The Extent to Which Teachers of Mathematics and Chemistry Have Employed Use of Asei and Pdsi Approaches for Smasse in Schools (Published)
Adequate pre-service training notwithstanding, the real teacher is generally formed in the classroom through experience and further training. This calls for the In-service Education Training (INSET) which provides opportunity for teachers to share experiences and mentor each other in order to update their skills and interact with innovative approaches and practices that create interest and inspire confidence in teachers. This is the basis for the Strengthening Mathematics and Science in Secondary Education (SMASSE) project in Kenya. SMASSE training was initiated aiming at developing the competencies of teachers through the Activity, Student–centered, Experiments and Improvisation (ASEI) and Plan, Do, See and Improve (PDSI) approaches. This paper is an investigation into the SMASSE project to establish the extent to which teachers of Mathematics and Science subjects have made use of the two approaches. A total of sixteen schools were selected using the stratified random sampling method. Data analysis for both qualitative and quantitative data was done using Statistic Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software, Registered R and Excel. Findings are presented using percentages, trend lines, frequency distribution and means. The study results showed that the ASEI/PDSI approaches are in use and have improved the teachers’ confidence and ability to deliver, and the skills learnt are effective. The teachers are now more confident in teaching and more consistent in the use of the ASEI/PDSI approaches after the INSET. The frequency of use, the decision of the approach to use and the extent of use of the approaches are based on personal discretion. The study does not, however, clearly distinguish the difference in use of the ASEI/PDSI approaches pre and post-SMASSE INSET. The research recommends that future SMASSE programmes should have a bottom up approach to enable full ownership by stakeholders.
Keywords: ASEI, Frequency, In-service Education Training, PDSI, SMASSE
The Extent to Which Teachers of Mathematics and Chemistry Have Employed Use of Asei and Pdsi Approaches for Smasse in Schools (Published)
Adequate pre-service training notwithstanding, the real teacher is generally formed in the classroom through experience and further training. This calls for the In-service Education Training (INSET) which provides opportunity for teachers to share experiences and mentor each other in order to update their skills and interact with innovative approaches and practices that create interest and inspire confidence in teachers. This is the basis for the Strengthening Mathematics and Science in Secondary Education (SMASSE) project in Kenya. SMASSE training was initiated aiming at developing the competencies of teachers through the Activity, Student–centered, Experiments and Improvisation (ASEI) and Plan, Do, See and Improve (PDSI) approaches. This paper is an investigation into the SMASSE project to establish the extent to which teachers of Mathematics and Science subjects have made use of the two approaches. A total of sixteen schools were selected using the stratified random sampling method. Data analysis for both qualitative and quantitative data was done using Statistic Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software, Registered R and Excel. Findings are presented using percentages, trend lines, frequency distribution and means. The study results showed that the ASEI/PDSI approaches are in use and have improved the teachers’ confidence and ability to deliver, and the skills learnt are effective. The teachers are now more confident in teaching and more consistent in the use of the ASEI/PDSI approaches after the INSET. The frequency of use, the decision of the approach to use and the extent of use of the approaches are based on personal discretion. The study does not, however, clearly distinguish the difference in use of the ASEI/PDSI approaches pre and post-SMASSE INSET. The research recommends that future SMASSE programmes should have a bottom up approach to enable full ownership by stakeholders.
Keywords: ASEI, Frequency, In-service Education Training, PDSI, SMASSE