SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS LEARNING PATTERN AND ITS IMPACT ON STUDENT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN MATHEMATICS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

For years, educators have been looking for better ways to teach mathematics to all pupils. All male and female pupils must acquire a proper maths education.

Math education prepares students to satisfy society's requirement for a knowledgeable and adaptable workforce (Best, & Kahn, 1993). School administrators work hard to increase all kids' educational attainment so that they can all strive for the maximum level of achievement. Although the government and the local community work together to promote education, there are still certain issues that need to be addressed. (Best, & Kahn, 1993) observed that Mathematics has always been a challenging subject for many pupils to master. Over the last two decades, there has been a significant decline in the standard of student achievement in mathematics at all levels of education in Nigeria. According to research data from mathematics classroom practice in Nigeria, the drop in student performance in mathematics is anchored in and traceable to the instructional tactics used by mathematics instructors.

Teachers and researchers on Nigerian mathematics classroom practice have also  acknowledged that these inconsistencies in students' performance in mathematics can also be traced back to the passive and strict classroom practices employed by mathematics teachers during classroom instruction. There is also much evidence that Nigerian students suffer with classroom tasks that involve higher order thinking, particularly notions that need the display of knowledge, comprehension, and skills.

Mathematics is a core subject and a neccesity in Nigerian schools. It is required of students to get the neccesary marks and scores to pass or get admission into the university of their choice but it is however worthy to note that most students have phobia for mathematics. This implies that mathematics classroom engagement is not a static monotonic field of textbook problems or a formula-directed problem-solving classroom environment. Students and teachers in their desperation, looked for means to solve this and improve academic performance. One of their solutions was the deployment of small group discussions.

Ardalan, (2005) demonstrated that when students critically assessed their mathematical reasoning in a small-group discussion, they were able to construct new, more stable forms of reasoning and thereby enhance their mathematical comprehension. It has been demonstrated that students who were able to debate their views, for example, regarding an assignment with peers or within a small group before being given with the right solution in front of the entire class learnt substantially more than those who were unable to do so (Ardalan, 2005).

When small-group conversations are utilized in mathematics instruction, a problem is frequently offered, followed by individual or small-group student work on the issue, and then the teacher orchestrates a whole-class discussion (Larsson & Ryve, 2012; Miller et al., 2006).

Meaningful group conversations, can lead to cognitive gains by engaging students in thorough thoughts on their ideas. Learners are challenged to reflect on their current concepts as well as incorporate new ideas into their existing knowledge by discussing ideas and considering others' opinions. Also contributing to learning are the cognitive processes involved in asking questions, offering explanations in answer to queries, and expanding on one's thoughts to provide these explanations (Cohen, 1994; Slavin, 1996). Best, & Kahn, (1993) demonstrated how participating in collaborative discussion within a community of inquiry helped instructors to exchange knowledge and co-create new understandings. Ardalan, (2005) stressed the necessity of including collaboration in multimedia-based problem-solving settings, claiming that the success of problem-based learning originates from group conversations.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The goals of employing small-group and whole-class conversations in teaching vary; one goal is to provide students the chance to explain their own mathematical concepts while also listening to those of others, allowing them to become aware of similarities and contrasts. It is thought that doing so will assist students in developing a better comprehension of mathematical ideas and become more clear in articulating their mathematical thinking (Denscombe, 2010). While small-group conversations allow students to debate mathematical ideas, research has shown that they may struggle to develop fruitful small-group discussions on the subject matter. However, just having pupils debate mathematical concepts does not guarantee that significant learning will take place (Denscombe, 2010). Furthermore, it has been proposed that students' lack of communication skills (Ardalan, 2005), students' lack of constructive cooperation (Ardalan, 2005), and instructors' lack of providing suitable assignments (Gillies & Boyle, 2010) reduce the impact of classroom discussions. Teachers are frequently confronted with a diverse variety of student answers, and it may be challenging for teachers to know how to respond to these comments in a useful manner (Forslund Frykedal & Hammar Chiriac, 2011; Gillies & Boyle, 2010). Thus, promoting classroom conversations based on students' previous mathematical thinking or concepts is a difficult educational undertaking (Denscombe, 2010). Teachers have an important role in creating and guiding effective small-group talks as well as whole-class debates (Webb, 2009). (Wang, 2001). According to Denscombe, (2010), students require assistance in concentrating their mathematical reasoning on significant mathematical ideas.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The primary objective of this study is to assess small group discussions learning pattern and its impact on student academic performance in Mathematics. Other objectives of this study are:

i.          To examine the benefits of small group discussions on academic performance in mathematics.

ii.        To discuss the challenges students face participating in small group discussions in schools

iii.      To compare math achievements of students in small group discussions with those in the normal classroom setting

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions guide this study.

i.          What are the benefits of small group discussions on academic performance in Mathematics?

ii.        What are the challenges faced by students participating in small group discussions?

iii.      Does the academic performance of students participating in small group discussions change with that of those in normal school settings?

1.5       RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

The following hypotheses will be tested in this study:

H0: There is no significant difference in math achievements of students in small group discussions with those in the normal classroom setting.

HA: There is a significant difference in math achievements of students in small group discussions with those in the normal classroom setting.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will be of great benefit to educators as the results of this study will show if small group discussions is effective and improves students academic performance. This study will also be of great significant to students as they will know if participating in small group discussions will be beneficial to them.

Finally, this study will serve as an existing material for further research and future reference.

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study will be focusing on small group discussions learning pattern and its impact on student academic performance in Mathematics. It will also focus on the challenges of students participating in small group discussions face. This study will also see how effective small group discussions are.

This study will be using students of Uyo High School, Uyo as enrolled particpants for this study.

1.8 LMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study will be limited to small group discussions learning pattern and its impact on student academic performance in Mathematics and will not be focusing on any other subject. This study will be further limited to the effectiveness of small group discussions and will not be proferring solutions to the challenges of small group discussions. Finally, this study will be limited to Uyo High School, Uyo thus the findings of this research cannot be used in any other part of the country or the world.

1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Discussion: the action or process of talking about something in order to reach a decision or to exchange ideas.

Learning pattern:  a coherent whole of learning activities that learners usually employ

Academic performance: Academic performance is the measurement of student achievement across various academic subjects