Twinning two mathematics teachers teaching Grade 11 Algebra: a strategy for change in practice

Abstract

Twinning is a strategy that is used to bring two or more schools together to share teaching expertise, experiences and resources. This strategy was implemented in two secondary schools in the Polokwane District of Limpopo Province, South Africa. The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of twinning two mathematics teachers teaching Grade 11 algebra. Furthermore, the study intended to concentrate on the development of the poorly-performing school in terms of their academic performance in Grade 11 algebra, and also, to change the poorly-performing teacher’s practices by exposure to the new practices gained during the twinning process. The study followed a pre-test-intervention-post-test mixed methods design, utilising both quantitative and qualitative data. The data collection techniques used to respond to the research questions of this study included interviews (N=2) before the intervention, as well as an interview (N=1) with the teacher in the experimental group during and after the intervention. In addition, tests were administered in the two experimental (N=42) and control (N=42) groups, before and after the intervention. Classroom observations were conducted in the experimental group before and after the intervention, and also during the intervention. The study was underpinned by observational learning theory, which proposes that when a teacher in the experimental group observes a teacher from the control group, his/her teaching practices might improve. Again, observational learning would motivate the teacher in the experimental group, with the result that the learners’ performance in Grade 11 Algebra would improve. The analysis of the data generated from the pre- and post-tests and the classroom observations suggest that the intervention strategy improved the learners’ academic performance. The statistical results of the experimental group indicated that they performed significantly better, with a rank-sum score of 2639.5 in the post-test, as compared to the pre-test’s rank-sum score of 1101.5 (p=0.0018). The data gained from the experimental group suggests that the interventional strategy had a positive influence on the conceptual and procedural understanding of the learners when solving algebra problems. Furthermore, the intervention strategy had a positive impact, in improving the learners’ participation during the teaching and learning of Grade 11 Algebra. An analysis of the classroom observations and interviews with the teachers indicated that the intervention strategy had changed the teacher’s own practices in the experimental group by being exposed to the new practices of the teacher from the control group. The benefits of the twinning process in the experimental group were obvious, where the teacher in the experimental group used the expertise, experience and resources after the intervention. Moreover, the learners in the experimental group were encouraged to participate actively during the teaching and learning of Grade 11 Algebra, even after the intervention. Overall, the findings of this study show that the intervention in the experimental group was directly related to the teacher’s change in practice, and by the improvement of the learners’ academic performance in Grade 11 Algebra.