- Measuring ,estimating
- Banking, VAT
- Direction – maps, plans
- Reading and interpretation of till slips, household bills
- Best buys in supermarkets
- Probability
- Budgets – income and expenditure
- Perimeter, area, volume
- Scale
- Profit and loss
- Inflation, exchange rates
- Plans – seating, layout, street maps, railway timetables
- Assembling furniture, cell phones, electrical appliances, toys
- Probability – compound events
- Time conversions
- Taxation, pension funds
- Rental options
- National and provincial statistics
- Banking – investments, buying power
- Hire purchase, loans
- Stokvels, annuities
- Maps – National and provincial
- Tiling / Painting a house
- Growth charts
- Probability – National lottery
Understanding “how children learn” Mathematics and how learners see the relationships amongst the Maths concepts provide the conceptual tools for teachers to deal with diverse learning contexts. Learners need direct and concrete experiences with mathematical ideas in the real world as they re-create mathematical relationships in their own minds. The initial Language and Mathematics Strategy (LitNum) of the Western Cape has been strengthened to improve learner performance, with a focus on Mathematics.
Language remains key for the learner to articulate and communicate his reasoning of the applied Mathematics knowledge at school, the environment and in the broader world. The Mathematical language component must also rightfully be stressed and honed into for the purpose of improving Maths proficiency and the use thereof from the onset.
Mathematics learning is therefore the construction of the concepts learned by the learner in their own minds – an intuitive process. Real-world experiences are therefore key for conceptual learning. The teacher must recognise that it is not enough to “teach” without careful attention to what is “learned”.
The purpose of the Mathematics Strategy is to encourage positive mindsets; to build on the adjusted curriculum and highlight the building blocks for solid foundations in Mathematics; to empower officials enabling the provision of quality support for teaching and learning; to develop the child’s ability for adaptive and creative learning to solve problems and construct Maths knowledge, to be reflective and to talk about his/her thinking; ultimately fostering a genuine love for the beauty of Mathematics and the relevance thereof for the learners on all spheres.