THE IMPACT OF TASK PRACTICE ON LEARNERS ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

Mathematics has been a core subject in education along with other subjects such as English and social studies taught in primary schools. The place of Mathematics as a course has been so elevated in the academic setting to the extent that many higher institutions of learning only admit students who have good grades in Mathematics. The reason is that the world has; in recent times, become a global village where adequate knowledge of simple arithmetic and data analysis are the essential to meet up with the pace of science and technology. For instance, almost all employers require that employees possess computer literacy and skills. The scenario shows that technology is fast being an integral part of the human life. Mathematics lays the concrete foundation for adequate and eective understanding of various science-related subjects or courses and the inability of the learners to acquire skills necessary for a sound achievement foretells future personal doom. Mathematics is important in our understanding of the working of the universe and equally important to individuals for personal development both mentally and in the workplace. History of Mathematics Mathematics, according to Wikipedia (2013) was part of the education system in ancient civilization, including Ancient Greeze, the Roman Empire, Vedic society and ancient Egypt. In most area a formal education was only available to male children with a sufficiently high status, wealth and caste. By the twentieth century, Mathematics was part of the core curriculum in all developed countries. During the twentieth century, mathematics education became a major profession. Every year, thousands of new Ph.Ds. in mathematics are awarded and jobs are available in both teaching and industry.

In the 21st century, especially in 2000, the clag Mathematics Institute announced the seven Millennium Prize Problems and in 2003, the Princaré conjecture was solved by Grigori Perelman. Most Mathematics journals now have online versions as well as print version, and many on-line only journals are launched. There is presently an increasing drive towards open access publishing. Furthermore, there are many observable trends in mathematics the most notable being that the subject is growing ever larger, computer are ever more important and powerful, the application of Mathematics to bioinformatics is rapidly expanding, the volume of data to be analysed being produced by science and industry, facilitated by computers, is explosively expanding. The quality of teaching and learning Mathematics is a major challenge for educators. General concern about achievement in mathematics has been evident for the past 20years. Scholars are currently debating on the specific tasks students should be exposed to in order to have greater achievement in Mathematics. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 7th Edition has defined achievement as a thing that somebody has done successfully especially using their own eort and skills. This implies that for a learner to be successful in tasks presented to him or her there must be elements of exertion of eorts and skills. And this action is majorly deliberately done for eective mastery of the task at hand. Rasheed Sanni (2012) quoting Sullivan and Glarke has stated that the important of tasks in mathematics classrooms cannot be overemphasized. The tasks with which students engage in the classroom are central to, and largely determined the experiences to which students are exposed in the classroom. Therefore, tasks contribute significantly to students learning and achievement in mathematics education. The effects of task practice are yet to be accurately ascertained in Mathematics education. While some may applaud the efficacy of task practice, others may cast a gloomy look at the level of achievement task practice has attained. Nonetheless, it is generally accepted the more learners practice given tasks, the more acquainted they become to them and the greater their chances of recording high achievement rate. Saurab (2013) made reference to Thorndike’s law of exercise which concern the role of practice in learning. It states, that the strength with which a response will be connected with a situation depends on the number of times the response occurred in that situation. In other words, if a response is practiced for a certain number of times, it will tend to be permanently established. Any repeated response gathers some strength.

As a result, it becomes easier to repeat it again. Practice will result in strengthening of connections; its discontinuance will result in weakening of connection leading to forgetting. In relation to Mathematics education, tasks practice among learners can go a long way in reviving or creating the love for Mathematics, helping learners see connected between related tasks, boosting self-confidence, conferring mastery of formulas and Mathematics skills, combating the menace of procrastination and granting learners a retentive memory.