This was the view of Mr Jurg Basson, Mathematics Specialist from JB Consultants, when he, recently, addressed high school teachers at the University of Johannesburg (UJ)’s Educators Conference.Mr Basson stressed that a mapping of concepts for each grade is needed, as many educators are new to the content of the subject and educators have different levels of understanding of the new curriculum.“Teachers often had little specialised training as most of them, due to institutional arrangements, have more than one role to fulfil,” said Basson.
He believed that that many teachers, in an attempt to boost learners pass rate, are encouraging learners to take Mathematic Literacy instead of Mathematics. “Learners are not provided with the advice, information and guidance required in order for them to make conscious and holistic choices of possible areas and subjects of study and concrete pathways to these as Mathematic Literacy does not afford the learners access to higher education.”
UJ embarked on an active partnership with the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) with the aim to develop and equip Gauteng’sMathematics and Literacy Educators with practical skills and the capacity to interpret the content and to implement current curriculum mathematics education, innovatively.
“The initiative assists educators who may experience difficulties with the subject content in the facilitation process and provide enrichment of course material in order to captivate the interest of the learners in the subject, making it an overall positive experience for both educator and learner,” said
Professor Sarah Gravett, Executive Dean of Education, UJ.
The Educators Conference was hosted by UJ’s Student Marketing.
