Maths is not just symbols and numbers
Maths is essentially a language in its own right.
TODAY marks World Maths Day and a local company has launched the ‘One Book, One Learner’ initiative aimed at assisting South African learners be better in the subject.
The initiative aims to assist learners build their own mathematics vocabulary, which will essentially make it easier for them to understand the subject.
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Lowering the country’s mathematics pass rate will not do any good. That’s according to SAGE, Global market leader for technology, SAGE, says lSondergaard says this initiative will boost the country’s math’s pass rates.
“Once learners build up their Maths vocabulary and have a conceptual understanding of mathematical terms and how to apply them without thinking, we’ll see a massive improvement in pass rates and, as a result, higher university acceptance among learners who want to study STEM (Science, technology, engineering and math) subjects,” said Sondergaard.
Sage Foundation Programme Manager for Africa, Joanne van der Walt said better teaching is the only key to ensuring better marks, as she says lowering the pass rate will not do any good.
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“Lowering the Maths pass rate will not improve learners’ understanding of the subject or get them interested in STEM subjects. If we change the national Maths improvement strategy to focus on helping learners fully understand the language, we might not even have to worry about pass rates anymore. As a result, we’ll attract more learners to the subject because they actually enjoy it and no longer view it as just another subject they have to pass to get through school,” sid van der Walt,
To support the One Book One Learner initiative, click here. To purchase a copy of the My Maths Buddy dictionary,visit www.mymathsbuddy.co.za.
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