An Investigation into the Preparedness of Teachers to Teach Grade 12 Mathematics: A Case Study

Abstract

This paper reports on an investigation into the preparedness of a group of mathematics teachers in the Pinetown District, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa to teach learners grade twelve mathematics. The teachers were given tests in algebra, trigonometry and calculus. Those tests were based on common errors, misconceptions or difficulties relating to school mathematics made by university students and those reported in the examiners' reports for the national senior certificate examinations in mathematics. The written responses of those teachers were analysed. It was found that for this group of teachers there was a strong positive correlation between their errors, misconceptions or difficulties to those on which the tests were designed. An implication of this study is that one should not expect teachers to effectively communicate to those they teach, if they themselves do not have a good understanding of the content that they are expected to teach. Sci, 21(1-3): Int J Edu

Content Analysis of the APOS Theory Studies on Mathematics Education Conducted in Turkey and Internationally: A Meta-Synthesis Study

“…Genetic decomposition, which is the main component of the APOS Theory, can be constructed within the study or the existing genetic decomposition can be used. However, there are APOS Theory studies in the relevant literature (Hannah, Stewart, & Thomas, 2016;Maharaj, 2015Maharaj, , 2018aMaharaj, , 2018bMakonye, 2017) that did not use genetic decomposition.…”