Mathematics and Science Education

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    The development of an assessment instrument for numeracy competence and its application to selected primary schools in Zambia.
    (The University of Zambia Press, 2019) Baba,Takuya; Nakawa, Nagisa; Nkhata, Bentry; Mungalu, Auther; Mudenda, barbara; Kaabo, Emmanuel; Mambwe, Bareford; Nkhalamo, Chimwemwe Joy; Watanabe, Koji
    Low achievement in numeracy by primary school students is one of the biggest concerns of Zambia. Since it aims at developing the nation, development of the human resources is an inevitable issue to tackle. This research is to develop an assessment instrument to identify the students‟ level of numeracy competence. It pays attention to structure through the relevant previous researches such as Mulligan & Mitchelmore (2014) and Roberts (2015). As a result of the survey, the developed instrument identified distribution of different levels of competence, prevalence of counting-all strategy, and possible solutions to facilitate students‟ level of competence.
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    Secondary teachers’ mathematics knowledge for teaching quadratic equations : a case of selected secondary schools in Katete district.
    (The University of Zambia Press, 2019) Mbewe, Titus L.; Nkhata, Bentry.
    The purpose of the study was to explore teachers‟ mathematical knowledge for teaching quadratic equations. The study had three specific objectives: (1) to determine teachers‟ subject matter knowledge for teaching quadratic equations, (2) To assess strategies used by teachers in teaching quadratic equations and (3) To examine how teachers address pupils‟ errors and misconceptions related to quadratic equations. This was a qualitative study involving three participants and data was collected in form of semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and questionnaires. Data was analysed using analytical coding in which the researcher identified the conceptual categories into which the phenomena observed were grouped. The study revealed that secondary school teachers possess adequate subject matter knowledge for teaching quadratic equations which was limited to procedural understanding. Subject matter was more influential in the delivery of the lesson than didactic knowledge and knowledge of learner conceptions. The teachers mathematical knowledge for teaching ability to generate different solutions, to address pupils‟ difficulties and misconceptions and to choose appropriate examples to teach quadratic equations were based on the depth of the subject matter which played a critical role in their reasoning and decision making in specific contexts. The participants provided a wide range of instances of pupils‟ errors in learning how to solve quadratic equations but they were unable to detect the root cause of these errors the study recommended that mathematics teachers need to be encouraged to present lessons in such a way that procedural understanding is supplemented by conceptual understanding of concepts.
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    An investigation into the strategies used to teach geometric constructions in secondary schools : a case of a secondary school in Lusaka district.
    (The University of Zambia Press, 2019) Chavula, Jane.; Nkhata, Bentry.
    This paper endeavors to investigate the strategies used by secondary school teachers in the teaching of Geometric Constructions. A qualitative method was used to obtain data and richer information about the topic. The study involved three grade twelve teachers of mathematics at a selected secondary school in Lusaka district. Lesson observations were done four times with each teacher, interviews and focused group discussions were also conducted. The study revealed that teachers used learner-centered approaches of teaching which included demonstration, discussion, problem solving, question and answer, inquiry and teacher exposition methods. However, their performance in class was affected due to lack of resources. The study also identified other strategies which could improve learner performance through learner participation. Based on the findings it was recommended that Continuous Professional Development (CPD) on Geometric Construction for teachers should be conducted in order to enhance the in-depth knowledge on the topic to enable the teachers to teach with confidence. Furthermore, the school needs to acquire teaching aids/resources in Geometric Construction to enhance effective teaching because the topic cannot be taught without the required instruments
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    Training as a teacher of science at the university of Zambia : boons and challenges as perceived by students in the science teacher education programme.
    (SAULT Conference., 2019-04) Goodwell, Kaulu.
    Abstract Since inception, the University of Zambia ((UNZA) has been offering training to school leavers and serving teachers in the area of science teaching. Specifically, UNZA has been training teachers of biology, chemistry and physics for senior secondary school level through the Bachelor of Science with Education Programme. Recently, agricultural science was added to this list under a new programme known as Bachelor of Agricultural Science with Education. These programmes are of four year duration. During this period, students take science content courses from the School of Natural Science and/or Agricultural Sciences and education courses from the School of Education. Students take four full courses normally in each academic year. Learning experiences used comprises mainly lectures, tutorials and laboratory activities. Students also undertake school experience during the vacation at the end of third year. The programme is hosted by the Department of Mathematics and Science Education in the School of Education. Although this programme has been in existence for a number of years, no study to our knowledge has been undertaken to acquire understanding of experiences of students during their training. The purpose of the study was to acquire understanding of students’ experiences during their training as teachers of biology, chemistry or physics. The study was guided by the following research questions: What positive aspects of training as a teacher of science at the University of Zambia have you experienced? How has the positive aspects changed your knowledge, skills and values? What challenges have you experienced while training as a science teacher at UNZA? How have the challenges that you have experienced affected your training? How are you coping with the challenges that you are experiencing as you train as a teacher of science? Data was collected from both third and fourth year (female and male) students pursuing the bachelor of science with education and bachelor of agricultural science with education programmes during the 2018/2019 academic year of the University of Zambia. A questionnaire consisting of open-ended questions was administered to students and they were requested to respond to these questions. Data analysis was done using the content analysis approach and various categories were generated. The major findings are that the science teacher education programme students were pursuing at UNZA enabled them to acquire knowledge and understanding of a number of issues related to teaching and learning of science. Some of these are understanding of the different ways by which pupils learn; the value of using a variety of teaching strategies to cater for individual differences; better understanding of the science content compared to when they embarked on this programme. Others were opportunities to participate and acquire skills in practical work which is an important aspect in science as well as opportunity to engage in research or to search for information from different sources; opportunity to learn how to manage time. Some of the challenges that students encountered during the period they were training were as follows: too much work/things to do; some lecturers not helpful; inadequate laboratory equipment; difficulties in following power point presentation because in some cases, the presenters were too fast; too much content to be covered within a short period of time as well as being subjected to advanced content they were required to learn. Some of the ways in which they were coping with some of the challenges they were experiencing included the following: studying in groups, sourcing for information on internet and consulting lecturers.
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    Towards the endogenous development of mathematics education-children final report on Zambia.
    (Hiroshima University., 2007) Uchida, T. Nakamura.; Nkhata, B.