UTILIZATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR PERSONALIZED LEARNING OF MATHEMATICS IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS: A CASE OF ELDORET EAST SUB COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Most people agree that a major goal of schooling should be the development of students’ understanding of basic mathematical concepts and procedures. Underlying this is utilization of learners’ resources and personalized learning. These components involve use of processes and resources for learning aimed at offering pedagogy, curriculum, and learning environment to meet the individual student’s needs. All students, including those with disabilities and those at risk of school failure, need to acquire the knowledge and skills that will enable them to cope with Mathematics related problems that they encounter daily at home and in future work situations. Unfortunately, there is considerable evidence to indicate that this objective is not being met (UNESCO, 2015). Accordingly the purpose of this study was to investigate the utilization of Instructional Materials for personalized learning of Mathematics by teachers in public primary schools in Eldoret East Sub County. The specific objectives were: to establish the utilization of instructional materials for personalized learning in Mathematics, to assess the teacher’s skills in utilizing Instructional Materials on personalized learning in Mathematics, to identify the challenges faced by teachers in the utilization of Instructional materials for personalized learning and to identify the ways of improving the utilization of instructional materials for personalized learning. This study is helpful in that it helps teachers to identify ways of introducing learners to personalized study through Information and Communication Technology (ICT). It benefits Mathematics teachers in identifying the shortcomings in their instructional methods. The study is significant to the quality assurance officers (QASO) in the Ministry of Education who are responsible for curriculum development, interpretation and implementation. The study was anchored on the Dales (1954) cone of experience. This study employed descriptive survey design. Cohen & Manion (2008) states that a descriptive survey research design reports the status of issues at a particular time and applies it to the existing conditions. The study target population was 3147 drawn from 151 Primary schools in Eldoret East Sub County. The schools were clustered in 9 clusters namely Kaptagat, Kipkabus, Ainabkoi, Meibeki, Moiben, Karona, Chepkoilel, Kapsoya and Sergoit. Simple random sampling was used to select Kipkabus zone, Meibeki zone and Karuna zone. One stage cluster sampling was then used to select 45 Head teachers and 50 teachers. Multistage cluster sampling was used to select 270 standard seven and eight pupils to form a study sample of 365. The data of the study was collected using the triangulation approach involving questionnaires, document analysis and interviews. The questionnaires were tested for internal reliability by the use of Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and a coefficient correlation of 0.8 was found implying that the instruments were reliable. The obtained data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative thematic approach. The findings of the study revealed that most of the schools had varied materials to suit learners’ differences though, majority of teachers did not choose materials depending on learners individual needs, in addition the study found out that though skills acquired by teachers’ were critical in improving personalized learning many teachers were lacking the skills. The study recommends that with the increased and easy access to technology, government in partnership with individual schools should develop Mathematics instruction software that suits personalized teaching and learning that are learners and teacher friendly which will save on time and motivate them.