Thesis Abstract

Abstract
Student perception of teaching and learning mathematics plays a crucial role in the academic success of students. This research project aims to investigate the effect of student perception on the teaching and learning of mathematics in secondary schools. The study will explore how students' attitudes, beliefs, and confidence towards mathematics influence their overall performance and engagement in the subject. A mixed-methods approach will be used to collect data for this research. Surveys will be distributed to a sample of secondary school students to gather quantitative data on their perceptions of mathematics teaching and learning. Additionally, focus group discussions and interviews will be conducted to obtain qualitative insights into the reasons behind these perceptions. This combination of methods will provide a comprehensive understanding of how student perception impacts their experiences with mathematics education. The research will focus on several key aspects of student perception, including attitudes towards the subject, confidence in their mathematical abilities, and beliefs about the relevance of mathematics in their lives. By exploring these factors, the study aims to identify patterns and trends that may explain the differences in academic performance among students. Understanding how student perception influences learning outcomes can help educators tailor their teaching methods to better meet the needs and preferences of their students. The findings of this research project are expected to have practical implications for mathematics education in secondary schools. By gaining insights into how student perception affects teaching and learning, educators can implement strategies to improve student engagement and achievement in mathematics. This could involve incorporating more interactive and hands-on activities, providing additional support for students who lack confidence in math, or integrating real-world applications to enhance the relevance of the subject. Overall, this research project seeks to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the role of student perception in mathematics education. By shedding light on the factors that influence how students experience and engage with mathematics, this study aims to provide valuable insights for educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders in the field of mathematics education. Ultimately, the goal is to enhance the teaching and learning of mathematics in secondary schools by addressing the impact of student perception on academic performance.

Thesis Overview

INTRODUCTION

Teaching is a complex system which affects what will happen in classes through the interactions among the factors of teachers, students, curriculum, local setting and others (Stigler and Hilbert, 1998). Rubenstein (2004) supported teaching as a complex endeavor. The knowledge base behind mathematics teaching includes the knowledge of mathematics of connections among mathematical ideas, of student’s learning and school culture. The process of teaching involves creating a learning community, challenging students to make sense of mathematical ideas and supporting students’ developing understanding. Rubenstein (2004) stated that teachers are considered as one of the most important factors playing on role in students’ achievement and teaching process.

Effective mathematics learning is one in which students and teachers interact in ways that allows students to have an opportunity to maximize how much they learn. These are variety of ways in which students and teachers interact in a learning environment. Some interactions result in student learning classroom discussion, teachers and students initiated questions. Cooperative group work, peer tutoring and a host of other feedback system such as assignments, examinations and electronic responses system such as the personal responses system (PRS) and the personal data assistant (PDA) are instructional strategies that provide a measure of two-ways communication in which information about what is taught and what is learned is exchange between two people on the other hand, there are instructional strategies in which students sit passively in classrooms where there is one-way communication from teachers to students. On many colleges and university campuses. For example, the professor operates as the proverbial “Sage on the stage” and the didactic lecture is the model way of teaching. And although the lecture is an efficient method for transmitting information from a teacher to a large group of students, telling information to some one does one does not mean that learning take place in order to determine whether is occurring-infant to ensure that learning is taking place, there must be teacher-student assessment interactions along with the instructional interactions.

Assessment interactions between students and teachers occurs when teachers gather information about students learning and use that information help students better understand concepts and principles and apply knowledge, not just learn factor. This type of assessment interaction referred to as formative assessment is defined as follows: Formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust on going teachers and learning to improve students’ achievement of intended instructional outcomes (council of chief school states officers, 2008). It is clear from this definition that formative assessment is a process that may employ tests or various other types of assessments, but it may also employ interactive instructional strategies such as classroom discussion, assignment, homework, quizzes, project, investigations electronics response system or oral question to guide and improve students learning (Angelo and Cross 1993, Fennell, 2006) creating an interactive learning environment inside the mathematics classroom in which students are engaged in mathematic learning can be challenging.