Interrogating Constructivist Approach to Mathematics Teaching and Learning in Ghana: The Case of a JHS One Teacher

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate what happens when a basic school mathematics teacher attempts to interpret and implement his own understanding of constructivist teaching and learning in a Junior High School (JHS) classroom. A total of 25 JHS one mathematics teachers were initially selected using purposive sampling. This number was finally reduced to one research participant using the Mathematics Belief Scale (MBS) and a series of actual class observations. In studying this single "constructivist" teacher, the researcher used ethnographic research methods to collect and analyse data. The results of this study showed that the teacher had a constructivist view of mathematics teaching and learning. The plans the teacher made prior to his teaching sometimes varied from how he actually taught depending on his classroom situations. A connection was also found to exist between the teachers' ideas about constructivist teaching, instructional decisions and his classroom practice. The study also showed that a teacher's experience positively influences his ideas about constructivist teaching and learning, and when constructivist teaching and learning were employed in a JHS classroom, students benefited from sharing knowledge with their friends and became happy and excited about mathematics teaching and learning. It was recommended among others that training institutions paid particular attention to the views pre-service teacher's hold about mathematics before they leave to practice since the view they hold about the subject affects the way they teach.