Exploring the employment of visual aids and their pedagogical justification in the teaching and learning of Mathematical concepts

Author

Sibanda, Perfect.

Title

Exploring the employment of visual aids and their pedagogical justification in the teaching and learning of Mathematical concepts

Abstract

The research study sought to explore the employment of visual aids and their pedagogical justification in the teaching and learning of mathematical concepts. The research study was conducted in Sanyati District at three selected secondary schools which were accessible to the researcher. The researcher used a qualitative research approach and data was collected through interviews and classroom observations. The sample population of the research study consisted of 9 secondary school teachers from 3 secondary schools in Zimbabwe. All the respondents managed to participate in the study and the data gathered was qualitatively presented and analysed .The aim of this research was to examine how visual aids are used in the teaching and learning of mathematics, assess their effectiveness and identify the challenges faced by teachers in implementing them. The findings of the research study revealed that teachers view visual aids as a powerful instructional tool that can enhance learners’ understanding of mathematical concepts. Visual aids were praised for making abstract concepts more concrete, arousing learners’ interest to learn, improving learner engagement and supporting comprehension of concepts. However, teachers highlighted several challenges including limited resources, lack of training to effectively employ visual aids to teach, financial constraints to procure standard visual aids, time factor, large class size and attitude towards the use of visual aids. The study recommends the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to prioritise resource allocation for education and to conduct training workshops to help teachers on how to teach mathematics effectively using visual aids. Schools should provide visual aids which cannot be easily improvised and found from the local environment promptly. In addition, teachers should integrate visual aids into their lesson planning and delivery.

Date

August 2025

Publisher

BUSE

Keywords

Exploring

Visual Aids

Pedagogical Justification

Teaching And Learning

Mathematical Concepts

Supervisor

Dr. Z. Ndemo