MODELING IN THE TEACHING OF MATHEMATICS IN JAMAICA: CHANGING ATTITUDE AND PERFORMANCE. IS THIS THE WAY FORWARD?

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PAUL ANDREW BOURNE
Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Jamaica, WI.
DERICK EVANS
Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Jamaica, WI.
NICOLA BROWN
Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Jamaica, WI.
SHARON GOLDING
Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Jamaica, WI.
LENNEY GRANT
Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Jamaica, WI.
KIRK GREEN
Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Jamaica, WI.
CAROL ROSE
Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Jamaica, WI.
TRACELOY SOLOMON
Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Jamaica, WI.
CHRISTOPHER THORPE
Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Jamaica, WI.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The performance of Jamaican candidates in Mathematics has generally been below expectations for decades; policy-makers, educators, scholars, and other stakeholders have sought to understand root of the problem, and to institute measures to address the performance deficit in Mathematics. There is no denying that we should place the teaching of Mathematics equally in any discourse, on the ‘under-performance’ of Jamaican students in the discipline.  
OBJECTIVES: To (1) evaluate whether changing the human environment in a classroom can significantly alter the performance of students in Mathematics, (2) determine the attitude of students towards Mathematics,(3) examine the role of model-teaching in reducing the under-performance of Jamaican candidates in Mathematics, (4) determine whether students attitude changes with modelteaching, (5) and determine the students’ attitude towards the teacher of Mathematics.  
METHODS AND MATERIALS: The researchers employed ahybrid research design in the conducting of this research-a mixing of (1) causal design and (2) experimental design. A P value of ≤ 5% (..0.05) was used to determine statistical significance and the data analysis took the form of descriptive, bivariate and multivariate statistics.  
FINDINGS: A significant difference emerged between the mean scores for students in the Pre-Test Experimental group ( = −1.842, = 0.029), which was not the case in the Control group ( = −1.832, = 0.077).For the PreTest or the Post-Testin the Experimental group( = −1.884, = 0.071) and Control Group on the Post-Test ( = −1.330, = 0.117), the overall attitude of the respondents towards Mathematics was very high, 135.5 ±25.7; 129.5 − 141.4.


CONCLUSION: Further study need to be conducted to determine the influence of Modeling on attitude toward Mathematics. The students’ basic concepts in Mathematics was limited.
KEYWORDS: Attitude Towards Mathematics, Model, Mathematics, UnderPerformance, GSAT, CSEC. 

Article Details

Issue
Vol 1 No 1 (2018): International Journal of Transformation in Applied Mathematics & Statistics
Section
Articles