Mellony Graven

Emerging pedagogic agendas in the teaching of Mathematical Literacy

Abstract This paper focuses on an emergent spectrum of pedagogic agendas in the teaching of mathematical literacy- a new subject in the Further Education and Training (FET) band—currently being implemented in schools in grades 10 & 11. It is argued that a range of pedagogic spaces are opened up as a result of the ‘newness’ of the subject. Thus we argue that the absence of precedents of what pedagogy and assessment should be like, have enabled a wide spectrum of interpretation of both the curriculum aims and the related pedagogic agendas for both individual lessons and lesson planning across the band. In this paper, we focus on 3 aspects—the emergence of the spectrum of agendas from our empirical data linked to Bernsteins theory, a delineation of the agendas themselves and a discussion of the different pedagogical issues arising within each agenda. We believe that the conceptualization of a spectrum provides a useful tool for teachers and researchers for thinking about, and investigating, the vast range of mathematical literacy agendas present in lessons taught as a result of current curriculum implementation in Grade 10 and Grade 11. The paper draws on the work of Bernstein (1982, 1996) as a framework for analysis.

Socioeconomic Influence on Mathematical Achievement: What Is Visible and What Is Neglected

The survey team worked in two main areas: Literature review of published papers in international publications, and particular approaches to the topic considering what in the literature seems to be neglected. In this paper we offer a synoptic overview of the main points that the team finds relevant to address concerning what is known and what is neglected in research in this topic.

Learning metaphors and learning stories (stelos) of teachers participating in an in-service numeracy community of practice

AbstractThis paper uses metaphors to describe how nine selected teachers are learning and developing maths identities through their participation in a primary maths focused in-service education teacher community, called the Numeracy Inquiry Community of Leader Educators (NICLE). The metaphors emerge from data obtained in interactive interviews about their learning and participation in the NICLE, focusing on their evolving mathematical identities. The focus on metaphorical terms is informed by the sociocultural-participationist theoretical perspective. The learning stories of these educators point to the emergence of two metaphors, namely activation and reinvigoration, in relation to their mathematics learning experiences and participation in the primary maths teacher in-service programme. Teachers with a history of mathematical competence reinvigorated their mathematical identities through participation in the NICLE with some of the teachers’ identities outcropping into a wider range of mathematical and m...

Primary Teachers' Experiences Relating to the Administration Processes of High-stakes Testing: The Case of Mathematics Annual National Assessments

In this paper we highlight teacher experiences of the administration of high-stakes testing, in particular, of the 2012 Annual National Assessments (ANAs). The exploration is based on data gathered across two primary numeracy teacher development projects in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng in the form of open-ended questionnaires designed to elicit teacher experiences of the 2012 Numeracy ANAs (at Grades 1–3) and Mathematics ANAs (Grades 4–6). Fifty-four teachers across 21 schools (including fee-paying and non-fee-paying schools) completed the questionnaire. Using a grounded approach to the analysis of data, we note that, while teachers state support for the purpose of the ANAs ,several concerns emerge in relation to their administration. These concerns fall largely into two categories: concern for learner experiences and concern for the implications of the administration processes (including the use of exemplars and the marking process) for teacher practices. The primary purpose of the paper is to raise awareness of the need for further discussion and research into the way in which ANAs result in possible unintended consequences.

Positions and purposes for contextualisation in mathematics education in South Africa

Abstract In this article, papers reviewed in the position paper (Venkat, Adler, Rollnick, Setati & Vhurumuku, 2009) relating to questions of contextualisation in mathematics education are analysed and used to develop a tentative framework consisting of two aspects. The first aspect relates to the position taken on contextualisation with three categories identified (‘advocacy’, ‘advocacy but…’ and ‘does not advocate’). The second aspect relates to the underlying purpose for which contextualisation is used with four key motivations emerging within the sample (‘mathematical’, ‘utilitarian’, ‘cultural affirmation’ and ‘critical democratic citizenship’). Taken together, the two aspects can be combined into a tentative framework which can be used as an analytical tool that allows for an initial dis-aggregation of the broader literature in the area of contextualisation in mathematics education, as well as for thinking about the design and use of contextualised tasks.

Exploring South African Mathematics Teachers' Experiences of Learner Migration.

This paper focuses on patterns of post-apartheid learner migration between schools previously segregated along racial lines. South Africa’s shift away from cultural and linguistic isolationism and the ways this has impacted educational arrangements in this country, most particularly in relation to the language of learning and teaching, affects mathematics teaching and learning in complex ways. We focus on how changes in the demographic make-up of some schools have affected the teaching and learning of mathematics by drawing on two case study vignettes in historically different schools. The vignettes are used to illuminate our discussion and to raise key questions requiring further research.

The evolution of an instrument for researching young mathematical dispositions

In this paper, we share our experience of searching for ways in which to access learner dispositions and the evolution of an instrument that we have used as both a written and an interview instrument. We argue for the importance of understanding young learner mathematical learning dispositions in order to inform ways in which to support learning. As researchers, finding ways in which to access learner mathematical dispositions can be difficult, especially with young learners who struggle to articulate their stories. Mathematical learning dispositions are taken to include what learners say about learning and how they act when they learn. The focus of this paper is on gathering data in relation to the former. In order to illuminate what the instrument allows us to see we share some preliminary findings from our research. Our findings draw on evidence gathered, in interview form, from 16 learners in two grade 3 after school maths clubs and evidence gathered, in written form, from 614 grade 4 learners across 10 schools in the broader Grahamstown area. We interrogate the extent to which these articulated dispositions indicate constrained learning opportunities. The preliminary findings shared in this paper illuminate both what the instrument allows one to see as well as the limitations of the instrument.

Mathematical Literacy in South Africa: Increasing Access and Quality in Learners’ Mathematical Participation Both in and Beyond the Classroom

This chapter tells the story of how Mathematical Literacy (ML), as a new subject introduced in South African schools in 2006, opened access to mathematical learning and enabled the mathematical “metamorphosis” of learners in one school. The aim of the chapter is to share the way in which this curriculum intervention has the potential for enabling increased access and quality mathematics education particularly for learners with weak mathematical histories.

Enabling and Constraining Conditions of Professional Teacher Agency: The South African Context.

The South African people have a history of resistance to domination, injustice and inequality. It is therefore surprising that there has been an increase in social inequality, since the start of political democracy in 1994. Recently, the five teachers’ unions refused to administer the Annual National Assessments. This action indicates some resistance to domination. In this article, we will first explore the concept of professional teacher agency in the light of teaching, both as a profession and as a vocation constrained by prior experience and social context. Second, we will draw on the current assessment context to outline its problems and perspectives, and consider within this context the enabling and constraining conditions for teacher agency. Third, we will discuss how assessment as a tool for monitoring teacher performance may impede the conditions for quality education. Finally, we would like to propose that the delivery of a good quality education requires adopting a teacher education model which supports agency, and in which the design of diagnostic assessments is locally responsive.

Invited Lectures from the 13th International Congress on Mathematical Education

Practice-based initial teacher education reforms are typically organised around a set of core teaching practices, a set of normative principles to guide teachers’ judgement, and the knowledge needed to teach mathematics. Developing more than understandings, practices, and visions, practice-based pedagogies also need to support prospective teachers’ emergent dispositions for teaching. Based on the premise that an inquiry stance is a key attribute of adaptive expertise and teacher professionalism this paper examines the function and value of inquiry within practice-based learning. Findings from the Learning the Work of Ambitious Mathematics Teaching project are used to illustrate how opportunities to engage in critical and collaborative reflective practices can contribute to prospective teachers’ development of an inquiry-oriented stance. Exemplars of prospective teachers’ inquiry processes in action—both within rehearsal activities and a classroom inquiry—highlight the potential value of practice-based opportunities to learn the work of teaching.