Date of Award

12-2017

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Master of Education (MEd)

First Supervisor/Advisor

Dr. Fortidas Bakuza

Second Supervisor/Advisor

Ms. Mary Anyango Oluga

Department

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

Abstract

This collaborative action research was conducted to examine the extend to which teachers use stories in teaching mathematics in lower primary one class, and the challenges they face when using stories in order to seek possible ways of using stories to teach all the themes in mathematics strand to enhance acquisition of numeracy skills by the children. The study was carried out in a conveniently selected public primary school in Pallisa Uganda from 11th of September to 6th of October 2017. The lower primary one class was purposefully selected and the participants were two teachers teaching the primary one class. The school uses the thematic curriculum provided by the Ministry of Education and Sports (MOES) which emphasis the use of stories in teaching all the learning areas. Although thematic curriculum advocates so, the teachers use stories for teaching English, oral literature, Religious education and Music claiming that mathematics mostly deals with abstract concepts. The data was collected through interview, observation, documents analysis, reflections and discussions. The findings revealed that stories could be used to teach all the themes to deliver the mathematics content to the beginners. Using stories motivated the children to actively participate in the learning activities which indicated that it was engaging and of benefit to them. The findings further revealed that instructional materials and gestures supported the use of stories in teaching mathematics. The study led to achievements of many teaching-learning experiences by both the participants, and me. This was observed through several instances such as using stories in teaching mathematics, formulating stories, producing story book, and continuous reflections. As a change agent, I developed roles such as mentoring, coaching, facilitating, a promoter of professional development and a researcher. We documented all achievements in using stories in teaching mathematics in lower primary one class for future references.

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