More transparency in maths classes key to performance

2014-10-26 | MGLI | Johannesburg

South African and international news agencies have always had a field day whenever maths and science rankings are published. Whether the rankings are objective or not, there is a dire need to address maths and science challenges in the country.  It is the opinion of many that the lack of accountability in maths education has immensely contributed to the dismal performance in maths and science. Some quarters of society have cited the teacher unions as being culprits through their over-protection of teachers thus buffering mediocre teachers from being flushed out of the system.

Maths classroom activities should be designed to contribute to the growth and sustainability of a knowledge economy that is self-sufficient. For this to be achieved, the maths class requires an overhaul to allow optimal knowledge transfer and meaningful feedback among all stakeholders who range from teachers, learners, government, donors and other education supporters.

Maths classes should, like any other company or organisation have measurable impact. Currently there are no formalised and tangible metrics to measure return on investment for those who are pouring in resources and support to maths education. Teachers and their respective schools have to be held more accountable for the management of maths schooling resources.

Quality control of lessons has to be drastically improved to ensure that we do not short change our learners through sub-standard maths lessons. Teachers who do not meet the grade should be eliminated from the system and marking examinations should only be done by qualified and able teachers as this has seen poor marking standards in the past.

It is important that the following high-level metrics be used to measure maths class efficiency:

1. Subject Knowledge: Every maths teacher ought to know the subject intimately so as to be able to add value to learners’ knowledge base. Learners’ fluency of mathematical skills has to be measured.
2. Communication and Motivational Skills: Each teacher ought to be able to communicate clearly to learners to ensure knowledge transfer using the most effective mode of communication in the context. Communication is not limited to verbal but includes non-verbal. Learners ought to communicate back to the teacher and amongst themselves clearly as dictated by curriculum requirements and beyond.
3. Utility Value and Application: Each maths lesson has to bring out the utility value of the topic in real life so as to bring meaning and better appreciation of concepts. This guarantees maximum engagement from the learners.

Every maths lesson ought to have impact on learners, teachers and the community by contributing to the attractiveness and image of mathematics so as to improve:

• Public awareness of the benefits of mathematics.
• Perception towards mathematics.
• Performance in mathematics.

Let us all work together to empower our people by fully capacitating them to be self-reliant individuals who are solution oriented. Mathematics is one of the major drivers of critical and creative thinkers that can face any problem. Mathematical thinking excellence is a pre-requisite to be a knowledge society. This is the only way we can move forward in our quest for true liberty.