What mathematics do Grade 7 learners take to high school in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic?

IF 0.8 Q3 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Craig Pournara, Lynn Bowie
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Abstract

Background: Poor mathematics performance in South Africa is well known. The COVID-19 pandemic was expected to exacerbate the situation. Aim: To investigate Grade 7 learners’ mathematical knowledge at the end of primary school and to compare mathematical performance of Grade 7 and 8 learners in the context of the pandemic. Setting: Data were collected in term four of 2020 at 11 primary schools and five secondary schools. All schools drew learners from poor communities in Gauteng. Methods: A multiple-choice test covering mathematical content from Grades 4–7 was designed and piloted. Learner performance was measured through number of correct responses. Qualitative error analyses were conducted on learners’ choices of distractors. Results: The difference in performance of the two grade groups was not statistically significant. There were similar response patterns in learners’ choices of distractors with strong evidence of cue-based reasoning and evidence of additive reasoning in items requiring multiplicative reasoning. Conclusion: Grade 8 learners made very small gains, likely due to reduced learning time. Learner errors show many similarities with the international literature and show that Grade 7 learners are not yet ready for algebra. Contribution: The findings provide starting points for addressing the most common errors and highlight the need for: greater attention to whole and rational number concepts in Grade 8; strategies for teacher support in teaching primary maths content; and innovative teaching strategies to fast-track learning of this content.
在COVID-19大流行的背景下,七年级学生在高中学习什么数学?
背景:南非的数学成绩差是众所周知的。预计新冠肺炎大流行将加剧这种情况。目的:调查七年级学生在小学毕业时的数学知识,并比较大流行背景下七年级和八年级学生的数学表现。设置:在2020年第四学期收集了11所小学和5所中学的数据。所有学校的学生都来自豪登省的贫困社区。方法:设计并试行一套涵盖4-7年级数学内容的多项选择题测试。通过正确回答的数量来衡量学习者的表现。对学习者对干扰物的选择进行了定性误差分析。结果:两级组的表现差异无统计学意义。在需要乘法推理的项目中,学习者对线索推理和加法推理的干扰物的选择有相似的反应模式。结论:8年级的学生收获很小,可能是由于学习时间减少了。学习者的错误与国际文献有许多相似之处,表明七年级的学习者还没有为代数做好准备。贡献:研究结果为解决最常见的错误提供了起点,并强调了在八年级时更多地关注整数和有理数概念的必要性;小学数学内容教学中教师支持策略研究以及创新的教学策略来快速学习这些内容。
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来源期刊
South African Journal of Childhood Education
South African Journal of Childhood Education EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH-
CiteScore
1.90
自引率
11.10%
发文量
50
审稿时长
25 weeks
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