South Africa today

With the average age of Civil Engineers in SA at approximately 57 years of age, we are going to experience major problems in SA over the next 10 – 30 years with our roads, dams, electricity, water reticulation, building and construction industries, unless we can somehow change the critical Maths and Science situation in SA. In fact we are already experiencing major problems and, together with shortages that also apply to other Engineering, Medical and Scientific disciplines, we will experience a compounding effect in the years to come! Eskom is currently short of 40 000 skilled engineers and artisans – and we know what is happening there!

History

Ancient Mathematicians will smile, wherever they find themselves, when told that the importance of Mathematics in some form or another has finally been noted. Newton, Einstein, Liebritz, Cauchy and others – who grappled with concepts and then tried to explain them Mathematically, would yearn to be part of the modern approach of discovering and developing already tested ideas. Unfortunately, Mathematics has been presented in a ‘mechanical’ and ‘boring’ way, with little or no attempt to show its logical, insightful and methodical patterns. Learners were often left to accept answers without clear conviction or understanding. No wonder many teachers in the system feel unsure and even threatened by the new approach of discovering the beauty of Mathematics.

New OBE Curriculum and approach

An apt title in the new dispensation could be:

‘Discovering the beauty of Mathematics through self-empowerment’ OR ‘Welcome to the real world of Mathematical insight and relevance’.

Based on the above pre-amble, it is quite obvious that the new approach to teaching and learning Mathematics and thus also Mathematical Literacy, is not only necessary, but also absolutely essential for the reshaping of the thought processes of our future generations.

Mathematics provides powerful conceptual tools which enable learners to:

1. Analyse situations and present arguments
2. Make and justify critical decisions
3. Take transformative and proactive steps and thus empower themselves.

Mathematics – the ‘beautiful subject’

Mathematics enables creative and logical reasoning about problems in the physical and social world and in the context of Mathematics itself. It is based on observing patterns, which, with rigorous logical thinking, leads to theories of abstract relations.  Mathematical problem solving enables the learner to ‘understand the world’ and make use of that understanding in their daily lives. Preparation for the unknown and real world is thus the underlying principle.

Mathematical Literacy

In Mathematical Literacy the learner is taught to think numerically and spatially in order to interpret and critically analyse everyday situations. The emphasis is to enable learners to develop Mathematical knowledge while dealing with issues, rather than applying Mathematics after ‘learning the basics’. Mathematical Literacy is imbedded in applications and extracted from problems in tables, graphs, diagrams and texts. The aim is to enable the learner to become a self-managing person and thus an adult who is able to look after him/herself in years to come.

Since the introduction of Mathematical Literacy over the last 2 years in Grades 10 & 11 – examinable in Matric 2008, learners have found the content much more relevant, user-friendly and manageable than previously. Unlike the often abstract approach in Mathematics, the learner is led along a known path to interpret realistic and related information. The conclusions are thus simple and yet relevant. The only drawback is if the learner has a reading problem and thus also experiences comprehension difficulties. This can however, be overcome by doing many similar questions and allowing the individual to develop at his or her own pace. Compared to Mathematics, the mathematically challenged learner thus has a better chance of passing this subject.

Pass marks

The pass mark for both Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy is only 30% and we believe that most learners, if handled and properly prepared, should be able to achieve this hurdle.

Advantages of Mathematical Literacy

1. The ability to use basic, relevant Mathematics (using percentages, discounts, exchange rates, area, volume, budgets, mortgages, HP repayments – to name but a few) – to solve everyday life problems.
2. There is no need for advanced arguments in this subject – which could possibly lead to unnecessary frustration for certain learners.
3. Real life situation discussions make the outcomes more relevant.
4. The ability to communicate mathematically
5. Formal methods (algorithms) are delayed in favour of extended opportunities to engage with a broad and diverse set of outcomes.

Disadvantages of Mathematical Literacy

1. Not being afforded the opportunity and challenge of grappling with more difficult and abstract relations and concepts.
2. Learner not being extended to think critically.
3. Assisted in arriving at only the obvious solutions and thus not exploring the more challenging and creative ones.

Which subject to take?

Learners with an aptitude and giftedness for comprehensive, critical and abstract thinking should definitely explore Mathematics and develop their confidence levels by solving more challenging problems. They must enjoy and feel challenged by the higher level of thinking and reasoning required in Mathematics. This will equip them to study (not necessarily Mathematics) at Tertiary level.

Those who have difficulty with these challenges and do not enjoy Mathematics at Junior High School should take Mathematical Literacy and they will be better prepared for the numerical challenges faced by most adults in daily life.

New breed of teachers required

The intention with the new Curriculum is indeed a noble one. Much needed skills and critical thinking have been sorely lacking in previous syllabi. In order to attain the goal we need to carefully assess our position. A new breed of Mathematics and Physical Science teachers, with knowledge, communication skills and most importantly – a passion for their subject – is urgently required. Many teachers have left the system – fearing the introduction of the unknown and also because of rationalisation in Education. This led to instability and low morale in the once respected profession. In many public schools, teachers are not adequately trained, skilled or experienced to inspire confidence in our learners in these crucial subjects. Instead of the true objectives of the new OBE approach filtering through to the learners, a greater sense of frustration and hopelessness has taken over amongst many teachers and learners.

All this was evident in the National Grade 11 exams at the end of 2007. Hopefully this will serve as a ‘wakeup call’ for schools to get their house in order. More and greater initiatives in training and empowering teachers of these scarce subjects are urgently required – in order to avert a National crisis.

The state has once again dragged its feet in implementing better remuneration packages and structures for the teachers in these crucial subjects. Top performing teachers are lured and gravitate to private schools where they have smaller classes and other advantages. This perpetuates the old system of privilege . The disadvantaged will once again have to pay the price for political short-sightedness and lack of vision.

Some Principals say:

‘Give me good Maths & Science teachers and I will produce a great school!’

Conclusion

From the above we can see that it is vitally important for the future of our country that all of our people should be numerically literate and the introduction of Mathematical Literacy into our school Curriculum, will enable us to achieve this wonderful goal.

We hope that the enormous challenge presented by the most revered, universal subject of Mathematics, will soon be met by some brave visionary response from our leaders. If we fail our learners this time around, we would not only have squandered a glorious opportunity, but we would be doomed and condemned by our expectant learners.

Let us take up the challenge!

Written by J Fortuin and J Bransby

maths, science