Effectiveness of Classroom Practices to Achievement in Mathematics

The study examined the effect of problem solving strategy on Secondary school students’ achievement in Circle Geometry in Emuhaya district of Vihiga county, Kenya. Two research objectives were used in the study to make the investigation. These were: (i) To establish the classroom practices and activities commonly employed by mathematics teachers, and (ii) To determine students’ coping mechanisms in the learning of mathematics using conventional approaches. This study was based on the Constructivist learning theory which originates from works of cognitive scientists like Jean Piaget and John Dewey. Constructivist teaching is based on the belief that learning occurs as learners are actively involved in a process of meaning and knowledge construction as opposed to passively receiving information. According to this theory, learners are the makers of knowledge and meaning. The study was a true experimental research design based on Solomon Four-Fold design. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of using problem solving method on secondary school students’ achievement in mathematics. Since the poor performance in mathematics is as a result of the decimal performance in the key topics, this study used circle geometry to establish any effect of the method. Two mathematics teachers with equal qualifications, teaching experience and considerably equal teaching potential were selected and trained to teach the two groups. Same lesson plans and worksheets were developed and used along with the direct teaching strategies for both groups. The control group was kept under a control condition by providing traditional competitive situation in class while the experimental group was provided with the Problem solving method as a treatment. The academic achievements of the control and experimental groups were examined through a post-test. In the experimental groups, one group was pretested, treated then post-tested while the other one was only treated then post-tested. In the control groups, one group was pretested then post-tested while the other one was only post-tested. Several implications of the findings are highlighted in the study as reported in this paper. The findings showed that most students who were ill-equipped mathematically tended to look for the teacher at the slightest level of difficulty and challenge in mathematical problems. They showed over-reliance on others rather than persist in looking for alternative methods of solving the same question. They were somewhat reluctant to attempt to solve the problem if the method was not perfectly obvious or if the problem was one that was unfamiliar. The researcher recommends that teachers should inculcate problem solving skills in their students to help them cope well with the ever changing and demanding needs and be better problem solvers in mathematics. Keywords: Problem Solving, Conventional Methods, Classroom Practices, Circle Geometry, Coping Mechanisms