The design and development of a teaching/learning resource pack for the shape, space and measurement section of the form 4 area secondary mathematics syllabus

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation was to design and develop a teaching/learning resource pack for Form 4, Area Secondary students and teachers. It was designed using the van Hieles' theory of geometric thought, especially the phases of instruction and the adaptation to the level of geometric thought of the learners. The resource pack features a variety of tasks; practical, drawing and constructing, games, projects and activities, ICT and problem-solving. These set out to introduce or consolidate facts, skills and conceptual structures associated with the Shape, Space and Measurement section of the Maltese mathematics syllabus. A variety of software packages were used to produce this resource pack. Microsoft Publisher was used to produce the worksheets and teachers' session plans; Microsoft Word was used to design further resources for the teacher; Microsoft PowerPoint was used to develop associated presentations to particular worksheets, while Cabri-Geometre and Microworlds Logo were used to design ICT based activities. The resource pack was piloted with a sample of students, teachers, mathematics subject coordinators and through the actual implementation of a session in class. The results obtained from the pilot study were critically analysed and employed to further improve the resource pack. Finally, a discussion drawing on the main conclusions of this research project and suggesting further work, in the light of the van Hieles' theory of geometric thought, closes this dissertation.