Abstract:
The general performance in mathematics among secondary school students in Kenya has over the years been poor. There is evidence that students have problems in understanding and interrelating the symbols and special language structure as used in mathematics. This study was designed to develop and explore the instructional potential of a Socialized Mathematical Language (SML) module in teaching and learning of statistics in mathematics. A quasi-experimental approach adapted from the Solomon Four Group Experimental Design was employed to compare experimental and control groups drawn from Bungoma district. Four different measures namely achievement test, students’ questionnaire, teachers’ questionnaire and observation schedule were used to collect data from 156 form two students. These students were randomly assigned in their intact classes to four groups namely experimental group one (E1), experimental group two (E2), control group one (C1) and control group two (CZ). All the groups were taught the same content of the topic statistics in mathematics. However, groups E| and E; were taught by the SML approach while groups C, and C; were taught the conventional way. Groups Ei and Ci received pre-test before the commencement of the actual study. At the end of the topic, all the four groups were post- tested on all the measures. Both qualitative and quantitative data were generated and hence both descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, & percentages) and inferential statistics (t-test & the Analysis of Variance) were used for data analysis and hypotheses testing. An analysis of the findings indicate that the SML module resulted in significant learning gains, better perception of the learning environment and provided appropriate opportunities for student participation and interaction. Therefore the SML module was helpful in enhancing the teaching and learning of mathematics, facilitated in making the subject easily understandable to students and improved student performance in the subject.
