GeoGebra as a Manipulative Tool in Providing Processes of Circle Geometry in Grade 11: A Case of One School in OR Tambo Inland District

The aim of this study was to establish the influence of using GeoGebra as a manipulative tool in providing processes of Grade 11 circle geometry at one school in OR Tambo Inland. The study adopted a quantitative approach and utilised the quasi-experimental research design. The sample consisted of 107 Grade 11 mathematics learners. Sixty (60) learners were in the experimental group and 47 in the control group. Pre-test and post-test, and likert-scaled questionnaires were used as instruments. Reliability and validity were ensured through test-retest, as well as member checking and a pilot study. All ethical requirements were followed. Findings revealed that pre-test results did not show much difference in the performance of experimental and control groups. After using GeoGebra, it statistically emerged that control group respondents performed lower than the experimental group. Findings obtained from the questionnaire also showed similar patterns. The study also found that participants who learnt circle geometry using GeoGebra were significantly motivated and that GeoGebra allowed learners to be exceedingly creative and discover skills of solving geometry problems by themselves. The positive impact of using GeoGebra resulted in significant differences on academic performance. Based on gender, more females compared to males agreed that GeoGebra was an effective manipulative tool in learning circle geometry. Interestingly, boys performed better than girls in the post-test. The study concluded that students who used GeoGebra showed higher ability in conceptual knowledge compared to students who used conventional methods. It also concluded that GeoGebra had positive effects on learners’ understanding as learners became significantly active and responsible for their own learning process as the software allows a self-learning process. Recommendations included the need for teachers to use the latest technology and to vary their methods of teaching to motivate learners. There is also a need for a workable alternative opposed to the rigid axiomatic approaches to circle geometry to facilitate and enhance learners’ ability to make and test conjectures. Curriculum planners and subject specialists need to emphasise on education systems that shift teaching and learning away from the traditional methods and emphasise on learning rules for manipulating geometry problems.Thesis (M.Ed) -- Faculty of Education Sciences, 202