Edith Cowan Research Paper

Edith Cowan University
An examination of the relationships between teaching and learning styles, and the number sense and problem solving ability of Year 7 students

Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Jemmy Emmanuel Georges Louange BEd Honours (Mathematics Education), Sussex University, UK

Principal Supervisor: Dr. Jack Bana

School of Education Faculty of Education and Arts Edith Cowan University Perth Western Australia July 2007

Use of Thesis
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Without you I doubt that I would have reached a successful end. To my wonderfully generous and caring sister in Law Tacey Derjacques and husband Keven Furneau, and my unforgettable mother in law Martha Derjacques; I am blessed to have you in my life, for you are responsible for so many incredible things in our lives. To my sister Stella Leeming, Antoine, Debra and Sandra Laporte; for being there all the time. The following people gave of themselves, their time and effort to support me in any way possible: Marie-Helen Dubois, Jacques L’etourdie, Bernard and Doreen Arnephy, Michael Laporte, Audrey Zelia, Lymiah Bibi, Huguette and Rodney Cohen, Mariana Collie, Grace Barbe, Raymond De Silva, Viorel and Petronella Haidau, Sandra Mathiot, Sandra Botsoi, Joel and Shirley De Commarmond, Jacqueline Ladouce and Peter Garlett, Luan Ladouce, Alain and Julia Dingwall, John and Philomena Bradley, Shirley Choppy, Steven Larue, Betty Dick, Philippa Larue and Jocyntha Sophola; how could you people who already had nothing still manage to give so much? Giovana Neves even when you were far away you still cared for me; you are great. Without the help of Mrs Jane Denis I would never have done this PhD. Doug Reid and Stewart Campbell; you were always present to help in any way you could. Paul Halfpenny, where would I have been without your invaluable help? To my brother Saunders Rose; you have encouraged me from start to finish! The following people were involved
On the other hand the ability to solve both NSIP and DNSP seemed to increase with level of proficiency in number sense. Both the pre-tests and post-tests results revealed that there is significant correlation between students’ number sense and problem solving ability. Performance gain analysis indicated that most students’ number sense and problem solving performance improved, and the teaching style of the teacher could be one of the main factors responsible for such an improvement. The recommendations made pertain mainly to classroom teaching, learning and further research. A striking revelation is that teachers’ should find ways and means of combining both contemporary and traditional teaching theories and methods so as to enhance the quality of their students’ learning experiences. Although outcomes based education has many advantages, preparation of lessons should not only shift from a focus on content but also pay equal attention to catering for individual learning ability, which is closely tied to learning style. Teachers need to find ways and means of identifying the number sense proficiency level, problem solving ability and also learning preference of their students in order to be able to mathematically empower the latter. Nevertheless, the evidence seemed to point more towards learning preference being dynamic, eclectic and dependent upon many factors, some of which are teaching mode, preference for solving a