South African mathematics teachers in the Senior Phase (Grades 8 and 9) were introduced to the pedagogical tool, meaning equivalence reusable learning objects (MERLO), as a formative assessment (FA) strategy to promote and support teachers' professional growth in using FA practices in the classroom. The cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT)…

Mathematics is one of the critical subjects studied worldwide and is a major for all science faculties and careers. However, it is 1 of the subjects in which performance is poor in all educational phases and bands. Therefore, with this research we aimed to consider the use of mother tongue in the learning and teaching of mathematics in schools.…

Teacher well-being is an important issue that needs to be considered within a teaching environment. However, little research exists about the relationship between teacher well-being and learner performance. In this study we used data from the 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) to look at the interplay between…

Education stakeholders and researchers in South Africa have emphasised the need to enhance teachers' creativity through problem-solving tasks. Teachers' creativity entails using new ideas of creative devices to solve problems, implement solutions, and make learning more effective. In the research reported on here, Guilford's theory was used to…

This article reports on Grade 2 teachers' perceptions of formative assessment in explaining the phenomenon of the underutilisation of formative assessment practices in mathematics teaching. A qualitative and interpretative case study investigated two Grade 2 teachers' enactment of formative assessment in priority schools in Gauteng. Data were…

Many South African educational institutions are adopting learning management systems (LMS) into their daily teaching and learning practice. The Western Cape Education Department piloted Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (Moodle), an LMS for improving teaching and learning. The objective of the research reported on here was to…

In the study reported on here, we investigated the effects of the use of dynamic geometry software (DGS) (i.e., GeoGebra) on learners' learning and a teacher's beliefs. The learners and teacher involved in the study were from a high-poverty, rural high school in South Africa. We compared grade 11 learners (N = 56) who used GeoGebra in the context…

In this article we examine the nature of inter-semiotic and intermodal construction in the exposition of a solution for a geometry rider. In the tradition of hermeneutic phenomenology, this case study involved an exploration of the oral discourse and visual texts used in a mathematics lesson. This research was intended to contribute to the…

In this article we explore female learners' perceptions of learning Grade 11 geometry. Many learners have difficulty in learning geometry in mathematics, thus, teachers and researchers are constantly searching for reasons why learners have challenges with learning geometry with the aim of developing suitable pedagogic strategies to alleviate these…

Higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) mathematical problem-solving was first introduced in the Form-3 assessment (PT3) in 2014. However, to date, there have been no studies of students' ability to solve the mathematical problems in this assessment. Therefore, this study investigated the emerging patterns and problems of HOTS mathematical…

This paper compares the mixed-methods evaluation findings of the ukuFUNda Virtual School (UVS) with evaluations of three different mobile learning (m-learning) programmes in Africa: the information and communication technologies for rural education (ICT4RED); the Kenya Primary Math and Reading (PRIMR) study and the Nokia Mobile Mathematics…

The future of South Africa's economic growth rests on addressing critical scarce-skills labour shortages. Matriculants are called on to break the cycle of poverty by entering the scarce-skills workforce. The demonstration of a high level of mathematics, science, and technology competency is viewed as a gateway towards achieving this goal. The…

Teaching and learning mathematics in South Africa (SA) is characterised by serious challenges because the pass rate in Mathematics is always below the expected level. The introduction of the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) ushered in new hope that the situation would improve. However, teachers still encounter challenges when they use…

Many studies have identified the fact that most mathematics teachers experience challenges in using technology in their teaching, and learners also find it difficult to use it in their learning. Teachers often fail to address opportunities regarding this usage to address the situation. This paper explores factors contributing to teachers' and…

Foundation phase teachers in South African schools follow a socio-constructivist approach to the teaching and learning of mathematics, which entails that learners experiment freely with concepts and are encouraged to communicate and share their thoughts and ideas. In an effort to understand the impact that the physical learning environment, such…