Malaysian Teaching Standard detailing competency of teaching and learning skills should be master... more Malaysian Teaching Standard detailing competency of teaching and learning skills should be mastered by teachers is like making the planning, implementation and evaluation of teaching and academic learning and co-curricular activities. Skills that should exist in teacher is providing planning skills of teaching and learning based on the syllabus and calendar by taking into
An information-and technology based society requires individuals who are able to think critically... more An information-and technology based society requires individuals who are able to think critically about complex issues, analyze and adapt to new situations, solve problems of various kinds and communicate their thinking effectively. To learn mathematics in a way that is beneficial to students in their lives, there is need to have classroom experiences that help them develop mathematical understanding, develop skills, procedures and habits, develop the ability to apply mathematics and acquire a positive attitude towards mathematics. The study sought to establish the nature of the gap between the intended and the implemented mathematics at ordinary level in Zimbabwean Secondary Schools. As is typical of ethnography, the focus of the study was mainly on teaching methods, the "O" level intended mathematics curriculum interpretation as well as issues surrounding assessment and classroom discourse in the teaching and learning of "O" level mathematics. A sample of fifteen qualified teachers purposively and randomly selected from sixty qualified mathematics teachers in Mashonaland province was used. A mixed research paradigm was employed and data was collected through document analysis, focus group discussions and lesson observations. However, the curriculum expectations of the "O" level mathematics curriculum do not seem to be reflected in practice in a classroom situation. Measures cited for the successful implementation of the curriculum is through in service training programs, workshops and launching a resource centre.
Community planning, engagement and leadership are urgent needs in the public administration of lo... more Community planning, engagement and leadership are urgent needs in the public administration of local governments as documented by Newell. The current state of homelessness and imprisonment of mentally ill persons who commit minor crimes creates an escalating revolving door through the prison system and area hospitals that costs the Florida taxpayers an average of $168 million per year [1]. Many of the homeless persons suffer from a variety of mental illnesses and co-occurring problems of mental illness and substance abuse [2]. Various combination of theories support engagement of the local community to work with the government to create viable solutions to these problems. Among these are feminism theory, post-modernism theory and structuralism theory. The application of theory to the analysis and hope of a solution to the homelessness crisis in Florida, particularly, can gain much by looking at the perspectives offered by feminism theory as it relates to creating a situation of understanding the individuals trapped by homelessness. Secondly, post-modernism theory offers insights into how an alternative world views with respect to engaging in a relationship with the afflicted individual/s. Thirdly, Structuralism theory sheds light on how an organizational response could be crafted to respond to the situation and operate in the most efficient manner possible. The conditions of homelessness and inadequate treatment centers for the mentally ill and homeless of South Florida have been an ongoing problem. Broward County and nearby counties house many of these citizens in the jail for lack of appropriate treatment elsewhere after the DE institutionalism of the 1960's under President Kennedy's administration [3]. In a 1997 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails, 10% indicated they had a mental or emotional problem with 10 % stating they had spent an overnight stay in a mental hospital or treatment center [4]. The two categories combined resulted in a compilation of 16 % or 283,800 inmates with designation as mentally ill. The costs for this treatment are enormous in that they do not solve the problem, can cause further problems and re-incarcerations resulting in an escalating system of costs. ABSTRACT The situation of homelessness and the populations in urban settings cost taxpayers money in treatment and cause financial drain with unplanned series of events and responses. The use of theories such as feminism theory, post-modern theory and structuralism theory help one to understand the situation and offer some insights into planning a response to maximize the effectiveness of local government institutions in coping with the influx of individuals in need of basic necessities.
In this feasibility study the authors describe and evaluate a word problem solving instruction, b... more In this feasibility study the authors describe and evaluate a word problem solving instruction, based on the principles underlying instructional programs like Solve it! and schema-based instruction. This instruction is executed during a five-week intervention period in a group of four less successful second grade word problem solvers. The effectiveness of the word problem solving instruction is reported by means of students' performances on combine, change and compare problems before and after the intervention period, as well as by examining whether they executed the solution steps of the instruction correctly. This feasibility study provides important insights with regard to varying ways in which a word problem solving instruction can influence the solution strategies and performances of students who perform poorly on word problems. WORD PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS Look at the following example of a word problem [Word problem example] " Mary has 9 marbles. She has 4 marbles more than John. How many marbles does John have? " Tim, a seven-year-old boy who is in the second grade of elementary school, has difficulties with solving word problems like the one that is given in the example above. While solving these word problems, Tim often uses an impulsive, superficial solution strategy. Significantly, he only focuses on selecting the presented numbers (9 and 4) and identifying the relational keywords (more than), which subsequently form the basis for his mathematical calculations. Tim's strategy often leads to an incorrect answer to the word problem. In this situation, Tim performed an addition operation where a subtraction operation was required, that is 9 + 4 = 13 instead of 9 – 4 = 5. The incorrect answer is not the result of a lack of calculation ability, but a result of a problem with deeply and correctly understanding the word problem text. Mathematical word problem solving plays a prominent role in the curriculum of contemporary approaches to teaching mathematics [1-4]. The solution of a word problem generally depends on two major phases: (1) problem comprehension, and (2) problem solution. The problem comprehension phase generally involves the identification and visual representation of the problem structure of the word problem. The identification and representation of the problem structure facilitates the correct understanding of the word problem text and helps distil the mathematical operation(s) that should be performed. In the problem solution phase, on the other hand, the mathematical operations to be used are identified and the planned computations are executed to solve the problem [5, 6]. Hence, errors in word problem solutions frequently occur in the problem comprehension phase rather than in the problem solution phase. These errors are often ascribed to students' insufficient reading comprehension skills [7] .
Malaysian Teaching Standard detailing competency of teaching and learning skills should be master... more Malaysian Teaching Standard detailing competency of teaching and learning skills should be mastered by teachers is like making the planning, implementation and evaluation of teaching and academic learning and co-curricular activities. Skills that should exist in teacher is providing planning skills of teaching and learning based on the syllabus and calendar by taking into
An information-and technology based society requires individuals who are able to think critically... more An information-and technology based society requires individuals who are able to think critically about complex issues, analyze and adapt to new situations, solve problems of various kinds and communicate their thinking effectively. To learn mathematics in a way that is beneficial to students in their lives, there is need to have classroom experiences that help them develop mathematical understanding, develop skills, procedures and habits, develop the ability to apply mathematics and acquire a positive attitude towards mathematics. The study sought to establish the nature of the gap between the intended and the implemented mathematics at ordinary level in Zimbabwean Secondary Schools. As is typical of ethnography, the focus of the study was mainly on teaching methods, the "O" level intended mathematics curriculum interpretation as well as issues surrounding assessment and classroom discourse in the teaching and learning of "O" level mathematics. A sample of fifteen qualified teachers purposively and randomly selected from sixty qualified mathematics teachers in Mashonaland province was used. A mixed research paradigm was employed and data was collected through document analysis, focus group discussions and lesson observations. However, the curriculum expectations of the "O" level mathematics curriculum do not seem to be reflected in practice in a classroom situation. Measures cited for the successful implementation of the curriculum is through in service training programs, workshops and launching a resource centre.
Community planning, engagement and leadership are urgent needs in the public administration of lo... more Community planning, engagement and leadership are urgent needs in the public administration of local governments as documented by Newell. The current state of homelessness and imprisonment of mentally ill persons who commit minor crimes creates an escalating revolving door through the prison system and area hospitals that costs the Florida taxpayers an average of $168 million per year [1]. Many of the homeless persons suffer from a variety of mental illnesses and co-occurring problems of mental illness and substance abuse [2]. Various combination of theories support engagement of the local community to work with the government to create viable solutions to these problems. Among these are feminism theory, post-modernism theory and structuralism theory. The application of theory to the analysis and hope of a solution to the homelessness crisis in Florida, particularly, can gain much by looking at the perspectives offered by feminism theory as it relates to creating a situation of understanding the individuals trapped by homelessness. Secondly, post-modernism theory offers insights into how an alternative world views with respect to engaging in a relationship with the afflicted individual/s. Thirdly, Structuralism theory sheds light on how an organizational response could be crafted to respond to the situation and operate in the most efficient manner possible. The conditions of homelessness and inadequate treatment centers for the mentally ill and homeless of South Florida have been an ongoing problem. Broward County and nearby counties house many of these citizens in the jail for lack of appropriate treatment elsewhere after the DE institutionalism of the 1960's under President Kennedy's administration [3]. In a 1997 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails, 10% indicated they had a mental or emotional problem with 10 % stating they had spent an overnight stay in a mental hospital or treatment center [4]. The two categories combined resulted in a compilation of 16 % or 283,800 inmates with designation as mentally ill. The costs for this treatment are enormous in that they do not solve the problem, can cause further problems and re-incarcerations resulting in an escalating system of costs. ABSTRACT The situation of homelessness and the populations in urban settings cost taxpayers money in treatment and cause financial drain with unplanned series of events and responses. The use of theories such as feminism theory, post-modern theory and structuralism theory help one to understand the situation and offer some insights into planning a response to maximize the effectiveness of local government institutions in coping with the influx of individuals in need of basic necessities.
In this feasibility study the authors describe and evaluate a word problem solving instruction, b... more In this feasibility study the authors describe and evaluate a word problem solving instruction, based on the principles underlying instructional programs like Solve it! and schema-based instruction. This instruction is executed during a five-week intervention period in a group of four less successful second grade word problem solvers. The effectiveness of the word problem solving instruction is reported by means of students' performances on combine, change and compare problems before and after the intervention period, as well as by examining whether they executed the solution steps of the instruction correctly. This feasibility study provides important insights with regard to varying ways in which a word problem solving instruction can influence the solution strategies and performances of students who perform poorly on word problems. WORD PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS Look at the following example of a word problem [Word problem example] " Mary has 9 marbles. She has 4 marbles more than John. How many marbles does John have? " Tim, a seven-year-old boy who is in the second grade of elementary school, has difficulties with solving word problems like the one that is given in the example above. While solving these word problems, Tim often uses an impulsive, superficial solution strategy. Significantly, he only focuses on selecting the presented numbers (9 and 4) and identifying the relational keywords (more than), which subsequently form the basis for his mathematical calculations. Tim's strategy often leads to an incorrect answer to the word problem. In this situation, Tim performed an addition operation where a subtraction operation was required, that is 9 + 4 = 13 instead of 9 – 4 = 5. The incorrect answer is not the result of a lack of calculation ability, but a result of a problem with deeply and correctly understanding the word problem text. Mathematical word problem solving plays a prominent role in the curriculum of contemporary approaches to teaching mathematics [1-4]. The solution of a word problem generally depends on two major phases: (1) problem comprehension, and (2) problem solution. The problem comprehension phase generally involves the identification and visual representation of the problem structure of the word problem. The identification and representation of the problem structure facilitates the correct understanding of the word problem text and helps distil the mathematical operation(s) that should be performed. In the problem solution phase, on the other hand, the mathematical operations to be used are identified and the planned computations are executed to solve the problem [5, 6]. Hence, errors in word problem solutions frequently occur in the problem comprehension phase rather than in the problem solution phase. These errors are often ascribed to students' insufficient reading comprehension skills [7] .
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