Introduction

Mathematics is perceived as a boring and difficult subject to learn. Most Brunei students do not like to learn mathematics though they realize this is a very important subject. Acquiring strong Mathematical knowledge is no longer solely to pass examinations but also to provide an individual for a better future. It is necessary as some professions offered need a person to be good at mathematics. Acquiring good mathematical skills means brighter chance to win for that individual to compete in seeking job outside there.

In order for a person to acquire these mathematical skills, the most important task to accomplish is to make the students like mathematics and understand mathematics. This can only be done by having interesting mathematics lesson. Teaching approach, which is commonly or widely used in Brunei is a traditional chalk and talks, needs to be changed to more innovative and creative. Mathematics can no longer be treated pencil and paper learning. It is more than that. Students need to be exposed to a wide range of learning activities. Though it has been many efforts to help and guide teachers in trying to change their traditional approach to a desired one that is activity–based teaching, it if often the case whereby teachers feel comfortable with their traditional approach and resistant to move from this “comfort zone”.

Most teachers believe that teaching has to be creative or interesting to make students understand better hence achieve better in examinations. However, this belief is not practiced by most teachers. There are many reasons why teachers do not practice their beliefs.

So this study is to investigate the relationships between teachers’ beliefs about mathematics content, mathematics teaching, and mathematics learning and their teaching practices. It is also to identify factors that influence beliefs and their impact to classroom practices.

Intervening factors will also be discussed in this study that is role played by the teachers’ educator at teacher education program and professional development program the teachers had attended. To what extend these factors influence beliefs and practice.

If the factors caused the inconsistency can be addressed, the teachers might be able to conduct teaching using the activity-based approach thus creating an interesting and a meaningful lesson. As a result of this, students’ achievements in mathematics can be improved or increased.

The research problems of this study are as follows:

(a) What beliefs about mathematics and mathematics pedagogy do beginning

Secondary school teachers have, and what are the factors influence their beliefs?

(b) How do these teachers teach mathematics, and what are the primary

factors that influence their teaching practice?

(c) How consistent is the relationships between their beliefs and practice, and

what factors influence the degree of the inconsistency, if any?

Operational Definition

Belief

From Oxford dictionary, belief is defined as a strong feeling that something or somebody exists or is true; confidence that something or somebody is good or right.

Therefore, teachers’ belief about the nature of mathematics is what they believe about the mathematics content mathematics. Some teachers believe that mathematics is a dealing with figures, formulas

Their beliefs about teaching is that how teaching should be done in order students understand content better and in order students excel in examinations. In order words, how to have effective teaching.

Their belief about learning is that what types of learning should be taken place in order for learning to take place.

Practice

Practice is defines as action rather than ideas, way of doing something that is usual or expected way in a particular organization or situation.

In teaching context, it can be defined as a common/ routine teaching or instructional practice that teachers used.

Relationship between teaching and practice

The relationship between these two can be either direct or inversely proportional. Direct means when they have certain beliefs about something, they realize their beliefs into practice. On the contrary, they may not practice what they believe; this is so called “inconsistency”

The cause of the inconsistency might be due to some factors such as financial, time or so on.

For example, if a Muslim believes that there is god and one must obey the god command in order to have the god’s blessing for example to perform praying 5 times a day. However, due to busy life, this is not practice. The factor that caused this inconsistency is the time.

Beginning teachers

I described for those teachers who have teaching experience between one to five years as beginning teachers.

Activity Based-Learning

Activity can be defined as a situation which something is happening or a lot of things are being done.

In a mathematical learning activity in the classroom, it can be understood as whereby students are made involved in the lesson by actively doing something.

The types of activity which are commonly used in mathematics lesson are counting, locating, measuring, designing, playing, and explaining (Bishop, 1988).

Activity is believed to have many advantages as follows:

§ Change students attitudes from negative to positive

§ Help students to understand better this lead to many positive effects such as able

to develop mathematical skills which is essential for their future.

§ Provide students a pleasant learning experience

§ Better memory retentions.

§ Most of all, it helps to improve results.

References

Bishop, A.J. (1988). Mathemtical Enculturation: A Cultural Perspective on Mathematics

Education. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.