a control group. The results of this research indicate that learners on the intervention programme who showed a decrease in anxiety, showed an increase in achievement. This has implications for the teaching methods used in South Africa. / Teacher Education / M. Ed. (Specialisation in Guidance and Counselling)

The hypothesis that a structured, sequenced, approach to mathematics learning, based on the application of learnt facts, decreases mathematics anxiety and increases mathematics achievement is tested. A literature study and an empirical investigation were conducted with respect to the relationships between maths anxiety, maths achievement and teaching methods. A qualitative research design which focussed on the cross-case analysis of different case studies was used. The qualitative case study involves multiple methods such as interviews, observations and a pretest, posttest design. It analyses and compares the effects of the Kuman method, used as the intervention programme, on maths anxiety and maths achievement of an experimental group and a control group. The results of this research indicate that learners on the intervention programme who showed a decrease in anxiety, showed an increase in achievement. This has implications for the teaching methods used in South Africa. / Teacher Education / M. Ed. (Specialisation in Guidance and Counselling)

Submitted by Sarah Helena Moya (moya.sarah@gmail.com) on 2012-09-03T01:28:02Z No. of bitstreams: 1 20120831 Dissertação Sarah Moya.pdf: 438276 bytes, checksum: 4f3ffa26ca7e793e571d9243882c9a79 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Suzinei Teles Garcia Garcia (suzinei.garcia@fgv.br) on 2012-09-03T12:55:46Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 20120831 Dissertação Sarah Moya.pdf: 438276 bytes, checksum: 4f3ffa26ca7e793e571d9243882c9a79 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-09-03T13:07:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 20120831 Dissertação Sarah Moya.pdf: 438276 bytes, checksum: 4f3ffa26ca7e793e571d9243882c9a79 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-08-02 / This paper estimates the impact of hiring structured teaching methods on evolution and dispersion of performance of students in primary public schools of São Paulo State municipalities to evaluate whether the structured teaching methods, besides increasing the average performance of students in contracting municipalities, also provide homogenization of score of students in a higher level. To this end, we used data from 2005, 2007 and 2009 of Prova Brasil exam for Portuguese and Mathematics and the difference in differences estimation method with fixed effects for municipality. The results obtained showed that the structured teaching methods contribute to increase the average performance of municipalities, and that was not observed different benefit to students with higher or lower initial performance. About the effect of structured teaching methods in the standard deviation of scores, the results did not show sufficient robustness to allow us to affirm that the methods contribute to the homogenization of the performance. / Neste trabalho analisamos o efeito da contratação de sistemas de ensino para métodos estruturados sobre a evolução e dispersão do desempenho dos alunos das escolas públicas municipais do estado de São Paulo. O objetivo da análise é avaliar se os métodos estruturados de ensino, além de aumentar o desempenho médio dos alunos nos municípios contratantes, também servem com meio para homogeneizar a nota dos alunos em um nível mais elevado. Para este fim utilizamos os dados dos exames de português e matemática dos anos de 2005, 2007 e 2009 da Prova Brasil e, pelo método de estimação de diferenças em diferenças com, efeito fixo por município, avaliamos o incremento no desempenho médio e no desvio padrão do desempenho dos municípios devido à posse de contrato para método estruturado em relação àqueles que não o possuem. Os resultados obtidos revelaram que os métodos estruturados de ensino contribuem para o aumento do desempenho médio dos municípios, e que não foi observado benefício diferenciado a alunos com maior ou menor desempenho inicial. Sobre o efeito da contratação de sistemas de ensino sobre o desvio padrão do desempenho, os resultados não apresentaram robustez suficiente que nos permitissem afirmar que os métodos contribuem para a homogeneização do desempenho.