Classroom Participation

give instructionroom give wayicipation is a condition in which tot onlyy students take part in discussions that go on in the schoolroom, tuition, and sense of hearing to others ideas, comments, and questions ( walk, 1994).Lack of battle carcass angiotensin-converting enzyme of the challenges teachers face in mathematics lessons in Namibia (Mbalu, 2004). jibe to Ministry of predicateation (1994) since independence teaching mathematic has been a challenge, patch want of intimacy be an aspect of this challenge draging to the pathetic performance in the grammatical causal agency of Mathematics particularly at Upper Primary.Mathematics Numeracy and literacy are core features of particular(a) command, thus Mathematics and the languages are the most pregnant subjects in the syllabus in this phase and conflict is one of the fundamental requirements. Millar (2004) states that abstract ideas undersurface non scarcely be transferred from teacher to learner, the le arner must play an active eccentric in appropriating these ideas and making personal sense of them.Learners should learn mathematics by doing Mathematics and thus should experience inquiry in the Mathematics schoolrooms. fit in to NIED (2015) Learners learn best when they are actively involved in the close work through a high degree of familiarity, contribution and production.According to Mwetulundila (2000) reports that leaners in Namibia especially girls do non fully infix in mathematics be causation of the spare-time activity reason The South Afri brush aside colonial education was inferior particularly With regard to Mathematics the low battle of females is carried-over from lower-ranking schools or high schools to tertiary level the hidden curriculum, which non exclusively inadequacys gender equality regarding what is taught, but also regarding how it is taught socio-economic factors .This hit the books foc utilize more(prenominal) on higher grades not patriar chal and also have unexpended un firmness of purposeed question on factors in the classroom that can lead to lack of confederacy in a mathematics lesson.The rationale for analyze Mathematics involves observing, representing and investigating patterns and quantitative relationships in social and physical phenomena. These cannot be achieved if learners are not locomoted to participate in Mathematics lessons (NIED, 2015). wade (1994, p. 12) considered the ideal class affaire as one in which all students take part in the discussions that go on in the classroom, attainment, and earreach to others ideas, comments, and questions. Participating in classroom activities provides a critical occasion for eruditeness new skills. Participation helps pupils make deep, meaningful connections in the mind that are important in learning (Bean and Peterson, 2003).Furthermore, the grandness of learners participation is also tonic by Jackson (2002) who maintain that participation provides the se tting in which learners can construct and shape identities as members of the classroom. Moreover, interrogation has shown that participation in classroom activities is important in learner come to curriculum for effective learning to take place, especially in Mathematics (Jeffrey & Adam, 2010).They further noted that participation increases the likelihood learners testament deal and have a sense of duty for their learning when they actively voice their opinions and thoughts in the classroom. Despite the benefits of participation in the classroom, lack of participation is a common phenomenon in grade4 mathematic lessons at the primary trail. This problem (lack of participation) was identified by the queryer during School Based Studies microscope stage 3 at the primary School in Mathematic lessons, as one of the major problem contributing to high failure in Mathematics, when he was conducting his teaching practice.As observe, the majority of learners in this grades were not m ove in the classroom during the Mathematics lesson presentations. Therefore, teachers are encouraged to derive strategies on how to motivate learners to participate in Mathematic lessons. This prompted the interrogationer to carry out a character reference study in order to mother out more almost factors contributing to lack of participation and find out strategies that could be apply by Mathematic teachers to enkindle learners participation.Statement of the ProblemMore of writes have been written regarding the value and importance of learners participation in classroom discussion but few, if any, teachers (particularly at school level in Namibian Mathematic classrooms) would dispute the position that learners who participate in class learn more(Petress, 2006) .However, actual evidence to support this hypothesis seems middling scatty. Despite the shift from teacher meansed to the learner centered feeler of teaching and learning there salve seems to be very comminuted f reedom and autonomy amongst learners (Rocca, 2001).Vygotsky (1978) is of the opinion that to be autonomous, learners choose to be able-bodied to have some choices as to why and how of the curriculum and, at the equal time, they should feel responsible for their own learning and for the learning of those with whom they interact. In addition, it still gives educators question marks on why most of our learners refuse to participate in classrooms apart from the fact that we have a learner centered notion that in one way promotes learners freedom on the curriculum (Rocca, 2001).It existently brings frustrations when teachers ask their learners whether they understood a topic or not, what is usually observed is that learners in grade 4 at this primary School always tell their teachers that they empathize the topic yet when it comes to the home works, tests, ad-lib question or class works, they underperform. Deducing from ruminations, one of the reasons they say we do understand a topic even if they do not is probably worry and lack of freedom of expression, since the whole lesson they are passive.There is an absence of literature available that deals with factors contributing to lack of participation in Mathematic in Namibian schools previous work has only focused on gender, social tillage and social economy as key factor contributing to lack of participation in mathematics. It is against this background that a case study provide be conducted to seek a deeper understanding on the factors contributing to lack of participation and find out strategies that could be used to set up learners participation in Mathematic lessons for grade 4 at a primary school.Research aims and objectivesThe primary purpose of this study was to examine the factors contributing to lack of participation in grade 4 Mathematic classroom. Secondly, it was to suggest strategies that could be used to enhance participation by teachers in Mathematic lessons at the primary School.Signific ance of the studyPeople who will benefit from this study will be educators, teachers and learners in Zambezi region as well as all over country. The allow fors of this study are important as they would inform the policy makers of the factors that inhibit teachers from engaging their learners in a meaningfully expressive style in Mathematics lessons Thus, they can come up with possible strategies to enhance learners participation. Teachers will benefit as they would be aware of the antithetic strategies to enhance their leaners participation in Mathematics lessons which will enrich the teaching and learning process.Limitations of studyThere are not many studies done in Namibia on participation of learners in Mathematics. This is a vauntingly limitation especially to postulate secondary coil info for the literature review. Second, the size, convenience, and homogeneity of the sample will limit the generaliz ability of this study. particular(a) time needed to carry out the stud y will be a limitation too.DelimitationsResearch participants was restricted to Mathematics teachers and learners at this School, in the Zambezi region. some other people were not directly involved in Mathematics classroom, for compositors case the principal and other teachers who do not teach Mathematics.Definition of TermsClassroom participation Wade (1994) considered the ideal class participation as one in which all students take part in discussions that go on in the classroom, learning, and listening to others ideas, comments, and questions.Teaching strategies Teaching strategies comprise the principles and methods used for instruction (Effective Teaching Strategies, 1994).Motivation Donyei (1998) defines motivation in Second Language Learning as the dynamically changing accumulative arousal in a person that initiates, directs, coordinates, amplifies, terminates and evaluates the cognitive and motor processes.Phenomenon refers to something which is observed to happen or exist, in this case learners lack of participation in Mathematics lessons (Cambridge Online Dictionaries. 2016).Learner centered teaching means the student is at the center of learning. The student assumes the responsibility for learning while the instructor is responsible for facilitating the learning. Thus, the flesher in the classroom shifts to the student (Jeffrey & Adam, 2010, p.135). Autonomy is defined as the ability to make your decisions about(predicate) what to do rather than being influenced by teachers (Cambridge Online Dictionaries, 2016).CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEWFACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO CONTRIBUTING TO LACK OF CLASSROOM PARTICIPATIONNo teacher will ever deny that active classroom participation plays an important role in the success of language learning (Tatar, 2005). As involvement and participation are essential for language acquisition, the more utterances the learners offer, the break down their spoken language is and vice versa.This phenomenon is termed Matthew Effe ct that is rich modernise richer, poor get poorer (Chau, Fung-ming, 1996. P. 67).This context the rich get richer while the poor get poorer simply means that those that participate frequently in the Mathematic lessons improve their skills and while those that are always passive remain behind in name of language development and subject content.LANGUAGE ANXIETYJones (2004) defines this phenomenon in language learning daub as a fear provoked when the learner is asked to speak in the second or the foreign language in public, with the risk of social embarrassment. Oxford (1990), Jones (2004), Von Worde (2003) concludes that anxiety has a negative effect in language learning.Fears, nervousness, timidity and lack of self-confidence are related to language anxiety. The experience of participating in Mathematics Lesson is both mentally and emotionally demanding for most learners (Timothy, 2007). Larkin and Pines (2003) evince that most second or foreign languages are learned in classroom s, where there is constant performance evaluation by the teachers and peers.This situation can be frightening for most learners, especially those who are shy, due to their swear for approval from others and fear of negative evaluation. In Mathematics class for instance, where side of meat as a foreign language, especially a class that emphasizes harangue and listening, shy students seem to be at a vast separate since they do not draw attention to themselves, either by not volunteering to answer questions in class, or by avoiding opportunities for oral communication.LACK OF PREPARATIONAlso another(prenominal) cause of students silence to participate in Mathematic class. The findings of a study conducted by large think backer Institute (2008) revealed that some learners felt nervous when speaking slope without any preparation. Second language learners in most cases have to think in their mother tongue when asked a question in English so when they are caught offside it becomes difficult for them to participate (Miller, 1995 1996 Larkin and Pines, 2003).FEAR OF VOLUNTEERING TO ASK OR ANSWER A QUESTION IN CLASSBeing afraid to speak in class for fear of making mistakes was of concern for learners. Liu and Littlewood, (1997) discovered that when learners were asked in a research on how they felt concerning asking and answering questions during class, most of them describe that they a great deal felt afraid of asking a question to teachers during class.SHYNESSShyness was another influencing factor which could affect students participation. However, shyness, according to Anthony (2004), is a deportment that could be the result of any one oral combination of the following factors social introversion, lacking confidence in subject matter, and/or communication apprehension.FEAR OF MAKING MISTAKES AND macrocosm LAUGHED ATFassinger, 1995 Krupnick, 1985 and Crombie, (2003) mentioned that fear of making errors is often cited as another cause of the perceive sile nce and passivity. This anxiety factor is also allegedly related to current aspects of Eastern culture, such as the desire to be right and unadulterated and fear of losing face (Cheng, 2000). Melvin and Lord (2006) noted that anxiety of making mistakes pare participation because they think their mistakes make them feel incompetent. Learners think making a mistake in Mathematics classroom will distort their witness in front of their classmates.CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGYIn this chapter the study describes the methodology and different procedures used during data collection and analysis. In the first part research design is discussed. The second part will be on the cock and procedures of data collection which consist of notification and oppugn. The third part relates to the data processing and analysis. The last part will be the ethical issues considerationRESEARCH DESIGNResearch design may be referred to as the plan of the study that will answer the research objectives. Res earch designs are the specific procedures involved in the research process which are data collection, data analysis and report writing (Creswell, 2012 20). In addition to that Yin (1994) explains a different way of thinking about research design that it is a blueprint of research, looking at quadruple problems what questions to study, what data are relevant, what data to collect and how to analyze the results. The purpose of research design is to help the investigator to organize his or her ideas in a way that the researcher will be in a trustworthy flow. The researcher chose case study design to work with in the research. berth studyIn this study the researcher employed a case study design to be able to answer the research questions. run a risk (2004) gives the definition of a case study that is both a process of inquiry about the case and the product of that inquiry. Yin (2003 18) argues that case study is an experimental inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon in depth and within its real life context especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident.Qualitative approachIn order to find out the factors contributing to lack of participation amongst grade 4C-E learners in the Mathematics classroom at the school, qualitative approach was used. Qualitative approach allows researchers to get at the inner experiences of participants, to determine how meanings are organise through culture and to discover rather than test variables (Corbin & Straws, 2008 5).Creswell (2012) stresses that, qualitative research is suitable in addressing a research problem which you do not know the variables and need to discover. The intrinsic setting of this study was in a Mathematics classroom where teaching process give-up the ghost. Teachers and learners were observed and interviewed on the factors contributing to lack of participation and strategies that they use in teaching to enhance participation in their classes tribePopu lation may be defined as certain conference of people in which a researcher is interested in. Cresswell (2012) defines creation as a group of individuals with some common defining characteristic that a researcher can identify and study. In this study the population was formed by two teachers and ten learners which involve four learners from 4C and three from 4D and 4E respectively. totally the teachers and learners were purposeful selected from the Mathematics classes.SAMPLING AND SAMPLING PROCEDURESusan (2012), Sampling says is a method of studying from a few selected items, instead of the entire big number of units. The small selection is called sample. goal-directed sampling method will be used as the sampling procedure (Cohen &Manion, 1995). From the population 3 teachers will be selected and 10 learners from grade 4A-4DSAMPLING PROCEDUREPurposive sampling is when a researcher chooses specific people within the population to use for a particular study or research ensure unli ke random studies, which deliberately include a diverse thwartwise section of ages, backgrounds and cultures, the idea behind purposive sampling is to concentrate on people with particular characteristics who will better be able to embolden with the relevant research (Cohen &Manion, 1995). In this study teachers to be interviewed will be purposively selected based on the subject they teach Mathematics in this case. dickens Mathematic teachers will be interviewed in this study. Four learners from grade will be interviewed.RESEARCH INSTRUMENTDuring the examination on the factors contributing to lack of participation in Mathematics classroom interview and poster were used. billThe observation was my main instrument of collecting data. Since the study was about the factors contributing to lack of participation amongst grade 5CE learners in the Social studies classroom, therefore it was important to see what teachers do in the classroom. Maxwell (2005) argues that it is known that ob servation often provides a direct and influential way of learning about peoples behavior and context in which this occurs.In line with this Gall et al (2007) says observation provide rich data sources that offer an in-depth explanation of the case. In this study the researcher observed factors contributing to lack of participation and teaching strategies which were used by the teachers during classroom instructions in Mathematics lessons gradeThe researcher also observed strategies that teachers use to enhance participation Mathematics classroom. The observation method may supplement what the oral interview may not suffice. I used non-participant observation. I believe that non-participant observation gave me a great chance to observe what the teachers are doing in an inclusive class.Advantages of observationObservation is very important among the data collection instruments. According to Marshal and Rossman (1995) the following are the advantages of observation. It is used to find out complex interactions in natural social settings. They also believe that even in depth interview studies, observation plays a significant role as the investigator notes ashes language and affects in addition to the persons worlds.Limitations of observationLimitations which are likely to occur during observation are closely related to the role of inquirer in observation. This may be because the researcher assumes the participant, nonparticipant, or middle-grounded position. Taking the field notes, save quotes perfectly for inclusion and determining the good timing for moving from a nonparticipant to participant. Researchers sometime tend to disclose themselves to the participants, sharing relationships with other individuals and attempting to disengage from the land site (Cresswell, 2007 p.139).InterviewThis study involved semi-structured interviews which are attached in concomitant A and B. The interview involved open-ended questions that were asked to the interviewees. The q uestions were constructed from my knowledge gained from literature on classroom participation, my experience on Namibias educational system, my educational background, and my personal interest.