1. How long have you been teaching Grade 3 mathematics?
2. How much time is allocated for mathematics Grade 3 in the CAPS document?
3. How do you work? Do you adhere to the weekly time given by the CAPS document to teach Grade 3 mathematics?
4. What about the timetable? Do you adhere to your weekly timetable for your Grade 3 class and teach according to the timetable drafted by the school? How is it related to the CAPS document?
5. Are you able to cover all given content each week for your mathematics lessons? 6. What do you prioritise when teaching? Please explain and give reason.
7. How do you view the time prescribed in the CAPS document? Do you think about it when you plan your lessons or present them in class?
8. How do keep your learners interested in the concept you are teaching within the prescribed time?
9. Which teaching strategies do you find most effective when teaching mathematics? Explain how they are linked or not to the prescribed time in the CAPS document.
10. How does the use of time affect learner performance for mathematics in your classroom? 11. As an educator what do you think needs to change in order to improve the results for
Grade 3 mathematics?
Appendix C1: Interview with Mrs Dlamini
Interview questions.74
1. How long have you been teaching Grade 3 mathematics? I have been teaching Grade 3 for seven years now.
2. How much time is allocated for mathematics Grade 3 in the CAPS document? In the CAPS document, I don’t know. But usually a day, me I spend like 30 actually just teaching, then writing activities is more. It can be more than hour.
3. How do you work? Do you adhere to the weekly time given by the CAPS document to teach Grade 3 mathematics?
Yes. I have to stick to what I prepared for the week.
4. What about the timetable? Do you adhere to your weekly timetable for your Grade 3 class and teach according to the timetable drafted by the school? How is it related to the CAPS document?
Not always but I certainly do most of the time. It depends on, on that day. For example, maybe sometimes Home Language there's a lot to cover on that day that and I really need to really push the learners. So sometimes Home Language will take up the time meant for Afrikaans or Life Skills, and Life Skills I’ll have just a little bit of time in which I need to complete them both. If the policy says this week I must teach a new topic when the learners had not in grasped the concept taught the previous week, for example, we were doing fractions, and I personally felt that my children were not understanding them. I now had two concepts which my learners were likely not to understand. So, that meant by the Thursday of the new week, I was revising fractions and, on top of that, I had to make sure they understood time, which was the concepts for the current week. I could not just go to the next concept without finishing the one that they don’t know
5. Are you able to cover all given content each week for your mathematics lessons? For the week I'm able to do it because Friday it's always a catch -up day. So if I, I didn’t finish it through the week, I know Friday I'll do the catch-up.
6. What do you prioritise when teaching? Please explain and give reason.
I try my best to make sure learners grasp the concept, but I always make sure my curriculum is covered. So sometimes the learners get left behind. This is because there's a lot that we supposed to do. It is not helping the end of the day because all you want to do is finish the work you are supposed to.
7. How do you view the time prescribed in the CAPS document? Do you think about it when you plan your lessons or present them in class?
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8. How do keep your learners interested in the concept you are teaching within the prescribed time?
I don’t teach them sitting at their tables. Whenever it's teaching time they have to sit here on the carpet. So, when they are sitting here, I'm able to do the work with them. They go back to their tables that's when I know at least now they’ve heard what I wanted them to hear. They will be able to do the work correctly. As an educator you will think they have grasped the concept and that they will all say I understand. However, when you mark the books, it's something else. You become really disappointed.
9. Which teaching strategies do you find most effective when teaching mathematics? Explain how they are linked or not to the prescribed time in the CAPS document. I think teaching them in groups. If you can teach in small groups, it's better than the whole class teaching. The use of objects is also very effective.
10. How does the use of time affect learner performance for mathematics in your classroom?
I think time affects us greatly, the time that is given is too short, especially with mathematics. When it comes to mathematics you have to, for example do counting every day before you can begin with the day’s content. So, time is too little if you stick to time you will never complete work or your learners will be left behind. 11. As an educator what do you think needs to change in order to improve the results
for Grade 3 mathematics?
The workload is too much. They have been given lot of work. They have to complete written activities daily.
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