The implementation of student-centered teaching in grade four and six mathematics classrooms
Date of Award
8-1-2007
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Master of Education (M. Ed.)
Department
Institute for Educational Development, Karachi
Abstract
This research was conducted in a private school to explore the processes and issues related to teachers' implementation of student-centered teaching approach in mathematics classrooms. Within the qualitative paradigm, I used the case study approach to explore the perceptions of my research participants about the student-centered teaching. It is commonly observed that most of our schools are using teacher-centered approaches. As a result, students' conceptual understanding is weak. It is an observation that such kinds of approaches are not successful in our context, because it is an observation that most of the students fail in mathematics. Therefore, the students perceive mathematics to be the most difficult subject. This problem is important, because as long as a reform in teaching approaches is not introduced, mathematics learning remains ineffective in schools. Thus, my aim was to search for such approaches which could be effective for student learning. Moreover, the purpose of this research was to improve my pedagogy and introduce an alternative approach in my own school, where mathematics is taught through teacher-centered approach. I selected the student-centered teaching approach (SCTA) for this purpose, so that I could study the process through which this approach affects students' learning of mathematics. It came to my knowledge that some private schools of Karachi, Pakistan, are using the Student-Centered Teaching Approach (SCTA). I decided to conduct my research in a private secondary school to see how SCTA was being implemented in the mathematics classroom. I conducted a qualitative research there and my method was an exploratory case study. I chose two mathematics teachers. One was teaching class IV and the other was teaching class VI. I observed six teaching sessions of each of them, along with conducting post-observation discussions and three interviews. The findings revealed that teachers were aware of studentcentered teaching and the strategies of its implementation. It was found that the teachers were implementing SCTA to some extent, because they used problem-solving and asking questions as the strategies for implementation of SCTA. It also was found out that they had a limited understanding of using these strategies. The research participants did less than what they were claiming. Thus, the study recommends that if the teachers are provided with concrete training opportunities, their teaching practices regarding SCTA will improve significantly.
Recommended Citation
Jan, R. (2007). The implementation of student-centered teaching in grade four and six mathematics classrooms (Unpublished master's dissertation). Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.