In this article, we explored Grade 11 learners' algebraic and geometric connections when solving Euclidean geometry riders. A qualitative interpretive case study design was followed. Thirty Grade 11 learners from a non-fee-paying secondary school in the Capricorn North district of South Africa were conveniently sampled to participate in this…

This paper reports on the findings of a baseline study that fed on to a broader investigation exploring ICT integration in the teaching of functions. The baseline study was premised on the observation that the notion of function, despite being a fundamental and central idea in the mathematics school curriculum, presents pedagogical challenges to…

The use of scientific calculators in teaching parabola functions has been shown to have significant effect in learner performance. This study examined the effectiveness of scientific calculators' usage in the teaching and learning of Grade 11 parabola functions to improve learner performance. Bandura's observational learning theory underpinned…

In this paper, we explored the type of mathematical connections Grade 11 learners make when solving two-dimensional (2D) trigonometric problems in an Activity-Based Learning (ABL) environment. We followed a qualitative case study design within an interpretive paradigm. Convenience sampling was used to select a whole class of 45 Grade 11 learners…

The acquisition of procedural and conceptual knowledge is imperative for the development of problem solving skills in mathematics. However, while there are mixed research findings on the relationship between the two domains of knowledge in some branches of mathematics, the relationship between learners' procedural and conceptual knowledge of…

This study explored students' mathematics-related beliefs and the relationship between the beliefs and their strategies for solving non-routine mathematical problems. The study was guided by Daskalogianni and Simpson's 2001 belief systems categories and strategies for non-routine mathematical problems. The participants were 625 grade 11 students…

Mathematics education remains problematic in South Africa's schools. However, some mathematics educators are deliberately using learners' home languages in tasks to assist learners to understand mathematics. Research-based evidence shows that learners' home languages when used as a resource have a potential to enhance learners' understanding of…

Research into the importance of teachers' use of verbal language in multilingual classes where teaching and learning is done in a language other than the learners' first, is crucial. Such research aimed at improving multilingual learners' access to conceptual understanding of mathematical concepts is becoming increasingly urgent. In this paper, we…

This article reports on using open-response questions to reveal the level of, and change in, conceptual understanding of a small sample of Grade 11 learners of trigonometry in a South African high school. The investigation used learner response sheets in a regular classroom with the teacher as researcher. Combining the idea of concept image and…

The development of urban students' mathematical proving ability is a goal of several curricula frameworks, including some located in the southern hemisphere. However, in achieving this goal, most curriculum frameworks do so from a Western worldview, which is characterized by competition and the role of the individual. The purpose of this study was…

This article emerged from an analysis of learners' responses to a task presented to learners studying Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy (ML) in Gauteng, South Africa. Officially, Mathematics and ML are two separate learning areas. Learners from Grade 10 onwards are supposed to take either one or the other, but not both. This means that by…

This article reports on a study of six Grade 11 learners' levels of understanding of concepts related to the function definition and representation. Task-based clinical interviews were used to elicit the learners' interpretations and reasoning when working with these function-related concepts. Indicators for Action-Process-Object-Schema (APOS)…

The purpose of this study was to explore and compare the proficiency of Grade 11 Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy (ML) learners in solving two problems based on the temperature conversion formula. The first was a result-unknown problem that asks for the result of a formula for a given input. The second was a start-unknown problem in which the…

Within the South African school curriculum, the section on graphical functional relationships consists of signs which include symbols, notation and imagery. In a previous article we explored the role visualisation played in the way learners understood mathematical concepts. That paper reported on the learners' fixation with the physical features…

There is a general perception that the South African curriculum statements for mathematics create polarity between the 'old' and the 'new', which does not benefit both the teachers and the learners. The new curricula demand a radical shift from the traditional teacher-led approaches that teachers are familiar with, yet does not provide a model of…