A week-long maths course held for 296 local pupils at the Albany Museum last week has been described as a huge success. But, it also revealed that many of the intermediate-phase children present lacked basic mathematical and thinking skills.
A week-long maths course held for 296 local pupils at the Albany Museum last week has been described as a huge success. But, it also revealed that many of the intermediate-phase children present lacked basic mathematical and thinking skills.
Zonia Jooste, teacher development coordinator of Rhodes University education department's FRF Chair in Numeracy Education, said was impressed by the level of enthusiasm displayed by pupils at the Association for Maths Education in SA (Amesa) Maths for Juniors Programme.
“You could see the excitement when they solved a problem together – that sense of achievement and success,” she said.
The pupils – from Kingswood College, Good Shepherd, Graeme College, NV Cewu, Stacy Holmes home school and Oatlands – participated in a range of mathematics-based activities designed to make pupils and teachers aware of the importance of problem-solving activities that cultivate creative and logical thinking.
However, a number of worrying trends came to light during the week.
“There were a few disciplinary issues,” said Jooste. “We could see that some pupils were not used to being involved in group-work.”
However, the activities soon had the learners working together, because most of them required a good deal of team-work. These activities are aimed at cultivating classroom culture – getting pupils to talk to each other, teaching tolerance and working collaboratively. Thus, apart from the mathematics development, social development is also facilitated.
“I was surprised to find that the Grade 2 and Grade 3 learners showed better thinking skills and basic mathematical skills than the Grade 6 and 7 pupils,” said Jooste.
These basic skills included calculation skills and knowing how to describe even and odd numbers. Many Grade 7 pupils could not do this.
“Learners did not know the formal names of basic geometrical shapes,” said Jooste. “Fraction skills and pattern-recognition skills were also deficient – and mathematics is all about patterns.”
Teachers were given handouts to improve the quality of mathematics education in their classrooms, and were eager to implement the advised strategies.
“If you don’t have the basic skills, that’s a barrier,” Jooste said. She therefore suggested that teachers begin with small investigations, encouraging learners to engage with the basic concepts of mathematics.
The FRF Chair in Numeracy Education is working with 15 local schools to improve the teaching of mathematics. Six of these are in Grahamstown, two in Alicedale, two in Kenton-On-Sea, three in Alexandria and two in Port Alfred.
“We want to see how we, as partners, can address some of the problems that face maths teaching in schools,” said Jooste.
The programme for the year is also very encouraging. National Mathematics Day is on 1 March, and schools have already booked their places for the events that will take place at the Albany Museum.
National Mathematics Week runs from 1 to 5 August, and it has been proposed that the Eastern Cape activities be hosted by Rhodes University.
