Our activities during Mathematics Week focus attention on Mathematics and Mathematics Education with the aim of making Mathematics more interesting, attractive, relevant, challenging, rewarding and engaging to learners and the community at large, e.g. by highlighting the impact of Mathematics on our daily lives and stressing the importance of Mathematics as a foundation for careers in science, technology and managerial jobs. Mathematics Week is a vehicle to popularise Mathematics and to increase public awareness, understanding and appreciation of Mathematics.
This unit gives a historical background to mathematics education in South Africa, to outcomes-based education and to the national curriculum statement for mathematics. The traditional approach to teaching mathematics is then contrasted with an approach to teaching mathematics that focuses on 'doing' mathematics, and mathematics as a science of pattern and order, in which learners actively explore mathematical ideas in a conducive classroom environment.
SAMF is an initiative of AMESA (the Association for Mathematics Education of South Africa) and SAMS the South African Mathematical Society) and its activities include teacher and learner programmes, publication of teacher and learner support materials, popularisation of mathematics and promoting public interest in mathematics research in South Africa. The SAMF ensures that the combined skills, know-how and professional capabilities of the members of these two societies are utilised in a professional manner. In this way the SAMF is a central office for Mathematics in the country and represents the entire mathematics community in South Africa.
This is a discussion group for all South African Mathematics teachers seeking support in the implementation of the new FET mathematics, mathematics literacy and advanced programme mathematics curricula.
If you are a maths teacher, you can join by sending an email to the community facilitator Stephen Sproule.
"GeoGebra (www.geogebra.org) is free dynamic mathematics software for all levels of education that brings together geometry, algebra, spreadsheets, graphing, statistics and calculus in one easy-to-use package. Interactive learning, teaching and evaluation resources created with GeoGebra can be shared and used by everyone at www.geogebratube.org.
GeoGebra is the world's favorite dynamic mathematics software, has received numerous educational software awards, and supports STEM education and innovations in teaching and learning worldwide.
Join us. Dynamic Mathematics for Everyone.
* Free to use software for learning, teaching and evaluation
* Fully interactive, easy-to-use interface with many powerful features
* Access to an ever-expanding pool of resources at www.geogebratube.org
* Available in many languages
* A fun way to really see and experience mathematics and science
* Adaptable to any curriculum or project
* Used by millions of people around the world"
"The free online Diploma in Mathematics course from ALISON gives you a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of key subjects in mathematics. This course covers calculus, geometry, algebra, trigonometry, functions, vectors, data distributions, probability and chance, and statistics. Qualifications in mathematics are in great demand from employers and this Diploma course will greatly enhance your career prospects."
Though the team found this strong correlation between number sense and scholastic math achievement, Halberda cautions against concluding that success or failure in mathematics is genetically determined and, therefore, immutable. "There are many factors that might affect a person's performance in school mathematics," Halberda says, "What is exciting in our result is that success in formal mathematics and simple math intuitions appear to be related."
Mathematics has a reading protocol all its own, and just as we learn to read literature, we should learn to read mathematics. Students need to learn how to read mathematics, in the same way they learn how to read a novel or a poem, listen to music, or view a painting.
In brief, it contrasts the modern understanding of causality (and the mathematics this presupposes) with the more recent, perhaps in a sense "postmodern" understanding of causality (again with a concomitant mathematical model) and on the basis of this distinction, draws some interesting parallels between economics and natural events.
"Calls are frequently heard for improving schooling by closing the gap between children's life out-of-school and traditional learning styles, and by broadening the space and span for life-long learning opportunities. The Math4Mobile development endeavors to engage all students with mathematical ideas. It provides a collection of tools that could be included in a variety of activities to support students' mathematical skills, conceptual understanding, and creative mathematical thinking. "
Registration opened earlier this week for a new short intervention course on Stanford University's free on-line platform.
Designed for teachers of math (K-12) or for other helpers of students, such as parents, "How to Learn Math" consists of eight 10 to 15 minute-long sessions intended to change students' relationships with math.
In addition to videos of Professor of Mathematics Education Jo Boaler, research ideas, and peer- and self-assessments, her course includes interviews with students, Udacity's Sebastian Thrun, Stanford Professor Carol Dweck, and others.
The self-paced course launches Monday, 15 July, and closes Friday, 27 September.
Boaler, the author of books such as What's Math Got To Do With It?, also serves as editor of the research commentary section of NCTM's Journal for Research in Mathematics Education (JRME).
This practice guide provides five recommendations for improving students' mathematical problem solving in grades 4 through 8. This guide is geared toward teachers, math coaches, other educators, and curriculum developers who want to improve the mathematical problem solving of students.
Amusements in Mathematics is a collection of mathematical puzzles and brainteasers from English author and mathematician Henry Ernest Dudeney. The book includes over 450 illustrations. To view the Standalone version, you require the installation of the small file size DNL Reader. To get the DNL Reader, click the "Get DNL Reader" button on the site. It is worth it!
The module Teaching and Learning Mathematics in Diverse Classrooms is intended as a guide to teaching mathematics for in-service teachers in primary schools. It is informed by the inclusive education policy (Education White Paper 6 Special Needs Education, 2001) and supports teachers in dealing with the diversity of learners in South African classrooms.
Fundamentals of Mathematics is a work text that covers the traditional topics studied in a modern prealgebra course, as well as topics of estimation, elementary analytic geometry, and introductory algebra. It is intended for students who (1) have had a previous course in prealgebra, (2) wish to meet the prerequisite of a higher level course such as elementary algebra, and (3) need to review fundamental mathematical concepts and techniques. NOTE: This collection is a work in progress, and the content has not yet been marked up in CNXML. You can download PDF copies of individual chapters in from their respective modules.
The South African Mathematics Olympiad (SAMO) is the official national mathematics competition of the country. It is a three round competition with interesting questions and nice prizes. The three rounds take place in March, May and September of each year.
Question papers and solutions of the last few years are available on this web site. The names of each year's individual prize winners and our committee members are also posted.
The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel noted that many middle school students have a weak understanding of mathematical equality and that this lack of understanding impedes their learning of algebra.
"This is a rather unusual structure for organizing mathematical content, but offers an exciting opportunity for teachers across the nation and abroad to exchange ideas and discuss what they teach. This Wiki will address the underlying central concepts and propose activities that also provide rich opportunity to engage students in the Mathematical Practices.
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