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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.

"The Low Achievement Trap is an empirical study of student mathematics learning in Grade 6 classrooms that is unique in its focus on two school systems shaped by different political histories on either side of the Botswana-South Africa border. The study provides a detailed examination of the capacity of teachers - how they teach, how much they teach, and what they teach. Because of this wealth of detail, The Low Achievement Trap gives us much greater insight than previous research into why students seem to be making larger gains in the classrooms of South Eastern Botswana than in those of North West Province, South Africa. Rather than identifying a single major factor to explain this difference, the study finds that a composite of inter-related variables revolving around teachers' mathematics knowledge and their capacity to teach mathematics are crucial to improving education in both regions. The message is a hopeful one: good teachers can make a difference in student learning."

"South Africa is significantly underperforming in education, particularly mathematics teaching and learning. Fundamental reforms are needed in the public sector. Business leaders need to incorporate an understanding of private education and other market experiments and schooling innovations in their overall perspective and priorities for intervention and reform.   Read more in a new CDE Insight, MATHEMATICS OUTCOMES IN SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS: What are the facts? What should be done? "

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.

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 following UK self study units are adapted from the Guide for professional development for primary school teachers: Using ICT to support mathematics in primary schools.

"The basic education department's reports indicate a 17% decline in the number of candidates who wrote mathematics between 2009 and 2013 (from about 290 400 to 241 400). At the same time, the number of candidates writing mathematics literacy rose sharply to 58% of the 2013 cohort."

A few local projects focussed on translating Khan academy videos into Xhosa as well as giving township youth mentorship and support in mathematics on a Saturday morning.

Dr Math is a maths tutoring service to school learners that uses MXit, the South African mobile instant messenger application. Laurie Butgereit of the CSIR Meraka Institute, Pretoria, presented an update to the project at ICeL titled IM Dr Math: Using Instant Messaging in a Mathematics Tutoring Project.

Lots of local and global mathematics resources for learners

The 2008 mathematics matric exam has attracted considerable attention and debate. This short article seeks to contribute to the debate.

MXit launched its instant mobile book to encourage global teenage literacy while being part of a ground-breaking maths initiative in which Grade 9 and 10 pupils taking part in a pilot project exercise have access to 22 500 mathematical problems.

Mindset Learn is aimed at high school learners and teachers in Grade 10, 11 and 12. Content is curriculum aligned with a specific focus on Mathematics, Physical Science and English.

Numeric is interested in finding ways to increase access to and usability of Khan Academy in South Africa. If you've never heard of Khan Academy, it is an outstanding online learning tool primarily targeted at school level mathematics. You can read more here, or check out their website directly at www.khanacademy.org. But we're not only talking about accessibility and usability, we're putting our money where our mouth is and taking it into the field ourselves! Numeric is piloting Khan Academy in township and rural areas in the Eastern and Western Cape, translating the videos into Xhosa, and providing useful tools for teachers and learners to make this resource more user friendly.

The Young Engineers and Scientists of Africa (YESA) is an initiative aimed at increasing the pipeline Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Innovation (STEMI). YESA interventions operate from Grades 0-12 and are designed to supplement the national curriculum in a stimulating and challenging environment to promote creativity and innovation. All interventions are aimed at addressing the gaps in the developmental stages of providing support to learners through a broad range of activities.

I dont agree with the simplistic way in which this topic is dealt with. Most of the reasons for taking maths, I would have put under maths lit.....??????? Can we discuss this please?

Our official outside blog for advocacy for maths literacy for parents and learners. It also house our automated maths lit links from our South African mathsliteracy teachers network and bits and pieces for learners to nibble on.