4.2 Presentation of findings
4.2.7 Resources for teaching fractions
Theme 6: Resources
The findings revealed that resources influenced teachers’ experiences and impacted on their teaching. Resources such as bread, fruit, textbooks, charts, chalkboards and workbooks were found to be the common resources used for teaching fractions. This signifies that teachers were using different resources when teaching. In order for a resource to be effective, there has to be a dialogue between the teacher and the learner while using the resource as a medium of explanation (Andrews, 2007). This suggests that the resources encourage thinking and dialogue about fractions. Teachers took into consideration that the use of resources which were available enabled their pupils’ learning of fractions. As such, they believed that the use
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of resources helps learners to develop and analyse strategies for adding and subtracting fractions. In addition, Van den Akker et al. (2009) state that resources are mainly thought of at the micro (school) level of curriculum development where the teachers select which materials to use when they teach.
Mr. Beans explained that:
As I’ve already mentioned above, I use bread, apples and oranges. The learners also make use of these by cutting them. I also use textbooks, the CAPS document, and the learners themselves, by separating them by gender. I then tell them that the top number is numerator and the bottom number is a denominator. The resources are not sufficient.
Mr Francis asserted that:
I use concrete objects, textbooks, and drawing on the chalkboard. The textbook may be too structured for some learners compared to the dynamic and fun experience that they get when they do hands on mathematics. The challenge I have is that the teaching aids are not sufficient and, as a result, I have to improvise in most which is not enough in the teaching of fractions.
Miss Peace expressed that:
As I mentioned before, a loaf of bread can be helpful, an orange and an apple. I also use textbooks, the chalkboard and charts. The resources are not sufficient.
Miss Nadia said that:
The Department [of Education] provides us with departmental workbooks which are an excellent and colourful teaching aid but they are not sufficient. Bread and oranges are another way for the learners to identify fractions. The use of charts and chalkboards gives learners a clear understanding of what they are being taught in fractions.
Generally, the teachers’ responses indicated that they used resources that were known to learners from their home background. However, Martinie (2005) asserts that the primary resource for mathematics, including the teaching of fractions, is the textbooks. Kelly (2009) supported the significance of textbooks and states that books determine the knowledge that the curriculum aims to convey. In addition, Remillard and Heck (2014) also assert that textbooks are the most common form of curriculum material (resource) used throughout the world. Taylor (2008) also agrees that textbooks greatly assist the teacher not only with daily lesson planning but also to achieve curriculum coverage. In this case, findings revealed that
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these teachers’ experiences of teaching fractions were hampered by the shortage of mathematics textbooks, as Miss Nadia asserted that:
I sometimes download activities to use when teaching fraction because we have a shortage of textbooks.
The non-availability of resources such as textbooks raises serious concerns about the teaching of fractions in Grade 6. Cobb and Jackson (2011) maintain that the provision of good-quality instructional materials is crucial as it assists teachers with lesson preparation. Furthermore, resources also allow them to select, organise, sequence and pace their lessons. However, the shortage of workbooks impeded the teaching of fractions. Currently there is a shortage of textbooks in schools, particularly those that are supplied by the DBE. The DBE tends to work on the previous years’ statistics regarding the number of learners in each grade; as a result some grades experience a shortage of workbooks.
Miss Nadia said that:
The Department [of Education] provides us with departmental workbooks which are an excellent and colourful teaching aid but they are not sufficient.
The DBE introduced workbooks as supplementary study material for learners but the findings revealed that teachers did not use them the way they were supposed to. Remillard (2000) and Collopy (2003) opine that the way in which teachers cooperate with curriculum materials are shaped by characteristics of teachers themselves such as their knowledge, beliefs and experiences. Mdluli’s (2014) findings revealed that teachers use the mathematics workbooks in ways that did not resonate with the DBE’s intentions. As a result, Spaull (2013) states that teachers must be taught that the workbooks serve to structure the curriculum, in order to allow for full coverage of the curriculum. This is further corroborated by Prinsloo (2007, who posits that the lack of resources is one of the major barriers to smooth curriculum implementation in South Africa.
As such, sufficient resources to ensure the successful teaching of fractions remained a major hindrance. Generally, the teachers’ accounts indicated that teachers were experiencing a shortage of resources, particularly mathematics textbooks, as the main teaching resource. The next theme looks at how teachers group their learners when they teach fractions.
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