| dc.description.abstract | The achievement of primary school learners in mathematics in Malawi is low. Many learners fail
to reach the required proficiency levels as specified in the Malawi primary national curriculum.
This is a major concern to education at large as failure to perform in mathematics at a lower level
can bring about problems of learning in future. To improve learners’ mathematicsl skills, the
emphasis should be on successful mathematics teaching. Teachers are best positioned to
understand the problems of teaching and learning hence challenging the views on teaching and
learning can help solve the problem of poor performance in mathematics. This study is aimed at
exploring how Lesson Study (LS) can challenge the views that teachers hold on teaching and
learning the concepts of counting. The study was guided by the progressivism learning theory
propounded by John Dewey as a theoretical framework. The theory states that progressive learning
can be achieved by stimulating learners interest, promotion of critical thinking in learners, and
learner participation. The study used a qualitative approach design. The participants were 57
teachers from 7 school of one region of Malawi. The participants were part of a professional
development programm (PD) that employed LS to improve the teaching and learning of
mathematics. Data was collected through teachers’ research lesson plans, notebook reflections,
and comments from the knowledgeable others. Data was analysed using the discourse analysis
approach. The findings of this study indicated that the views of teaching and learning the concepts
of counting were challenged. The teachers discourse after the PD showed that being part of the LS
gave teacher insights on how to create space to stimulate learners interest, promote critical thinking
and learner participation | |
