Teacher Feedback as a Facilitator of Students’ Mathematical Learning and Self-regulation in a Secondary School in Zimbabwe
The study was premised on the notion that feedback is a fundamental ingredient of effective teaching and learning. The focus of this paper is on the role of different types of teacher feedback in enhancing students’ mathematical learning and self-regulation. The study examined the relationship between teacher feedback and students’ ability to monitor and control their learning process, set goals, and employ effective learning strategies. The convergent parallel mixed-method research approach derived from a pragmatist viewpoint was adopted with a focus on deeply understanding this specific case of how teacher feedback facilitates students’ learning and self-regulation in mathematics and the practical implications and solutions for real-world problems. Closed-ended and open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were administered to 42 students and 2 teachers purposively sampled in a school in Bindura rural district. The results of the study corroborated that teacher feedback, both oral and verbal, plays a crucial role on students’ performance in mathematics and self-regulation. The findings indicate that feedback that is timely, constructive, encouraging, and provide detailed direction for future improvement, facilitate the building and demonstration of students’ self-regulation and self-efficacy in mathematics as well as serves as validation of students’ efforts which encourages them to continue to work hard. The study revealed that limited involvement of parents or guardians in the feedback process, cultural attitudes, and stereotypes about the difficulty of mathematics, have a significant influence on how feedback affect the students’ self-regulation, motivation and self-efficacy, hence teachers and parents collaboratively play a critical role in the feedback process to contribute to the success of students in mathematics as well as building students’ self-regulation. The study’s time-frame and resources restricted the sample size, data collection methods, and geographical area, all which can affect the research findings and generalizability. Notwithstanding, the findings of this study provides insights that can inform educational policies and practices as well as help teachers in Zimbabwe and other similar contexts to enhance their feedback strategies and create more effective learning environments for students. Overall, this research study contributes to the existing body of knowledge on the role of teacher feedback and has the potential to inform educational practices and improve the quality of mathematics education in secondary schools in Zimbabwe and beyond.
Keywords: Teacher feedback; mathematical learning; self-regulation; self-efficacy
