Zimbabwean mathematics pre-service teachers’ implementation of the learner-centered curriculum during teaching practice

Abstract

Effective mathematics teaching and learning is crucial not only for the purposes of examination and assessment but as well for the learners’ empowerment so that they cope with the ever-changing technology and be able to solve real-life social and economic problems of the world. The study aimed at revealing the pre-service teachers’ pedagogical practices during teaching practice as well as whether they aligned their practices to the teaching approaches recommended in the mathematics syllabus. The case study involved four secondary school pre-service mathematics teachers who were purposively sampled. Documents, interviews and lesson observations were the data collection instruments. The results showed that out of the four teachers only two used both teacher-centered and learner-centered methods, whilst the other two used purely traditional teacher-centered methods. The learner-centered methods used by the two teachers were only limited to group work and pair work out of the several learner methods recommended by the syllabus. In this era of technology, none of the teachers made use of technology whilst delivering their lessons, which is also not in line with the syllabus requirements. Pre-service teachers need to be more knowledgeable in learner-centered approaches, syllabus use and interpretation as well as technology integration in the teaching and learning of mathematics.