Teachers' use of the new Form 1 Mathematics textbook : a case study

Abstract

The new mathematics textbook, Formula One Maths A2, which has been recently introduced in state schools is quite different from the previously used textbook, mainly due to its extensive use of illustrations and modern teaching pedagogies. For these reasons I carried out this dissertation to study two particular teachers' views and use of the new textbook for the topic of Algebra. This study starts with a review of literature which focused mainly on mathematics textbooks. Their role, the characteristics of an effective textbook, the importance of illustrations in textbooks and pedagogies that support effective mathematics teaching were discussed. This was followed by a description of how this research was conducted. The objectives of this study are achieved through a case-study with two teachers, where the data collection took place through a set of interviews and observations with the identified teachers. It is evident that the new textbook is considered as the main teaching resource used during mathematics lessons. One of the main findings of this study is that though both teachers are aware of the benefits and effectiveness of the material available in the new textbook, not all of this is used, mainly due to time availability. In fact, although this textbook provides a good number of open and challenging questions and tasks, alongside with a good number of opportunities for mathematics classroom discussions, the teachers participating in this study still give priority to the routine practice exercises. Moreover, it is a worrying fact that the teachers are not giving the highest ability students the chance to work out challenging questions.