M.Ed. (Mathematics Education) / The purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in the teaching of equivalent fractions in grade 3 learners. The study used a qualitative paradigm, where a case study design was adopted. Five teachers were sampled through a purposive sampling strategy. The data were collected through three methods: observations, interviews and document analysis. Four teachers were observed in their classrooms and were also interviewed, the fifth teacher was only interviewed through an interview schedule. Interview and observation data were analyzed and interpreted using the ladder of inference, which follows a three-rung approach. The documents in the form of learners’ class works, home works, tests and teachers’ lesson plans were analyzed. Learners’ works correlated with their teachers’ preparations and presentations. The findings indicate that teachers lacked PCK in the teaching of fractions in particular, equivalent fractions. Teachers were not competent, fluent and not independent in the teaching of fractions. It is also clear from data collected that fractions are notoriously difficult for teachers to teach and for learners to learn. On the whole, teachers seem to lack requisite skills to contextualize content to the appropriate cognitive levels of their learners. Teachers demonstrated poor content and conceptual knowledge ...
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:13786 |
| Date | 15 July 2015 |
| Creators | Themane, Kgalushi Maria |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Johannesburg |
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