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"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? "

In order to ascertain the real-life situations that teachers, as stakeholders, would find suitable and appropriate to deal with in Mathematical Literacy (a compulsory subject for students who are not doing Mathematics at the Further Education and Training level of the South African education system), we embarked on a study known as the Relevance of School Mathematics Education (ROSME). The principle underpinning this article is that there are times when it is necessary to assess the functionality and quality of questionnaires used to ascertain affective domain issues. The study provides an analysis technique which is not affected by the sample of individuals completing a questionnaire, provided that the instrument meets particular requirements. It thus improves the rigour of measurement. Various statistics obtained in this study showed that the instrument used to determine the real-life situations which teachers prefer for Mathematical Literacy reasonably identifies this variable. However, it is cautioned that much more care needs to be exercised in construction of such instruments. The results also indicated the real-life situations which teachers most and least preferred to be included in Mathematical Literacy, providing useful information for policy-makers and textbook authors on contextual situations to be included in learning materials.

The module Teaching and Learning Mathematics in Diverse Classrooms is intended as a guide to teaching mathematics for in-service teachers in primary schools, but is suitable for maths tachers accross the curriculum. 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.

Mathematics education for whom and why? The balance between "mathematics education for all" and "for high level mathematical\nactivity"

"Conversations about mathematics education in this country pop up frequently in the media - and I have yet to come across anyone who is happy with the way things are in the learning of maths among the nation"s children. Many try to find out what goes wrong by conducting research. South Africa has about 150 researchers in mathematics education, and there are a number of special mathematics chairs of research and development at various universities. Funding foundations are generally very keen to contribute to research, especially if it is linked to development programmes and if some impact can be measured."

Using technology and creating unique learning environments are two big dreams that all types of teachers have, from elementary educators to distance education teachers to college professors. If you're already used to taking classes from an online college but are curious about creating your own open resources, or if you are studying to be a teacher in today's tech-fueled economy, check out these 50 free courses on teaching with technology.

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.

The objective of good math teaching should not be to "cover the curriculum" but to show students how to explore our fascinating and beautiful world through the lens of mathematics. We must change our focus in math education from a focus on a largely irrelevant and uninteresting set of learning objectives to a focus on making math relevant and engaging for students.

Some interesting perspectives here.....Please go and give your 2c worth here: http://mathsliteracy.ning.com/forum/topics/how-to-fix-our-math-education

A Interactive Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives*"

#mathslitsa "@smitwjf: JJ is at it again. Wonder when he will accept my challenge? http://t.co/M8Oo5n5K"

he second event aims to finish the current draft of the Gr 10 ML textbook, in collaboration with interested educators and post-grad students. This Grade 10 Maths Lit textbook will be available for use in 2013 and beyond, and have its own website, be available via cellphone, on Mxit, as a PDF and in print. We are in serious negotiations with DBE to have it printed for all government schools next year.

"this 1600+ video library is the most-used educational video resource as measured by YouTube video views per day and unique users per month. We are complementing this ever-growing library with user-paced exercises--developed as an open source project--allowing the Khan Academy to become the free classroom for the World. "

"Mathematics and science at school are vital to higher education, skilled jobs, and the national economy. For this reason, CDE has taken a sustained interest in the performance of the South African schooling system in these subjects. This paper summarises the results of four statistical analyses of Senior Certificate and National Senior Certificate results since 1998. Conducted by Professor Charles Simkins, they provide important new insights into the mathematics and science performance of South African schools, and identify key policy issues arising from the research."

Schlumberger Excellence in Educational Development, Inc. (SEED) offers creative math puzzles, with solutions. Puzzle categories include: * Number Sense * Arithmetic * Probability * Algebraic Thinking * Geometry, Spatial Reasoning, and Visualization * Topology * Logic * Combinatorics * Miscellaneous

mission: the math literacy project provides opportunities for students to achieve in a college preparatory mathematics curriculum so that they may gain access to educational, economic, and social resources that will lead to individual empowerment, independence, and social justice.

As a college president, I ask students and graduates what are we doing correctly and what can we improve upon. The typical responses to how we can improve are not surprising - more parking and more financial aid (often in that order). Lately the most common answer from recent graduates as to how we can improve has been surprising - more education about financial literacy and the practical aspects of living in today's world.