Improving Teachers' Founational Math Content and Pedagogy through a Whatsapp-based platform

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Foundational Numeracy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Research on improving teaching and learning in primary school

Proposal

This study reflects broadly on the possibilities and limitations of a pilot project using the WhatsApp messaging service to deliver curriculum content to primary school teachers. This pilot was run by a non-profit organization working with 75 teachers in 15 schools in low-income communities in South Africa. The teachers ran after-school “Maths Clubs” with 2475 learners across 4 provinces. Each week, teachers were sent short videos over WhatsApp to help them prepare for the upcoming lesson. These videos were followed by a series of interactive questions on the mathematical ideas that underpin the week’s work along with key pedagogical considerations. Since in-service teacher development in South Africa is limited and expensive, a low-tech solution built on existing messaging services, like WhatsApp, offers obvious gains in cost-effectiveness and access to remote communities. The messaging platform itself also offers the potential for two-way engagement between the teacher and a mathematics content expert. Using data from the WhatsApp teacher’s course and a series of interviews, this study presents insights into the teachers’ experience of this mode of delivery. The study concludes with initial findings into both the potential and difficulties to utilizing this platform to support teachers at scale. While there is evidence to support a limited and cautious optimism, there is also reason to think very carefully about the constraints when designing similar courses of this nature.

Author

• Andrew Barrett, OLICO Maths Education