Changes in the higher education institutions curriculum for South African schools have ushered in a blended learning approach to support the education process and to meet the needs of students. This change revolves around a blend of the use of online learning and traditional approaches to improve on pre-service mathematics teachers' knowledge and academic performance. This paper explored pre-service mathematics teachers' perceptions of the need for using a blended learning approach to mathematics education modules in other to ascertain if they will want to use b-learning in their future teaching career. This research involved a mixed-method using convenient purposive sampling to sample 42 pre-service mathematics teachers enrolled for a mathematics methodology module in a selected South African higher education institution. Responses to the questionnaire were used to conduct a descriptive analysis of each question. Qualitative data analysis from a semi-structured interview was analyzed thematically. The main finding revealed that pre-service mathematics teachers were optimistic that blended learning improved their performance, and have therefore expressed their readiness to adopt it in their future teaching career. However, pre-service teachers still need training and support to engage meaningfully in this approach to learning.
Learners have different values that could affect their learning and eventually their performance in mathematics. However, many teachers are unaware of these values. Therefore, this paper reports on a study that established the values learners consider as important in the learning of mathematics. The participants were 274 Grade 9 learners, selected purposively from one school in Gauteng, South Africa. An exploratory quantitative research method was adopted and data were collected with a standardised questionnaire developed by Seah (2011b). The results revealed that learners value 1) Hard work and effort when doing mathematics; 2) Numerous different methods to obtain the answer to a mathematics problem; 3) Authentic examples of shapes to understand their properties; 4) Demonstration and explanation of mathematics concepts and proofs; and 5) Teaching and explaining mathematical concepts. This paper highlights the values teachers should consider in the teaching and learning of mathematics in order to ensure better learner performance in mathematics. Furthermore, the paper adds to research on values in Mathematics Education within a South African context.
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