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PREPARING LEARNERS FOR A MATHEMATICAL LITERACY OLYMPIAD
V. G. Govender
Eastern Cape Department of Education, Port Elizabeth District

In 2006, Mathematical Literacy was introduced as a fundamental subject in the Further Education and Training Curriculum in South Africa. This subject was directed at learners who, in the past, would stop studying mathematics after grade 9. This situation perpetuated high levels of innumeracy in our population.  The inclusion of this subject in the curriculum “will ensure that our citizens of the future are highly numerate consumers of mathematics”. The orientation training programme for grades 11/12 teachers was scheduled for July 2006. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the training had to be postponed. The PE District eventually conducted its training in November 2006. The GMSA Foundation was asked to present a 2 hour slot on “The use of Multimedia Mathematical Literacy classroom”. The Mathematical Literacy teachers were enthusiastic and actively involved throughout the training. They also found the Multimedia slot very interesting and informative. This prompted the GMSA Foundation to meet with the writer of this paper and come up with a firm proposal to enhance the status of Mathematical Literacy as a subject in our schools.  This paper traces the progress made thus far
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TEACHING MATHEMATICAL LITERACY: A SPECTRUM OF AGENDAS
Mellony Graven and Hamsa Venkat
Marang Centre for Mathematics and Science Education University of the Witwatersrand

In this paper we share our experiences of working with mathematical literacy over the past two years. From these experiences we have developed a spectrum of agendas which we believe provides a useful tool for thinking about the different nature of mathematical literacy lessons which are occurring as a result of current curriculum implementation in Grade 10 and Grade 11. Our presentation will particularly focus on this spectrum and will invite feedback from participants as to the usefulness and resonance of such a spectrum for teachers of mathematical literacy.
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THE NEED FOR RESEARCH INTO MATHS FEAR IN SOUTH AFRICA: a physiologically-based assessment of the legitimacy of the concept of maths fear and how it affects different aspects of mathematical learning
Carolyn Neser, Siyakhanyisa Study Support Initiative
Nic Els,University of Limpopo Medunsa Campus

Mathematics anxiety is often blamed for poor performance in mathematics and especially when a learner is known to be neither lazy nor lacking in ability. The expression of maths anxiety is rooted in a very well-known biological alarm  chain reaction and neurological reasons are posited for the affect of anxiety on mathematical performance. It is also posited that the parts of the brain most affected by strong emotion, are the centres for visuospatial processing (i.e. the number line and any visualization involved in a word problem, as well as geometrical conceptualisation)  and that these centres form the foundation of more advanced calculations. It has been well corroborated that students tend to fear geometrical mathematics more than pure algebra, and research is encouraged into the exploration of reasons for this difference
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Reflecting on a baseline test
Anthea Roberts
Yusuf Johnson
Schools Development Unit, University of Cape Town

This paper is a reflection on the development and implementation of a diagnostic test to a cohort of Grade 10, 11 and 12 learners.  The authors aim to discuss the guiding principles informing the selection of items and to show the extent to which the items were able to test  learners’ content knowledge as well as their proficiency in using mathematics to perform routine and complex operations and solve problems which required higher-order thinking skills.  Some comment on the framework for analysis is also made.
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SOME SUMS
Sue Southwood
VULA Mathematics Project, Hilton College

This entertaining presentation demonstrates how formulae for the sums of the terms of five sequences can be derived using pictures. The first three sums are those of consecutive natural numbers, the squares of consecutive natural numbers and the cubes of consecutive natural numbers. i.e. 1 + 2 + 3 + .  .  .  and  1² + 2² + 3² + .  .  .  and
1³ + 2³ + 3³ + .  .  .  The 4^th sum is that of the odd numbers and the 5^th could easily be found in a matriculation paper. The question that is asked throughout the presentation is "Is this a proper proof or is it just a pretty picture?"
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Mathematical Literacy: Terminator or Perpetuator of MathematicAL Anxiety?
Nelis Vermeulen
Faculty of Education and Social Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Until 2005 South African learners with mathematical anxiety could avoid mathematical studies in grades 10 to 12. From 2006, however, they are required to take either Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy. It is reasonable to expect that a percentage of learners in any Mathematical Literacy class will be suffering from mathematical anxiety. This paper provides a brief description of mathematical anxiety, its symptoms and possible causes. It also explains why proper teaching and learning of Mathematical Literacy can reduce mathematical anxiety. It then describes a research project that was undertaken during 2006 among Grade 10 learners who took Mathematical Literacy as a subject. During the research, learners’ levels of mathematical anxiety as well as their attitudes towards and beliefs about mathematics were measured at the beginning and the end of 2006, in an attempt to determine whether their exposure to Mathematical Literacy had had any effect on these.

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