This study aimed at determining the effect of flipped classroom approach on mathematics achievement and interest of students. Given this, a quasi-experimental design was used, specifically non-equivalent pretest-posttest control group design. The study’s population comprised six hundred and seventy-three seniors in class one (SS 1) from Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area in Enugu State. The study’s participants were a sample of 86 learners selected from two schools purposively. Each school had two SS 1 classes, divided into experimental and control groups via balloting. Data were gathered through the instrumentality of the Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT) and Mathematics Interest Inventory (MII), which have reliability scores of 0.88 and 0.79, respectively. Prior to and following a six-week course of treatment, each group completed a pretest and posttest. SPSS, a statistical tool for social sciences, was applied to analyse the acquired data. The mean and standard deviation were utilised to report the study’s questions, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was utilised to evaluate the hypotheses at a 0.05 significance level. Results established that learners taught mathematics utilising flipped classroom approach had higher mathematics achievement and interest scores than their peers taught using the conventional approach. Results also revealed that the achievement and interest scores of male and female learners who received mathematics instruction using flipped classroom approach were the same. Considering the findings, recommendations were given, among others, that mathematics teachers should use the flipped classroom approach to assist learners in boosting their achievement and interest in mathematics, especially in geometry.

Indigenous games play an important role in various communities. Despite research indicating that these games can be used to advance and create a connection between classroom activities and the real life contexts, the connection has not been explored adequately to make this a reality in many mathematics classrooms. This Article reports on the various indigenous games that are a feature in South Africa as well as the Southern Africa region. The Article identifies a number of indigenous games that are popular in South Africa and how such games have been used to promote cultural heritage. This article also discusses examples of the use of such games in the process of teaching and learning of mathematics in schools.

The study investigated how blended learning affected secondary school students’ achievement and retention in mathematics. The study used a non-equivalent control group pre-test-post-test quasi-experimental design. The participants in the study were learners drawn from two secondary schools purposively chosen. Using a simple random sampling technique, the SS 1 classes from each school were then divided into experimental and control groups. Learners in the experimental group utilised the blended learning approach, whereas those in the control group utilized the conventional method. The groups received a pretest in week 1, followed by a 4-week intervention period. A posttest was administered in week 6, and a retention test (post-post-test) occurred 4 weeks after the posttest. The Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT), which has a reliability score of 0.86, was used for data collection. Data were analysed and the study questions were reported using the mean and standard deviation, and the hypotheses were tested using analysis of covariance. Results revealed that learners tutored mathematics utilising blended learning improved their mathematics achievement and retention scores more than learners tutored utilising the conventional means. Results indicated no significant gender disparity in the mean achievement scores of learners tutored mathematics utilising blended learning. Results also showed a significant gender difference in the mean retention scores of learners who learnt mathematics using blended learning, favouring female students. Based on the findings, recommendations were made.

This paper investigates South African 12th Grade students’ conceptual challenges with mathematical symbolization and instructional strategies that teachers use to mitigate mathematical symbolization. The study is motivated by the students’ failure to connect representations between symbolic and mathematical ideas to understand concepts and procedures. The study attempts to gain insight into mathematical symbols as potential barriers to students’ understanding of mathematical concepts and processes. The study consists of 120 randomly selected 12th Grade students and 15 purposefully selected mathematics teachers from Sekhukhune district of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Data was collected through questionnaires and focus group interviews. A mixed-method sequential explanatory design was employed. An SPSS cluster analysis of data produced three (3) clusters consisting of 50 (41.6%), 47 (39.3%) and 23 (19.1%) students with severe, mild, and minor challenges with mathematical symbols. Two themes emerged from the students’ difficulties with mathematical symbols. Firstly, students lack symbol sense for mathematical concepts and algebraic insight for problem-solving. Secondly, students disregard conceptual and contextual uses of symbols. The study therefore suggests that students’ negotiation of discourse between the mathematical symbol and the mathematical concept or procedure is crucial developing symbolic meaning. Therefore, teachers need to use appropriate strategies to engage students in processes that allow them to make meanings of mathematical symbols. The study recommends that concepts should be understood before symbolised.