BENJAMIN TATIRA

@wsu.ac.za

Senior Lecturer
Walter Sisulu University



                    

https://researchid.co/btatata

RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS

Education, Mathematics, General Mathematics, Statistics and Probability

15

Scopus Publications

63

Scholar Citations

5

Scholar h-index

2

Scholar i10-index

Scopus Publications

  • Undergraduate students’ understanding of the application of integral calculus in kinematics
    Benjamin Tatira
    Modestum Ltd
    In calculus, students can integrate functions that require procedures or algorithmic rules, but they grapple with contextual problems involving real-life motion of physical bodies. When undergraduate students learn the application of integration, they are expected to comprehend the concept of integration and apply it to optimization. This study used the action-process-object-schema (APOS) theory to determine undergraduate students’ construction of the application of integral calculus to kinematics. This study was qualitative and involved a case study of 150 secondary mathematics students registered for a Bachelor of Education degree at a university in South Africa. Data were collected through a written test by all the students and semi-structured interviews with eight students. The eight students were selected purposively, and the interview questions were meant to clarify some of the responses raised in the test. The content analysis of the written responses was done to reveal the stages of students’ concept development of kinematics. The findings revealed that students had significant challenges performing second- and third-level integration. These involve substituting the initial conditions at least once to find the constant integration for each level. Furthermore, students’ connection with displacement, velocity and acceleration concepts was weak, coupled with their failure to consider the point when the object was momentarily at rest.

  • Exploring Grade 12 Learners’ Understanding of Geometric Transformations Through the STAD Cooperative Learning Model
    Angel Mukuka and Benjamin Tatira
    MDPI AG
    Research has shown that both learners and teachers struggle to understand and teach geometric transformations meaningfully. This mixed-methods case study examined the efficacy of the Student Teams Achievement Division (STAD) cooperative learning model in fostering learners’ conceptual understanding of geometric transformations. This study involved 28 Grade 12 learners from one intact class. In addition to pre- and post-intervention tests, which measured learners’ conceptual understanding of geometric transformations, participants completed a feedback questionnaire at the end of the intervention. The results show that the STAD model significantly improved learners’ grasp of geometric transformations, as demonstrated by higher test scores in the post-test. Participants also highlighted the importance of well-crafted questions during group discussions and oral quizzes, teacher explanations during whole-class presentations, and the motivational impact of criteria for selecting and awarding top-performing groups. Based on Shapiro’s intervention evaluation criteria, the STAD model was found to be effective, with high levels of acceptability, integrity, and social validity. While this study confirms the STAD model’s effectiveness in enhancing conceptual understanding and social learning, it also emphasizes the importance of considering contextual factors, such as group dynamics and classroom resource availability, when implementing this cooperative learning model. Teachers are encouraged to tailor this learning strategy to their specific classroom environments and learners’ needs.

  • Mathematics teacher education in a globalized age: Heutagogy and virtual learning environments in context
    Angel Mukuka, Jogymol K. Alex, and Benjamin Tatira
    IGI Global
    Globalization has a significant bearing on mathematics teacher education and there is need for a comprehensive restructuring to meet the demands of the interconnected world. This study advocates for a paradigm shift that encompasses cross-cultural competencies, linguistic diversity, and a nuanced understanding of global educational trends. It further highlights the significant influence of virtual learning environments (VLEs) in responding to the challenges posed by globalization and emphasizes the synergy between VLEs and heutagogical practices. Drawing from the cited case studies and other existing literature, this chapter underscores the departure from conventional pedagogical methods towards a learner-cantered, self-determined approach. The chapter concludes by discussing the far-reaching implications for policy, practice, and theory, urging stakeholders to recognize the benefits of heutagogy in preparing mathematics teachers for the complexities of the twenty-first century teaching and learning.

  • Schema development in solving systems of linear equations using the triad framework


  • Unpacking pre-service teachers’ conceptualization of logarithmic differentiation through the APOS theory
    Benjamin Tatira and Angel Mukuka
    Modestum Ltd
    Logarithmic differentiation is an effective method that aids the process of finding the derivatives of complex exponential functions. However, there has been a scarcity of studies, particularly in the South African context, that have provided evidence on pre-service mathematics teachers’ understanding of the concept of logarithmic differentiation. This study explored pre-service teachers’ conceptualization of logarithmic differentiation through action-process-object-schema (APOS) theory. We employed a qualitative case study design involving 90 first-year pre-service teachers enrolled in a mathematics teacher education program at a university in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province. Overall, the analysis showed that 63.9% of the participants demonstrated a substantial understanding of logarithmic differentiation processes, including 46.1% who had reached the schema stage. Nonetheless, common misconceptions and errors persisted, particularly among those who operated at action and beginning process stages. Errors and misconceptions such as the misapplication of differentiation rules, calculation errors in combining derivatives, and conceptual misunderstanding were evident. These findings highlight the need for mathematics teacher preparation programs to emphasize both conceptual and procedural understanding of differentiation. Achieving this goal may involve targeted instruction on relevant foundational concepts, continuous professional development, and integration of active learning strategies, such as the activities, classroom discussions, and exercises (ACE) teaching cycles to address common misconceptions.

  • Undergraduate students’ abstractions of kinematics in differential calculus
    Benjamin Tatira
    Modestum Ltd
    When undergraduate students learn the application of differentiation, they are expected to comprehend the concept of differentiation first, make connections between particular constructs within differentiation and strengthen the coherence of these connections. Undergraduate students struggle to comprehend kinematics as a rate of change in their efforts to solve contextual problems. This study sought to explore undergraduate students’ construction of connections and the underlying structures of these relationships as they learn calculus of motion. The action-process-object-schema and Triad theories were used to explore undergraduate students’ construction of connections in differentiation and the underlying structures of these relationships as they learn the calculus of motion. This study was qualitative which involved a case study of 202 undergraduate mathematics students registered for a Bachelor of Education degree. Data were collected through an individual written test by the whole class and semi-structured interviews with ten students purposively selected from the class. The interviews were meant to clarify some of the responses raised in test. The findings revealed that students’ challenges in differentiating the given function were insignificant, but they need help to make connections of differentiation to its application to kinematics. Furthermore, students’ coherence of the connection among displacement, velocity and acceleration was weak, coupled by their failure to consider the point when the object was momentarily at rest (which is central in optimization). The results of this study have some implications for instructors. The teaching of calculus and other 456 mathematical concepts should connect to the real-life application of those concepts so that 457 students can make meaningful interrelationships thereof. Kinematics for differentiation paves way for kinematics under the application of integration hence students’ optimal conceptualization is of utmost importance.

  • Gender dynamics in GeoGebra integration: In-service mathematics teachers’ development
    Israel Yeukai Marange and Benjamin Tatira
    Modestum Ltd
    Teachers’ perceptions of integrating educational technologies such as GeoGebra in teaching varied according to gender and these disparities were explored. The pre- and post-technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) Likert questionnaires were used as data collection instruments. TPACK was also used as the framework underpinning the study. The researchers purposively sampled 22 mathematics secondary teachers from twelve randomly selected schools in one district. Of the 22 selected teachers, 13 were male and nine were female. The researchers adopted a quasi-experimental research design within a quantitative approach and used the descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze and interpret the results. The findings revealed that males ranked their familiarity and experience with several novel technologies higher than did females. There exist gender differences with more male than female teachers showing a greater benefit to most of TPACK components.

  • A Survey of Mathematics Pre-Service Teachers' End-of-Teaching Practice Reflections of Educational Contexts
    Benjamin Tatira
    Society for Research and Knowledge Management
    Pre-service teachers need to identify their understanding and beliefs about mathematics learning and teaching against the backdrop of the environment where, they teach during teaching practice. Pre-service teachers will one day be responsible for full-time teaching and their current reflections of educational contexts’ knowledge serve as a point of reference to their acquisition of teacher knowledge. Of the four knowledge bases for teaching, namely, pedagogy, pedagogical content knowledge, subject matter and educational contexts, the focus in this study was on the last. This study purposed to promote and describe mathematics pre-service teachers’ reflections of educational contexts at the end of a six-month teaching practice session. The 2022 cohort of 140 Bachelor of Education mathematics students participated in the study. The judgmental sampling technique was used to select 40 reflection reports. Moreover, four students were selected for interviews purposively based on their earlier reflections in the reports. The reflective reports and the interview transcriptions were analysed thematically through the lens of the Van Manen framework. The findings revealed that most of the pre-service teachers operated at the practical reflection level and very few attained the critical reflection stage. Student teachers took class preparation seriously, but they were disadvantaged by lack of teaching resources. They engaged themselves in many school duties, but this was only helpful if they were guided by experienced teachers. In response to some school management shortcomings, pre-service teachers projected wishes that could improve their teaching practices.

  • Voices from the Field: Pre-Service Teachers' First Time Experiences of Teaching Physical Sciences during School-Based Experience
    Sakyiwaa Boateng and Benjamin Tatira
    Society for Research and Knowledge Management
    School-Based Experience, commonly known as teaching practice, is widely acknowledged as an essential component of teacher education in institutions around the world. This study explored second-year pre-service teachers’ first-time experiences of teaching physical sciences during teaching practice. We contextualised the study within Dewey’s Theory of Experience to understand pre-service teachers’ experiences at a place of practice. The study utilised a qualitative phenomenological research design with 10 purposively and conveniently sampled pre-service teachers randomly chosen from a higher education institution in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Data from interviews, observations, journal reflections and document analysis were triangulated and analysed using thematic content analysis. The study found benefits and drawbacks that pre-service science teachers experienced during their first time on teaching practice, which provided important clues to understanding differences in what pre-service teachers appear to learn during teaching practices. The study has implications for faculties of universities that are engaged in teacher training to help pre-service teachers balance experiences of doing and undergoing as they progress through a teacher education programme. The study therefore recommends that universities establish partnerships with the Department of Basic Education to train all in-service teachers on specific expectations of pre-service teachers at schools during teaching practice.

  • Teaching Euclidean geometry with GeoGebra: Perceptions for in-service mathematics teachers
    Israel Yeukai Marange and Benjamin Tatira
    Modestum Ltd
    The teaching of Euclidean geometry is characterized by ineffective instructional methods used by in-service teachers as well as the low proficiency levels by learners. The purpose of this study was to survey in-service mathematics teachers’ GeoGebra integrative skills in the teaching of geometry. This study was quantitative and pre- and post-questionnaires were used to collect data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to perform statistical analysis of quantitative data. 12 schools were randomly selected, and purposive sampling was employed to select 29 in-service mathematics teachers. The study revealed that the intervention impacted positively on in-service teachers instructional strategies with a high statistical significance and a gain of medium to large effect size on both the pre- and post-intervention. After the training, participants felt that integrating GeoGebra in geometry teaching affords mathematics teachers the opportunity to use learner-centered approaches, teach geometry with confidence and maintain learners’ attention and alertness in class.

  • Undergraduate students’ conceptualization of elementary row operations in solving systems of linear equations
    Benjamin Tatira
    Modestum Ltd
    The concept of systems of linear equations (SLEs) is fundamental and core in linear algebra, a subject, which has many applications in a number of disciplines. Gaussian elimination is a versatile method, which can be used to solve almost all types of SLEs by using row-reductions. This study focused on exploring undergraduate students’ conceptualizations of elementary row operations (EROs) as a means to solve SLEs. The purpose of this study was to explore undergraduate students’ conceptualizations of row reductions and their applications to the solutions of systems of equations. The perspectives of the action-process-object-schema theoretical framework were used in analyzing data and discussing the findings. To explore the students’ conceptualization of EROs, a descriptive research approach was followed. I considered a case study of 131 students registered for a mathematics for educators course, where linear algebra was one of the topics. The findings revealed that students attained the action conception of reducing a system with unique solutions but had challenges reducing and interpreting solutions to a system with non-unique solutions. The latter row-reduction implored process and object conceptions especially when variable elements in the augmented matrix were involved. As students find the learning of linear algebra difficult, this study contributes to the debate in literature on how to improve its teaching and make suggestions on the ways make more effective the learning of linear algebra.

  • Defining Formative Electronic Assessment in Undergraduate Mathematics: A Reflective Approach
    Benjamin Tatira and Israel Kariyana
    Society for Research and Knowledge Management
    Formative electronic assessment of mathematics on the Learning Management System is unique. The purpose of this study was to delineate the process of formative assessment in mathematics through the students’ experiences during remote online learning. Formative assessment is part of learning and helps students to monitor their progress. Data were analysed by identifying themes from the narratives. It emerged that the e-assessments that are manually written and graded by the instructor were the best mode of assessment for undergraduate mathematics. With timely feedback, formative electronic assessment placed students in a position whereby they took more responsibility for their learning. As such, students had positive perceptions towards formative electronic assessment during remote e-learning and were prepared to proceed with it in future. The study concluded that while some students proclaimed to have the expertise in the use of e-assessments, most students did not have the expertise in using e-assessment tools, as formative e-assessments were not generally offered in other modules. Participants echoed the sentiments that instructor expertise in formative electronic assessment design should be unquestionable to promote enhanced mathematics assessments that should enable presenting the steps taken to arrive at the answers.

  • Creation of Innovative Teaching Spaces with Gamma Tutor: A Techno-Blended Model for Rural Mathematics Teaching
    Folake Modupe Adelabu, Jogymol Kalariparampil Alex, Abongile Ngwabe, Benjamin Tatira, and Sakyiwaa Boateng
    Asian Educational Journal Publishing Group
    Innovative techno-blended teaching methodologies are needed for 21st-century classrooms. This paper reports on the introduction of a techno-blended device for mathematics teaching in South African senior secondary classrooms. The research sample included 12 third-year mathematics education student teachers from a rural university. A qualitative case study design was employed. Participants were purposively selected. Data collection methods included non-participatory observation and in-depth individual interviews. The TPACK model and the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching Framework guided the analysis of the data. The study found that the mathematics student teachers successfully implemented GammaTutor in their classrooms, thus demonstrating their proficiency and aptitude in utilising technology in the learning environment. The GammaTutor device also aided in teaching and learning mathematics by simplifying mathematical ideas for learners. Furthermore, it enabled the development of learner discourse as a crucial component for developing learners' problem-solving skills. Since the mathematics student teachers engaged the learners with a variety of mathematical exercises using the GammaTutor technology, the integration of GammaTutor in the mathematics classroom exhibited learner-centred provisioning. The study proposes a teaching model for creating innovative teaching spaces in rural schools in South Africa.


  • The balobedu cultural activities and plays pertinent to primary school mathematics learning
    Benjamin Tatira, Lillias Mutambara, and Conilius J. Chagwiza
    Canadian Center of Science and Education
    For many years, mathematics has been conceived as abstract, a product of western values and divorced from people's everyday lives. This has contributed to the fact that rural and economically disadvantaged communities fail to see the link between school mathematics and their real world experiences. Nonetheless, it goes without question that children tirelessly engage in plays and games at the least available opportunity, and rural communities have well-knitted and immortal cultural activities which possess intricate and diverse mathematical concepts. Herein we report on some of the cultural activities and plays for the Balobedu people of South Africa and their implications for mathematics teaching and learning at primary school level. The researchers have seen the interplay of culture and the development of mathematical concepts worthy studying, as a way of bringing a turnaround in the performance of mathematics in the South African primary schools. Mathematics performance currently is trailing all other subjects of the curriculum, yet it is a key area of knowledge whose competence is necessary for individual and economic development in this modern high-tech world we are living in. Incorporating cultural issues in the methods of teaching in rural areas help learners to perceive that mathematical concepts are not done in isolation, but have a strong connection to their everyday life and therefore worthwhile learning.

RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • Integrating PHET simulations and YouTube videos in teaching vertical projectile motion in Grade 12
    B Tatira, S Delubom
    Multidisciplinary Science Journal 2025

  • Undergraduate students’ understanding of the application of integral calculus in kinematics
    B Tatira
    Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 21 (3), 2601 2025

  • In-service mathematics teachers' perceptions of GeoGebra integrative training materials: The case of geometry teaching
    IY Marange, B Tatira
    EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 21 (2), 1 2025

  • ANGEL MUKUKA & BENJAMIN TATIRA
    A Strand
    BOOK OF PROCEEDINGS–LONG PAPERS 2025

  • Exploring Grade 12 Learners’ Understanding of Geometric Transformations Through the STAD Cooperative Learning Model
    A Mukuka, B Tatira
    Education Sciences 14 (12), 1332 2024

  • Unpacking pre-service teachers’ conceptualization of logarithmic differentiation through the APOS theory
    B Tatira, A Mukuka
    EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 20 (12), em2541 2024

  • Undergraduate students’ abstractions of kinematics in differential calculus
    B Tatira
    Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 20 (9), em2497 2024

  • Gender dynamics in GeoGebra integration: In-service mathematics teachers’ development
    IY Marange, B Tatira
    EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 20 (6), em2457 2024

  • First-Year Undergraduate Students’ Ways of Thinking in Combinatorics
    B Tatira
    Journal of Medives: Journal of Mathematics Education IKIP Veteran Semarang 8 2024

  • The impact of virtual laboratories on the academic performance of grade 12 learners in impulse and momentum
    B Tatira, T Mshanelo
    Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology 8 (6), 4150-4157 2024

  • Mathematics Teacher Education in a Globalized Age: Heutagogy and Virtual Learning Environments in Context
    A Mukuka, JK Alex, B Tatira
    Impacts of Globalization and Innovation in Mathematics Education, 41-66 2024

  • Schema Development in Solving Systems of Linear Equations Using the Triad Framework.
    B Tatira
    Mathematics Teaching Research Journal 16 (1), 167-189 2024

  • Teaching Euclidean geometry with GeoGebra: Perceptions for in-service mathematics teachers
    IY Marange, B Tatira
    Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 19 (12), em2367 2023

  • Undergraduate students’ conceptualization of elementary row operations in solving systems of linear equations
    B Tatira
    Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 19 (11), em2349 2023

  • A Survey of Mathematics Pre-Service Teachers' End-of-Teaching Practice Reflections of Educational Contexts
    B Tatira
    International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research 22 (7 2023

  • Students’ cognition of the induction step in proving inequality propositions
    B Tatira
     2023

  • Voices from the field: Pre-service teachers’ first time experiences of teaching physical sciences during school-based experience
    S Boateng, B Tatira
    International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research 22 (6 2023

  • Defining formative electronic assessment in undergraduate mathematics: A reflective approach
    B Tatira, I Kariyana
    International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research 21 (7 2022

  • Higher education for public good: Perspectives in the new academic landscape in South Africa
    NS Matsiliza, LC Ndzoyiya, B Tatira, NR Jere, K Aruleba, TL Jere, ...
    AOSIS 2022

  • Creation of Innovative Teaching Spaces with Gamma Tutor: A Techno-Blended Model for Rural Mathematics Teaching.
    FM Adelabu, JK Alex, A Ngwabe, B Tatira, S Boateng
    Journal of Education and e-Learning Research 9 (4), 249-257 2022

MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • The Balobedu Cultural Activities and Plays Pertinent to Primary School Mathematics Learning.
    B Tatira, LHN Mutambara, CJ Chagwiza
    International education studies 5 (1), 78-85 2012
    Citations: 17

  • Mathematics Education Students’ Understanding of Binomial Series Expansion Based on the APOS Theory
    B Tatira
    Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 17 (12), 13 2021
    Citations: 10

  • Voices from the field: Pre-service teachers’ first time experiences of teaching physical sciences during school-based experience
    S Boateng, B Tatira
    International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research 22 (6 2023
    Citations: 6

  • Teaching Euclidean geometry with GeoGebra: Perceptions for in-service mathematics teachers
    IY Marange, B Tatira
    Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 19 (12), em2367 2023
    Citations: 5

  • Defining formative electronic assessment in undergraduate mathematics: A reflective approach
    B Tatira, I Kariyana
    International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research 21 (7 2022
    Citations: 5

  • Creation of Innovative Teaching Spaces with Gamma Tutor: A Techno-Blended Model for Rural Mathematics Teaching.
    FM Adelabu, JK Alex, A Ngwabe, B Tatira, S Boateng
    Journal of Education and e-Learning Research 9 (4), 249-257 2022
    Citations: 5

  • Higher education for public good: Perspectives in the new academic landscape in South Africa
    NS Matsiliza, LC Ndzoyiya, B Tatira, NR Jere, K Aruleba, TL Jere, ...
    AOSIS 2022
    Citations: 4

  • Undergraduate students’ conceptualization of elementary row operations in solving systems of linear equations
    B Tatira
    Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 19 (11), em2349 2023
    Citations: 3

  • Remote Online Education in Undergraduate Mathematics: Students’ Perspectives
    B Tatira
    Assessment 15 (1) 2021
    Citations: 2

  • Computerized summative assessment of multiple-choice questions: Exploring possibilities with the zimbabwe school examination council grade 7 assessments
    B Tatira, LHN Mutambara, CJ Chagwiza, LJ Nyaumwe
    Computer and Information Science 4 (6), 66 2011
    Citations: 2

  • Gender dynamics in GeoGebra integration: In-service mathematics teachers’ development
    IY Marange, B Tatira
    EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 20 (6), em2457 2024
    Citations: 1

  • Schema Development in Solving Systems of Linear Equations Using the Triad Framework.
    B Tatira
    Mathematics Teaching Research Journal 16 (1), 167-189 2024
    Citations: 1

  • A Survey of Mathematics Pre-Service Teachers' End-of-Teaching Practice Reflections of Educational Contexts
    B Tatira
    International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research 22 (7 2023
    Citations: 1

  • Students’ cognition of the induction step in proving inequality propositions
    B Tatira
     2023
    Citations: 1