Mathematical connection ability is very important to be mastered by prospective mathematics teacher students as competency to teach in secondary schools. However, the facts show that there are still many students who have weak mathematical connection abilities. This qualitative descriptive study aimed to explore how the process, and product of the mathematical connection made by prospective mathematics teacher students when solving the integral calculus problems based on their prior knowledge. The research subjects were 58 students who were prospective high school mathematics teachers at the University of Jember, Indonesia. Data were collected using documentation, questionnaire, test, and interview methods. After the test results of all subjects were analyzed, six students were interviewed. To find the match between the results of the written test and the results of the interview, a triangulation method was carried out. Data analysis used descriptive qualitative analysis with steps of data categorization, data presentation, interpretation, and making conclusions. The results show that the research subjects have connected and used mathematical ideas in the form of procedures, facts, concepts/principles, and representations in solving integral calculus problems. Students with high prior knowledge abilities can make better mathematical connections than students with moderate and low prior abilities. From these results, it is recommended that lecturers need to improve students' prior knowledge and train the students more intensely to solve integral calculus problems so all students can develop their mathematical connection abilities into very strong categories.

This paper reports on part of an ongoing large-scale research on the need to improve science teaching and learning through investigating the Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) of biology teachers for the topic Biodiversity. Six factors have been seen to affect teacher PCK, i.e., content knowledge, knowledge of students, science teaching orientations, knowledge of assessment, knowledge of instructional strategies and knowledge of the curriculum. This research aimed to examine the teacher’s level of content knowledge (CK). A qualitative research paradigm was adopted, and a case study research design used. The case (unit of analysis) was Biology teacher CK, and the subjects were the four teacher participants purposively selected. Lesson observations, teacher interviews and learner questionnaires were used to collect data on teacher CK. A content knowledge analytical framework consisting of five constructs was designed and used to analyse the teacher CK and data triangulated with data collected from interviews and questionnaires. This research revealed that ‘A’ level Biology teachers’ CK vary from teacher to teacher depending on several factors which include teacher identity, planning, workshopping, and motivation among others. Of the four Biology teacher participants, two had adequate CK and the other two exhibited inadequate CK. Inadequate CK was attributed to lack of planning, non-exposure to workshops and lack of teacher motivation. Consequently, this research recommends supervision of teachers from school level to national level, a series of teacher workshops on the demands of the competence-based curriculum and constructive teacher identity as well as introduce factors that enhance teacher motivation. Further research on the content knowledge of Biology teachers in other learning areas is recommended.

The ability of students to build problem-solving models using procedural knowledge can be viewed from several aspects, including Mastery of Mathematical Problem Solving (MPS), understanding concepts and application of concepts, the relationship between learning outcomes of mathematics and interest in learning, and examine the contribution of the ability to understand concept problems, the application of concepts to the ability of MPS, as well as student difficulties and some of the advantages of students in solving problems. This experimental study aims to explain the effect of the MPS model using procedural knowledge on solving mathematical problems for Junior High School Students (JHSS). The findings showed that 1) The MPS method using procedural knowledge significantly improved learning outcomes, but the mastery of MPS for JHSS was still unsatisfactory. 2) MPS teaching could still not improve meaningful learning outcomes. However, when JHSS applied the concepts, calculations, and problem-solving aspects, MPS teaching improved meaningful learning outcomes. 3) Students' interest in learning mathematics in the two sample classes was classified as positive. Shortly, MPS teaching accustoms students to think systematically and creatively and not just give up on the problems they face.

Preservice elementary teachers have had a variety of experiences in their math classes which influence their willingness to engage in math as well as their confidence in doing so. This study examined the responses of two sets of preservice elementary teachers, in 2017 and in 2022, to questions about their "best" and "worst" experiences in math classes. Previous research has seldom asked preservice elementary teachers to examine what they do as students to create a better math experience and research is only now beginning on how COVID-19 may have affected student behavior. Inductive analysis revealed that the emotional intelligence of teachers greatly affected preservice elementary teachers' willingness to meaningfully engage in math. For example, a recurring theme in the data was a strong sense of not wanting to appear dumb, which prevented the students from asking questions or seeking help when needed. This study demonstrates that the classroom environment plays a significant role in preservice elementary teachers' success in math, confidence and comfort level with the subject, and, undoubtedly, how they will eventually teach math to their future students.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, this study investigated the role of metacognitive awareness as a mediator in the correlation between attitude and mathematical reasoning among undergraduates who are first year university students. These studies distribute mathematical reasoning assessments, metacognitive awareness questionnaires, and attitude surveys as research data. One hundred eighty-four undergraduate students from one public institution in Malaysia's Klang Valley area participated in the research. The impact of metacognitive awareness on attitude and mathematical reasoning was studied using Version 25 of the Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences. The findings indicated that undergraduate mathematics and science education students excelled in non-mathematics and science education students in mathematical reasoning capacity. According to the findings, undergraduate mathematics and science education students had good metacognitive understanding and used more approaches in mathematical reasoning assessment. Further study implies that more research should be conducted to assess different demographics, such as institute training teachers' metacognitive awareness and attitude towards mathematical reasoning.

This study aims to describe the implication of the Aptitude Treatment Interaction (ATI) model integrated with character values to increase the students’ skill in solving mathematics story problems. This study applied a quasi-experimental research type using a non-equivalent control group design involving two classes with 30 students each. Data was collected using a test instrument for solving mathematics story problem. Data were analyzed using n-gain descriptive statistical analysis to see the increase in students' skill in solving mathematics story world problems. The results showed that the average score of student's aptitude in solving mathematics story problems is 91.26 which is in the category of very high. There is an increase in the students’ ability with score of an n-gain of 0.77 which is in the category of high. In addition, the results of observations related to the implementation of learning model of the ATI with a percentage of 87.5% in the category of very good. Thus, the character-based ATI learning model can be used to increase the students’ skill in solving mathematics story problem. In addition, it accommodates the character of students who are concerned with learning mathematics so that learning goals can be achieved both from cognitive and attitudinal aspects.

The study investigated the attitudes of Biology teachers towards the Biology Competence-Based Curriculum (BCBC) and their instructional practices at the lower secondary school level in Nyamagabe district, Rwanda. A descriptive survey design was adopted. Also, a purposive sampling technique was used to select 26 (16 male and 10 female) teachers of Biology. Data were collected using a questionnaire addressed to Biology teachers in selected schools and analyzed and presented in terms of frequencies, percentages, mean, and standard deviation. A one-way ANOVA was employed in the hypothesis testing. The findings indicated that these teachers had positive attitudes towards the implementation of BCBC. As for female ones, they had more positive attitudes towards BCBC implementation than the male ones. Considering those from boarding schools, they had a more positive attitude than the ones from day schools. Additionally, teachers with less teaching experience had more favorable attitudes than those with long experience. Teachers' age did not have any effect on their attitudes. The study also revealed that teachers of Biology rarely applied competence-based approaches in their teaching and assessment processes of students’ learning. It was inferred that the usage of CBC approaches differed significantly among teachers from boarding and day schools. The usage of CBC assessment methods did not differ significantly among teachers. From the findings, it was concluded that CBC seems not to be effectively implemented in the lower secondary schools under the study. Consequently, a recommendation was made to facilitate Biology teachers in schools with in-service training for professional development.

Teachers and teaching styles are two important factors influencing students’ academic performance. In this action research study, we investigated the differential effectiveness of two teaching methods, conventional learning (CL) and peer-cooperative learning (PCL), on students’ academic performance in fractions. A sample of 120 tenth grade mathematics students from Ibadan North Local Government Area of Oyo State in Nigeria was used for the study. The students were selected from three different secondary schools and grouped into two groups: the experimental (PCL) group and the control (CL) group, each having 60 students. A sample of 5 multiple-choice objective and 5 theory test questions titled Fraction Performance Test (FPT) was used to measure their academic performance after the treatment, and the assessment test scores were recorded. Descriptive statistics of the mean were used to answer the research question, while the two-way ANOVA technique was adopted for testing the research hypothesis at an alpha of 0.05. Summarily, the F (3, 116) statistic (= 8.55, p < .001) indicates significant differences in the effectiveness of the teaching methods. The mean scores also reveal that peer-cooperative learning was more effective than the conventional teaching approach. While the former proved to be a more efficacious treatment for female students, the latter was more suitable for male students. We recommend that different approaches be attempted by teachers, and the most effective in overcoming students’ resistance to learning and improving their academic performance be adopted.

The study investigated the impact of YouTube video assisted instructions (YVAI) on pre-service teachers’(PSTs) attitudes and academic performance in chemistry classroom. A quasi-experimental design was adopted for the study. One hundred and twenty (120) Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) pursuing primary education programme constituted the participants of the study. Sixty (60) PSTs each were non-randomly assigned to the Experimental Group (EG) and Control Group (CG). Data on PSTs’ attitude and performance were collected with PSTAS and GCPT respectively. The SPSS software version 20 was used to analyse the data to generate descriptive and inferential statistics. A non-parametric analysis was used in the inferential statistics. The attitude means rank (MR=78.62) of EG (U = 713.000, Z=-6.924, p <.001) was statistically higher than CG (MR=42.38) (U = 713.000, Z=-6.924, p <.001) after treatment. The EG after treatment recorded a mean rank (80.86) statistically higher than CG (40.14), U = 578.500, Z = -6.441, p <.001 after treatment. YVAI was proven as an effective instructional strategy that enhances learners’ altitudinal changes and performance. The study recommended the use of YouTube technological-driven instructions to support classroom instructions.

This study investigates the effectiveness of Guided Inquiry-Based Instruction (GIBI) integrated with Variation Theory in improving grade ten students’ solid geometry achievement in Debre Tabor City, Ethiopia. A quasi-experimental design involving 99 students found in three classes from three government schools assigned them randomly to three groups: Experimental Group 1 (EG1, n=30) received GIBI with Variation Theory, Experimental Group 2 (EG2, n=37) received only GIBI and the Control Group (CG, n=32) followed traditional methods. Pre- and post-tests analyzed using ANCOVA and paired t-tests revealed significant improvements, with EG1 achieving the highest scores (p = .000). Effect sizes were substantial for EG1 (Cohen's d = 1.50) and EG2 (d = 1.39) compared to CG (d = .73). The results highlight that GIBI combined with Variation Theory significantly enhances students’ solid geometry achievement, emphasizing the value of such kind of innovative teaching strategy to foster students’ achievement in similar educational contexts. 

We aimed to explore how Early Childhood (EC) preservice teachers (PSTs) choose and apply content-specific mathematics and science standards by analyzing two sets of lesson plans and two transcripts from whole class discussions from an EC mathematics and science methods course. From our analyses, we identified major themes and explanatory categories that indicated issues related to PSTs’ standards selection process. Students’ reasoning about their choices illustrated the resiliency of their beliefs about teaching and learning EC mathematics and science, and how their own observation experiences prevailed over our explicit instruction and assignment expectations. Drawing from literature related to Lortie’s (1975) Apprenticeship of Observation, we use our findings to consider ways to better appreciate and mitigate the strength of PSTs’ incoming beliefs on their readiness to plan for and implement lessons. 

Understanding and handling diversity, as well as inclusion, are critical in ensuring effective teaching and learning, especially in the mathematics classroom, where students have varied abilities. Despite the growing research in inclusive education, little is known about how mathematics teachers in the Ghanaian context understand the theory of multiple intelligences (MIs), leaving a gap in how this theory can be applied in the classroom to improve practice and inclusion. In this study, the authors explored Ghanaian mathematics teachers’ conceptions of the theory of MIs using a basic qualitative method design. 12 senior high school mathematics teachers in one municipality of Ghana were engaged through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, including field notes, to provide information on their conceptions of the theory of MIs. Thematic analysis revealed that mathematics teachers conceived the theory of MIs as a theory of different styles for learning, multiple teaching strategies, and a theory for catering to diverse student needs. The findings highlight the need for professional development and teacher training curriculum development to enhance teachers' understanding of the theory of MIs to improve their practice and handling of inclusiveness and diversity in the classroom.

This study delved into the factors affecting secondary school students’ interest to learn Mathematics. The aim was to gather insights that can inform strategies aimed at enhancing students' engagement, enthusiasm, and achievement in Mathematics education. Literature information was downloaded using databases such as Google Scholar, ERIC, Search 4 Life, Scopus, Web of Science, and Academia. Of the 129 studies obtained, 117 articles were retained after removing duplicates and studies that did not meet the themes of the study. Further filtering of studies by removing primary and higher learning school-related studies allowed the retention of 25 relevant pieces of research published between 2000 and 2024. The results from the systematic reviews analysis showed that instructional strategy, instructional materials, the importance of Mathematics, a future career in Mathematics, students’ attitudes towards Mathematics, students’ enjoyment of Mathematics lessons, teachers and parental support, and students’ perception towards Mathematics, are amongst the key factors affecting positively secondary school students’ interest to learn Mathematics.  

The article investigates the impact of assessment data analysis on promoting deeper learning in Canadian high schools, specifically focusing on teachers’ flexibility in data-driven evaluation. The research contributes to the discourse on assessment practices by emphasizing the importance of authentic assessments, competency-based learning, and grading methodologies. Selected high school teachers drawn into this further study formed a fraction of the initial set of participants. Classroom practices of assessments concentrate on: (a) Freedom to facilitate deeper learning in instructing, assessing, and sustaining interest. The others are: (b) Teacher’s emphasis on competency-based (standard-based) learning to make learning appealing to students in educational spaces, and (c) Testing, collecting test score data, analyzing, and reporting students grades to present parents and school districts/boards with accurate progressive data reflective of diversity in learning. In this qualitative focus group case-study discussion, participants indicated time expended in performing critical analysis of data to grade students is burdensome, but the joy of such practice far outweighs the inherent difficulties, knowing that student success is founded on flexibility, freedom in decision-making, and being reflective as educators.

Global concern surrounds students' mathematics learning, development, and achievement. Scholarly discussions have explored various factors influencing students' mathematics performance. However, more information is needed to understand the impact of mathematics teaching styles on student outcomes in developing contexts like Nepal. This study examines the moderators of mathematics teaching styles and their influence on students' performance. To achieve this, the Teachers' Teaching Style Questionnaire (TTSQ) collected quantitative data from 469 grade nine students across 14 high schools in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur districts of Nepal. Confirmatory factor analysis, path analysis, and moderation analysis were performed to examine the effects of teaching styles on student achievement in mathematics. Key findings indicate that teaching styles, such as consideration and openness, are not significant predictors of student achievement, but rigid teaching styles can predict student achievement in mathematics. However, impact of the rigid teaching style was negative on student achievement. School type influenced the relationship between performance and considerate teaching, favoring private schools. School location influenced the relationship between considerate teaching and student performance in mathematics, favoring rural schools. Likewise, urban schools had a negative effect on the relationship between teacher openness and student performance, but rural schools had a positive effect on their relationship. Furthermore, low and high-ability students moderated the relationship between considerate teaching and student achievement, with the negative effect of low ability on considerate teaching and student performance and the positive influence of high ability on considerate teaching and student achievement. Student ability influenced the relationship between teacher openness and student performance, with a negative moderations of low and moderate ability students. The study concludes by emphasizing the importance of teacher training in teaching styles for high schools in Nepal and similar contexts.

This study investigates an integrative instructional model combining Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract (CPA), Task Analysis (TA), and the 3R strategies (relaxation, repetition, and routine) in teaching mathematics to students with learning disabilities (LD). LD is a neurological disorder that affects the capacity to acquire skills in reading, writing, and mathematics, presenting persistent challenges that traditional teaching approaches may not fully address. Through an ethnographic approach involving participatory observation of a teacher and three LD students over a semester, this study examines how the CPA model—progressing from concrete objects to pictorial aids and then to abstract concepts—can be customised to individual needs. Findings highlight that CPA is most effective when adapted to the diverse learning styles of LD students. While one student thrives with tactile tools to reinforce understanding, another becomes distracted, viewing the concrete aids as play items, and a third displays a preference for abstract reasoning without needing pictorial or tangible support. The TA framework, used to deconstruct complex tasks, enables students to engage in incremental learning steps, while the 3R approach helps foster a supportive learning environment by incorporating relaxation, routine, and reinforcement of concepts. By accommodating individual learning preferences, teachers can support diverse cognitive processes and promote meaningful progress in mathematical understanding. The study calls for educators to move beyond conventional one-size-fits-all strategies, advocating for personalised and adaptive approaches that can better meet the unique needs of LD students in mathematics education.

This study examines the validity of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) in Ugandan secondary schools using Item Response Curves (IRCs) and provides a comparative evaluation of its effectiveness across different educational contexts. The survey focused on Senior Four students preparing for the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations, with a representative sample of 941 students (aged 15–17) selected through a multi-stage sampling technique. The initial analysis employed Classical Test Theory (CTT) metrics before the detailed analysis of IRCs for the FCI items. The CTT evaluates item-level and whole test statistics like item difficulty level, discrimination index, and reliability. The CTT indices revealed that the FCI was highly challenging, with an average score of 5.76 out of 30 and a low-reliability coefficient (α = 0.15). Additionally, 73.3% of the items showed poor discrimination, and some distractors were ineffective. The detailed analysis of IRCs showed that several FCI items are inefficient in the context of the Ugandan education system. The IRCs also demonstrated a widespread choice of distractors for many items, with overall scores falling below the threshold indicative of a generally agreed-upon understanding of Newtonian physics. Comparative analysis from other global contexts studies suggests that language barriers, curriculum differences, and instructional methods influence student performance. These findings underscore the necessity of adapting the FCI tool to better fit local educational contexts and implementing additional instructional strategies to enhance conceptual understanding. A more culturally and contextually adapted diagnostic tool may improve physics education and better assess students’ conceptual comprehension of force and motion within the region.

This study investigates the assessment practices of senior high school mathematics teachers in Ghana, examining both the dominant classroom methods and teachers’ self-rated assessment skills, as well as the extent to which teacher background characteristics are associated with these practices. Drawing on a national survey of 516 teachers, the results show a strong reliance on traditional paper-and-pencil tests, with high self-reported confidence in administering such assessments. Formative and data-driven practices, including the use of standardized test data and diagnostic assessment, remain infrequently implemented and are associated with lower self-assessed competence. Multiple regression analysis revealed that participation in assessment-focused professional development was the only significant predictor of both broader assessment practice and higher perceived assessment skill, while years of teaching experience, gender, WAEC examining roles, and academic qualifications were not significantly associated. These findings underscore the importance of targeted professional development in strengthening assessment literacy and highlight persistent gaps between policy intentions and classroom realities. The study recommends sustained, context-relevant training to promote more effective and varied assessment practices in mathematics education.

Introduction: This study explores the effectiveness of differentiated assessment as a strategy to support diverse learners in multi-level K–12 classrooms in Manitoba, Canada. Literature Review: Articles published from 2005 onward were sourced from ProQuest, ERIC, Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and Taylor & Francis databases. Methodology: A qualitative document review was employed by analyzing peer-reviewed articles. The review investigates how differentiated assessment practices, such as varied formats, flexible timing, assistive technologies, and constructive feedback, enable educators to identify students’ strengths, interests, and learning needs. Insights inform the adaptation of instructional plans to accommodate diverse learning styles and promote academic equity. Findings and conclusions reveal that while differentiated assessment fosters inclusivity and meaningful evaluation, implementation is hindered by challenges, including limited resources, insufficient teacher training, time constraints, and resistance to change. The findings contribute to ongoing discourse on equitable assessment practices and offer practical implications for enhancing student success in diverse educational settings. Recommendations: The study recommends targeted professional development, increased teacher autonomy, and collaborative efforts among educators and administrators to address these barriers.