Teachers' perception towards the use of problem-based learning for teaching and learning of mathematics in Lagos State secondary schools

Abstract

Background: Issue based, or problem based learning is basically a teaching way where learners work together in groups to look into and crack open unstructured problems, with drive coming from the issue itself and not just from the teacher. How this is actually used inside mathematics classrooms in Nigerian secondary schools is still not really well looked at, especially when it comes to what teachers themselves think about it. Objective: The aim of this study was to find out the views of secondary school teachers in Lagos State, Nigeria, about using problem based learning (PBL) for teaching and learning mathematics. Method: A descriptive survey design was adopted. The study was carried out at Corona Secondary School, Lekki, and St. Saviours High School, Ikotun, both located in Lagos State. The population included 247 teachers from Corona Secondary School and 205 teachers from St. Saviours High School, so the total N was 452. A sample of 100 teachers was picked from the two schools using a stratified sampling approach, and yes the sampling wasn’t random random in the usual sense. Data were collected using a standardized 30 item instrument, the Teachers' Perspective towards the use of Problem-Based Learning for Teaching and Learning of Mathematics in Lagos State Secondary Schools (TPTPBLTLMLSSS) questionnaire. Face and content validity were checked, and reliability was done with Pearson product moment correlation, which gave a coefficient of 0.72. For analysis, mean scores were used alongside z test statistics. Results: The analysis of teachers’ responses gave a more measurable way to judge their stance on adopting PBL in mathematics instruction, and mean scores plus z test comparisons were used to see whether perceptions differ across the respondent groups. Conclusion: The findings give some insight into how ready secondary school teachers are, and also what kind of attitudes they hold toward problem based learning as a teaching method for mathematics education in Lagos State, this matters for curriculum planning as well as teacher training, like in practical terms.