Learners' problem-solving in mathematics is often problematic for both the learners and teachers and this needs to be addressed by applying relevant skills and strategies in the teaching and learning of mathematics. Meta-cognitive skills and strategies acquisition is vital for a learner's academic success and particularly in mathematics problem-solving. The paper investigates the relevance of learners' use of metacognitive skills and strategies in mathematics problem-solving. A qualitative approach was used, including a case-study design; observation and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. Four rural schools, four mathematics teachers and four learners from different schools (one from each school) were selected for the study. Content analysis was used to analyze the data together with verbal quotes that supported themes that emerged. The aim was to obtain condensed and broad descriptions of the phenomena. The findings revealed that learners' use of metacognitive skills and strategies, such as task analysis, planning, monitoring, checking and reflection, self and group-monitoring skills, reading and writing skills, self-regulation skills (SR) and self-assessment (SA) helped them in mathematics problem-solving. The learners could also solve problems more easily through group discussions and thinking about their own thinking. Recommendations were made to benefit learners and further improve their use of meta-cognition for successful problem-solving.

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The current study identifies challenges confronting teachers in the teaching of Euclidean geometry in schools. This qualitative case study purposefully selected ten schools situated in the Motheo District of Education, Free State, South Africa. Data was generated using classroom observations and focus group interviews. The findings revealed that the majority of the teachers lacked mathematical subject content knowledge as well as pedagogical content knowledge to teach geometry effectively. In many cases, redeployment of teachers led to teachers being illequipped to teach specific subjects, such as mathematics. Recommendations have been made to enhance effective teaching and learning of mathematics (geometry in this case) in schools.

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