5th and 8th grade pupils’ and teachers’ perceptions of the relationships between teaching methods, classroom ethos, and positive affective attitudes towards learning mathematics in Japan

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5^th graders. Also a relatively wide distribution existed in the perceived frequency of the
deployment of Reading a textbook, Teacher explanation and Individual help. A large
distribution with respect to Teacher explanation and Individual help was found at both
age groups. As a wide distribution also existed with respect to Reading a textbook
among the perceptions of the teachers, this teaching method may be deployed to a
different extent amongst teachers. There was a wider distribution for pupils on Teacher
explanation and Individual help in contrast to a relatively small distribution for teachers at
both age groups.

4.1.5: Overall Summary of 4.1

Both teachers and pupils perceived that the different teaching methods deployed in
mathematics classes promoted pupils’ positive affective attitudes towards mathematics
learning differently. They also perceived differences in the frequency of the deployment
of the methods.

Teachers of both age groups were likely to adopt teaching methods that they believed
promoted pupils’ sense of security and sense of progress rather than enjoyment and
motivation, i.e. Individual work and Individual help. Teachers of both age groups
appeared to use Teacher explanation and Reading a textbook, even though they
perceived that these methods were at best neutral in promoting pupils’ positive attitudes.
Wide variation existed in the reported deployment of these teaching methods and the
teachers’ perceptions of the extent to which they enhanced pupils’ sense of security.
Teachers of both age groups did not appear to adopt teaching methods which they
believed were less beneficial for promoting pupils’ sense of progress and sense of
security, even if they believed that these teaching methods promoted pupils’ enjoyment
and motivation. Practical work fits this category. Whole-class discussion was relatively
frequently deployed at 5^th grade, but a wide distribution exists in the responses. The
deployment of Group discussion was much less than Whole-class discussion.
Computers were rarely used and responses regarding the promotion of enjoyment and
motivation through using computers varied.

Pupils of both age groups reported no teaching method as always being deployed,
although 8^th graders reported that Teacher explanation was nearly always deployed.

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