Students' Perceptions of the Secondary Numeracy Project

Abstract

This thesis explores the perceptions and experiences of twenty four Year 9 students from two schools in New Zealand who had participated in the Secondary Numeracy Project. The two schools were in their first year of SNP at the time of data collection. The main focus was on four areas of mathematics learning: group work, equipment, communication and teachers. Data was collected mainly by using semi-structured and clinical interviews. Findings revealed that equipment was particularly important and were used more frequently by students in Low ability group. Students liked using equipment, working in groups and sharing multiple solutions. However, communication was not used much as a means of making sense of mathematics in these classrooms. Furthermore the students' responses depended on the ability groups. These findings complemented the work of other researchers who have explored students' perspectives at the primary level. These findings suggest that the SNP would be more successful if students were explicitly taught good communication and cooperative learning skills.