Lecturers: Dr SS Rajah

Email: RajahS@ukzn.ac.za
Office: G323

Textbook: Teaching Mathematics

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Foundation to Senior Phase
Edited by K. Luneta et.al
 Educare
To mould or shape
• What we know – history and heritage, knowledge
• Cosmology – beliefs of where we come from, who
we are, what is our purpose
• Axiology - What we value and desire in and from a
person
• Subjective/objective, teacher centred
The art of teaching – Balance of educare and educere.
What do you think is the purpose of education?
Teachers show you the door, you must walk through
Educere
To lead out or bring to the fore what is latent within
• What we don’t know- possibility, new knowledge
• Cosmology – Understanding of what is real and
what is not real, permanent/constant or changing
• Axiology – Life in harmony with the laws of Nature
• Transcendent, Universal, learner centred
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 Ubuntu and communalism
• Greeting with friendliness – no person is a stranger- we are one
community
• Values/attributes – Respectful, caring, generous, empathetic,
dutiful, honest, diligent, do what’s expected of you, peaceful
• Listen/silent, punctual, disciplined
• Personal care- Well groomed, responsible for good health and vitality
• Self – respect, self confidence
• Mathematical values - Precise, truthful, seek justice, integrity
Ubuntu – “Umuntu, Ngumuntu, Ngabantu.” 3
 Teachers Influence Neurotransmitters
The right classroom environment makes a big difference to the
levels of neurotransmitters. Teachers can increase their
students’ levels of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine
and decrease cortisol through several strategies, including:
BRAIN Praising effort
NEUROTRANSMITTERS Keeping peace socially
THAT INCREASE MATH Letting students move, stretch, and exercise periodically
PERFORMANCE (dopamine, Presenting new and engaging material
serotonin, and Laughing and having a good time
norepinephrine ) Cooperative learning
Constructive Feedback

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 EFFECTIVE
MATHEMATICS TEACHERS
• Spend most time on concept formation – start from the basics
• Help students with effect strategies to learn the concepts – eg CPA
• They are enthusiastic about Mathematics, do not reinforce the attitude that
Mathematics is difficult – say it needs practice, focus
• Make Math fun and a joy to learn- teach Math tricks eg 11x table
• Do not encourage rote learning – develop depth of concepts
• Help with mneumonics, songs Eg 2 D shapes
• Identify conceptual and procedural errors and suggest remedies
• Help with short cuts to do calculations
• Take responsibility for how learners perceive mathematics – easy or difficult
• Looks always for opportunities to integrate values
• Focus constantly on slow learners to guide their lesson
MOST IMPORTANT, LEAST UNDERSTOOD,
MOST FEARED, MOST USED
Beauty- outside / inside
Golden Ratio, Fibonacci
sequence 7
Fractals and algorithms
 • Counting
• Locating
• Measuring
• Designing
• Playing
• Explaining

.. Is A way of
knowing” – Bishop
“Engineering is a 8

way of doing.”
According to Bishop the six fundamental human mathematical activities are:
• Counting – the use of a systematic way to compare and order discrete phenomema. May
involve tallying, using objects or string or special number words or names
• Locating – exploring one’s spatial environment and conceptualizing and symbolizing that
environment using models, diagrams, drawings, words or other means
• Measuring – quantifying qualities for the purpose of comparison and ordering using objects
or tokens as measuring devices with associated units or measurement words
• Designing – creating a shape or a design for an object or for any part of one’s spatial
environment. It may involve making the object as a mental template or symbolizing it
according to some convention
• Playing – devising and engaging in games and pastimes with more or less formalized rules of
play that all players abide by
• Explaining – finding ways to account for the existence of phenomena, be they religious,
animistic or scientific
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The answer to this is in the realm of Philosophy –
fundamental nature of mathematics. This will guide
how we approach understanding Mathematics, how we
learn and how we teach.

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ABSOLUTIST
• Of the view that mathematics is out there to
be discovered through reason and self-
evident truths.
• Some known absolutists are Plato,
Pythagoras and Descartes.
• Mathematics is out there as knowledge to
be discovered.
• Eg.understanding or knowledge that the
shortest distance between two points is a
straight line.
• This is also referred to as the “external
view”. From this view, mathematics is out
there as an unchanging body of knowledge
(absolute) consisting of concepts, facts,
principles, rules and skills that exists
independently of how we obtain the
knowledge.
EPISTEMOLOGY – STUDY OF THE NATURE OF KNOWLEDGE, SCOPE, JUSTIFICATION
ABOUT TRUTH, BELIEF, JUSTIFICATION
Two dominant schools of thought:
CONSTRUCTIVIST
• Of the view that mathematics does not exist out
there, but is knowledge that is constructed
through our human experience.
• Known constructivists are Aristotle, Bishop,
Ernest, Presmeg, Piaget, Vygotsky, Bruner
• Mathematics knowledge is constructed through a
process of learning.
• Mathematical knowledge is only obtained
through experimentation, observation and
abstraction.
• This is referred to an the “internal view”. From
this view ideas, concepts, principles, rules and
skills are developed and constructed over time
with human involvement in creating the body of
knowledge. The knowledge is therefore
dependent on our human involvement and what
we bring to the process of creating knowledge.
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How you understand the nature of mathematics will affect your
approach to teaching and learning of the subject.
Describe the differences between teachers from these opposing
views in terms of teaching style, attitude, expectations of learners
Tabulate 3 main differences.
EXTERNAL VIEW/ABSOLUTIST INTERNAL VIEW/CONSTRUCTIVIST
1.
2.
3.

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…that the Lebombo bone is the oldest known Mathematical
artefact? . It dates from 35000 BC and consists of 29 distinct
notches that were deliberately cut into a baboon's fibula. It was
discovered within a cave in the Lebombo mountains of Swaziland.

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HOW IMPORTANT
IS THE
ABILITY TO
RECOGNISE PATTERNS?

OUR LFET BAIRN FNIDS PTTARENS WHLIE OUR RGHIT BAIRN FNIDS
MAENNIG
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GEM OF
WISDOM At a fundamental level activities that may be classed
as mathematical have something to do with the human
ability to recognise patterns which is closely related to
the ability to match or recognise similarities and
differences. Did you know that each time our brains
figure out a pattern a new neural connection or
pathway is grown? These paths are always available
when we then try to solve problems that have the
same kind of pattern or similar patterns.

LEARNING MATHEMATICS IS SIMILAR TO

LEARNING A LANGUAGE – THE MORE YOU 15

PRACTICE THE BETTER YOU GET!

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HOW WOULD YOU
WRITE THE NUMBER
1235 ? NOW SUBTRACT
8 HOBBLES AND 2
LINES ? HOW WOULD
YOU WRITE THE
DIFFERENCE?

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ADD A FOOTER 18
 PROBLEM

You have eight coins and a balance scale. The coins look alike, but one of them
is a counterfeit. The counterfeit coin is lighter than the others. You may only use
the balance scale two times. How can you find the counterfeit coin?
Teacher: CONSTRUCTIVIST: It is important for teachers to help
children to learn “how” to do mathematical calculations, but more
importantly help children to understand why it is done that way and
let children build their own understanding of how the calculations
are done.
Society: GLOBALISATION - INDUSTRIALIZATION, SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY, CLIMATE CHANGE, INFORMATION AGE, 4TH
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
Learner: In this technology age, learners have to sharpen their ability
to read, analyse and interpret information that is presented
mathematically.
Bishop, Watson 20
In a mathematics classroom situation, or in mathematics teaching and
learning practice, there are affordances and constraints.
• Affordances are resources (physical resources, materials, notebooks,
manipulatives etc), characteristics (qualifications, background
experience etc), qualities (attitudes, values, behaviours- empathy,
patience, passion and love for teaching/subject, etc)…of a system that
can support interaction and participation
• Constraints are unhelpful regulations (prescribed policies, guidelines
etc), contexts(unfamiliar, difficult to imagine) or resources in a practice
that limit the teaching of mathematics.
Teachers’ mathematics content knowledge, pedagogical practices and
how they intuit/understand the knowledge of their learners in teaching
and learning situations are the sources of affordances and constraints.
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Three types of knowledge required to become a proficient and skilled Mathematics teacher.
• Teachers require a knowledge of how content may be best repesented to engage and support
learners to develop conceptual and procedural understanding.
This is PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE (PCK).
• KNOWLEDGE OF LEARNERS AND LEARNING THEORY - Diversity(social context),
understanding of learners development stage and their abilities, individual learning barriers,
gifted learners
• COMMON CONTENT KNOWLEDGE – Common content knowledge(CCK ) OR SIMPLY CONTENT
KNOWLEDGE (CK- Essential
Numbers, operations and relationships
Patterns, functions and algebra
Space and shape(geometry)
Measurement and
Data handling
*Coding/programming
ALL THREE MATHEMATICS KNOWLEDGE FOR TEACHING (MKT). 22
PEDAGOGY – Knowledge and principles of teaching and learning, the art and
profession of teaching or instructional strategies or a style of instruction
Research on T&L has helped us to understand that
• Learning Mathematics is a constructive process…pupils gather, discover,
create mathematics knowledge and skills mainly in the course of some social
activity that has a purpose
• Instead of being the main source of information, the teacher becomes the
privileged member of the knowledge building community of the class.
• Teachers create an intellectually stimulating climate, models learning and
problem solving activities, asks provocative questions and fosters learners
responsibility for their own learning
(Bishop et. al, 1996) International Handbook on Mathematics Education
ADD A FOOTER 23
Emphasize
• Interaction
• Collaboration
• Investigations and open ended questions
• Games and challenging problems
• Mental computation
• Discovery Learning
• Brain storming
No more of mindless drills and endless practice – need to scaffold learning with examples that are
correctly contextualised, place based.
Physical arrangement of class has changed – group work
Building learners confidence and sense of agency – not a deficient model of the child
Concepts need to be experienced, strategies need to be scaffolded

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• Teachers have to be sensitive to learners social backgrounds.
Meeting learners where they are most comfortable in terms of
language, and choice of examples.
• Sagor and Cox (2004) identified 5 essential feelings that are
crucial to a young person’s well being and success at school.
1. The need to feel competent
2. The need to feel they belong
3. The need to feel useful
4. The need to feel potent
5. The need to feel optimistic
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• Development theory : Eg. Piaget’s theory of child development.
Piaget’s Four stages of cognitive development
Sensorimotor(0-2), Preoperational(2-7), concrete operational(7-11),
formal operational(11-adult)
• Learning theory: Eg. Bruner’s Enactive, Symbolic and Abstract
stages . This is related to the Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract
model for teaching/learning Mathematics

ADD A FOOTER 26
Grade 6 Mathematics teacher
“Oh no, thought Mrs Magwaza, tomorrow I am teaching my grade 6’s
mixed fractions! They always find it so hard to understand. I expect that
they will not understand it just as they do every year. Why do we need to
teach this in grade 6, they are just not able to cope with it!”
At class the next day, Mrs Magwaza starts her lesson by saying “ Today we
are going to do a section that is hard to understand. She then starts
working through the section in the workbook, showing learners an
example and then making sure that they complete the exercises in the
book with the correct answers, showing them on the board. She then
gives them an activity and asks them to complete it. She begins marking
their activities and exclaims, “As I expected! They just cannot understand
fractions! They are even getting the simple exercises wrong!”
ADD A FOOTER 27
• What observations can you make about the professional practice
of Mrs Magwaza in terms of affordances – present or lacking
• What advice will you give her?

ADD A FOOTER 28
Discover The Art of
Teaching
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Read DBE website
Moodle Notes
• What is mathematics?
• Mathematics is a language that makes use of symbols and notations for describing numerical, geometric and graphical
relationships. It is a human activity that involves observing, representing and investigating patterns and qualitative relationships
in physical and social phenomena and between mathematical objects themselves. It helps to develop mental processes that
enhance logical and critical thinking, accuracy and problem-solving that will contribute to decision-making.
• Specific aims
• The teaching and learning of Mathematics aims to develop the following in the learner:
• • critical awareness of how mathematical relationships are used in social, environmental, cultural and economic relations;
• confidence and competence to deal with any mathematical situation without being hindered by a fear of Mathematics;
• a spirit of curiosity and a love of Mathematics;
• appreciation for the beauty and elegance of Mathematics;
• recognition that Mathematics is a creative part of human activity;
• deep conceptual understanding in order to make sense of Mathematics; and
• acquisition of specific knowledge and skills necessary for: - the application of Mathematics to physical, social and
mathematical problems,; - the study of related subject matter (e.g. other subjects); and - further study in Mathematics.
• Specific sKills
• To develop essential mathematical skills the learner should:
• • develop the correct use of the language of Mathematics;
• develop number vocabulary, number concept and calculation and application skills;
• learn to listen, communicate, think, reason logically and apply the mathematical knowledge gained;
• learn to investigate, analyse, represent and interpret information; learn to pose and solve problems; and
• build an awareness of the important role that Mathematics plays in real-life situations, including the personal development of
the learner. 30
• https://www.education.gov.za/
• https://www.education.gov.za/Curriculum/CurriculumAssessmentPolicyStatements(CAPS)/CAPSFoundation.aspx
CAPS documents for Mathematics- FP and IP – Read online.
Consider this statement “ According to the South African Dept of
Education, Mathematics is an essential subject in education for the
21st century.”
Based on what the CAPS document says about
• What is Mathematics
• What are the specific aims of teaching Mathematics
• What are the essential mathematical skills a learner should
develop
Write a +/- 300 word essay on the DBE’s view.
ADD A FOOTER 31
• A deep understanding of mathematics is necessary for responsible citizenship in a globalising
world
• School mathematics is changing in response to research about the nature of children’s
learning of mathematics
• Digital technologies are changing how we learn and teach. The need to understand
computers and IT means that learners have to have a deep understanding of numbers,
special and quantitative information.
• Knowledge of how mathematics is learnt has increased. While there is place for perceptual
learning- numbers, names and symbols, most learning in mathematics involves conceptual
understanding, and must build on multiple representations, supported by collaborative
discussion, rich and challenging tasks and personal success.

NO MORE SAGE ON THE STAGE!

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WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD!
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