One major challenge facing mathematics education in South Africa in general and Limpopo
in particular, is learners’ underachievement and lack of motivation to learn the subject. Some
studies have shown that one of the topics that learners dread is linear functions. Many
teachers also find it difficult to teach the topic effectively. Studies in other parts of the world
have advocated the integration of graphing software with the teaching and learning of
functions to enhance learners’ learning of mathematics. This study therefore investigated the
effect of integrating GeoGebra graphing software into the teaching of linear functions on the
achievement of Grade 9 learners.
The study was guided by APOS theory which, in accordance with constructivist theories,
posits that an individual needs to construct the necessary cognitive structures in order to make
sense of mathematical concepts. A total of 127 Grade 9 learners from four schools in a circuit
in Mopani district of Limpopo Province participated in the study which followed a pretestpost-
test quasi-experimental study design. Two schools, namely B (35 learners) and D (33
learners) formed the experimental groups while school A (31 learners) and school C (28
learners) were the control groups. Data were collected using an achievement test and
analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The pretest results showed that the
groups were of comparable cognitive abilities.
The post-test results showed that there was a significant difference between the mean scores
of the experimental groups and control groups. There were also statistically significant
differences between group treatment means (p < .05).
Bonferroni post-hoc test results showed that there were no statistically significant differences
between treatments A and C. The results showed that the learners in the two control groups
were of comparable cognitive abilities. The implications of the findings are discussed and
recommendations made. / Mathematics Education / M. Sc. (Mathematics Education)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/24464 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Mushipe, Melody |
| Contributors | Ogbonnaya, Ugorji Iheanachor |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | 1 online resource (xi, 169 leaves) : illustrations (some color), graphs (some color) |
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