Communication in Teaching and Learning Mathematics: Teachers' Perspective.

The aim of this study was to obtain the perceptions of the teachers regarding communication in teaching and learning Mathematics. This study was conducted in Balik Pulau involving thirty-six mathematics teachers from nine primary schools. This study focused on three aspects of teachers' perceptions on communication in: (1) teaching and learning mathematics; (2) understanding mathematical topics; and (3) planning lesson according to the pupils level of understanding. Result for (1) showed that 86% of the teachers agreed that communication occurs in teaching and learning mathematics when both teacher and pupils were communicating and listening to each other. Findings for (2) showed that 39% of the teachers agreed that pupils were able to understand the lesson carried out by the teacher and were also able to solve moderate levelled questions given to them while 36% of the teachers agreed that pupils were able to understand but they were to be guided by the teacher in solving moderate levelled questions given to them. For (3), the findings showed that 31% of the teachers agreed that teachers can communicate well when they were using suitable teaching aids, employing language that easy to understand and encourage pupils to participate in the group discussion or arguments. Besides that, teacher also need to use simple words in their communication for pupils to understand better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]