Depicting classroom social climate: Using drawings to examine primary students’ perceptions of geometry teaching and learning practices

Abstract

Climate conducive to learning is one of criteria of good teaching. Even though current pedagogies argue for contemporary type of instruction, mathematics instruction may still be dominated by traditional type of instruction. The present study examined participant-produced drawings of 250 primary grade students regarding geometry teaching and learning practices. Not only different aspects of traditional type of instruction, such as the teacher standing in front of the classroom and delivering the content while students sit at their desks and passively listen to the teacher with little student-student communication were reported, but also some aspects typical for contemporary type of instruction, such as learning through teacher-student discussions, and the use of teaching materials and tools. Still, the aspects of traditional type of instruction prevailed. The results offer potential opportunities for reconsidering the current teacher education as well as policy that would reflect the teaching practices conducive to contemporary geometry instruction.