Browsing by Author "Frith, Vera"

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    Concerns about the South African Mathematical Literacy curriculum arising from experience of materials development
    (2006) Bowie, Lynn; Frith, Vera
    In this paper we reflect on our experience of developing mathematical literacy material for the Further Education and Training (FET) band in South African schools, adult learners, university students and for participants in a youth development project. We use this experience to highlight some problems and concerns about the South African Mathematical Literacy curriculum for learners in the FET band and offer some cautions and suggestions. In particular we highlight the importance of the educational community in South Africa developing a shared understanding of what Mathematical Literacy is. We discuss the importance of distinguishing between Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy and of clarifying the role of Technology in Mathematical Literacy. We explore the difficulties and importance of a proper understanding of the contexts used to teach Mathematical Literacy and argue that more attention needs to be paid to the integration of Mathematical Literacy with other school subjects. Finally we raise some of the issues that a common final assessment task might have on the learning and teaching of Mathematical Literacy.
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    A framework for understanding the quantitative demands of higher education
    (Unisa Press, 2009) Frith, Vera; Prince, R N
    For many students entering higher education in South Africa there is an articulation gap between the demands of the curriculum and their competencies. This mismatch is particularly critical in the area of quantitative literacy (mathematical literacy, numeracy) and if not addressed, has negative consequences for equity of outcomes for higher education. There is a need to make explicit the quantitative literacy demands of the curriculum so that they can be examined critically and addressed by educational interventions and other curriculum changes. We describe our approach to characterizing the quantitative literacy demands in curricula in disciplines, by presenting a framework for analysing aspects of quantitative literacy events in the curriculum. This is useful for helping educators to recognize the demands on students' quantitative literacy (and assumptions about students' competencies) that are often implicit in their curricula, for the purpose of informing the design of education interventions and for developing test constructs.
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    Mathematical literacy of students entering first year at a South African university
    (University of Cape Town, 2003-06-30) Frith, Vera; Bowie, Lynn; Gray, Kate; Prince, Robert
    The results of a mathematical Literacy questionnaire administered to school-leavers entering the Humanities, Health Sciences and Science Faculties at a South African university in 2002 are reported. The motivation for interest in the Mathematical Literacy of these students and the rationale behind the questionnaire are discussed. Some of the mathematics and contexts that caused the most difficulty are highlighted.
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    Mathematical Literacy of Students in First Year of Medical School at a South African University
    (University of Cape Town, 2004) Prince, Robert; Frith, Vera; Jaftha, Jacob
    The literature pertaining to the definition of Mathematical Literacy (particularly in the Tertiary context) is briefly reviewed. A Mathematical Literacy questionnaire, designed in accordance with this definition, was administered to students entering the MBChB Program at a South African university in 2003. In general the level of Mathematical Literacy of Medical students is higher than that of entry-level Humanities students, and comparable with that of Science students doing Earth or Biological sciences. The response to the results of this testing, in terms of curriculum interventions in the first year of MBChB, are outlined and their degree of success is evaluated. The post-testing of the MBChB students indicated a statistically significant increase in the Mathematical Literacy of these students.
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    Proportional reasoning as a threshold to numeracy at university: a framework for analysis
    (AOSIS, 2013) Lloyd, Pam; Frith, Vera
    There is a generally acknowledged need for students to be quantitatively literate in an increasingly quantitative world. This includes the ability to reason critically about data in context. We have noted that students experience difficulty with the application of certain mathematical and statistical concepts, which in turn impedes progress in the development of students' critical reasoning ability. One such concept, which has the characteristics of a threshold concept, is that of proportional reasoning. The main focus of this article is a description of the development of a framework using an adapted phenomenographic approach that can be used to describe students' experiences in the acquisition of the concept of comparing quantities in relative terms. The framework has also helped to make explicit the elements that constitute a full understanding of the requirements for the proportional comparison of quantities. Preliminary results from using the framework to analyse students' responses to assessment questions showed that many students were challenged by proportional reasoning. When considering the notion of the liminal space that is occupied en route to a full understanding of a threshold concept, about half of the students in the study were at the preliminal stage of understanding the concept and very few were at the threshold.
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    A quantitative literacy course for humanities and law students: the challenges of a context-based curriculum
    (University of the Free State, 2012) Frith, Vera
    This article examines some aspects of the effectiveness of a first-year course in quantitative literacy for Humanities and Law students at a South African university. This intervention is necessary to assist students in developing the appropriate quantitative competencies because there is an articulation gap between the quantitative literacy of many first-year students and the demands of their curriculum in this regard. Interventions of this kind should be integrated into the disciplinary curriculum to as great an extent as possible, primarily because quantitative literacy is a practice embedded in the disciplinary practices. Tensions involved in attempting this integration limit the course's effectiveness and are to a large extent due to the conflicting demands on students of both the disciplinary discourses and the mathematical and statistical content. The intervention could be enhanced by being more explicit in clarifying the distinctions between the disciplinary contexts and the mathematical and statistical content, as well as by making more explicit the expectations in terms of student learning and performance in assessments.
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    Quantitative Literacy for University students in South Africa
    (2016) Lloyd, Pam; Frith, Vera; Jaftha, Jacob; Rughubar-Reddy, Sheena; Le Roux, Kate
    These activities and exercises are most appropriate for Humanities and Law students, but the contexts used should be of interest to any citizen. The mathematical content covered does not include data analysis, statistics and probability. Understanding these topics is essential for quantitative literacy, but are not included here. Thus these materials do not provide the basis of a complete quantitative literacy course, but cover the work of approximately one semester in a first year programme.
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    Quantitative literacy interventions at University of Cape Town: effects of seperation from academic disciplines
    (University of South Florida, 2012) Frith, Vera
    The aim of the Numeracy Centre at the University of Cape Town is to develop students' quantitative literacy (QL) in a manner consistent with their programmes of study and intended roles in the community. Our theoretical perspective on the nature of QL is in line with that of the New Literacies Studies and sees academic QL as practices in different academic disciplinary contexts. This means that for us the ideal curriculum structure for developing QL would fully integrate it into the teaching of the disciplines. This is in practice not achievable in most cases, especially since many students do not have the necessary foundations of mathematical and statistical knowledge and skills. The unavoidable deviation from the ideal curriculum structure presents challenges to the design of QL interventions. Two illustrative examples which display different degrees of separation from the disciplinary teaching are described and discussed. This discussion is based on lecturers' reflections on the teaching experience and on student evaluations. The 'stand-alone' QL course for Humanities and Law students, which uses a context-based approach, is the least integrated with the disciplinary curriculum, and presents challenges in terms of tensions in the classroom between the contexts and the mathematical and statistical content, as well as challenges in terms of student motivation. The QL intervention for medical students is more closely integrated into the medical curriculum and presents fewer challenges. Both interventions are intended to provide 'foundations' in terms of QL and suffer from difficulties in providing students with authentic motivation.
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    Quantitative literacy of school leavers aspiring to higher education in South Africa
    (South African Journal of Higher Education, 2016) Prince, Robert; Frith, Vera
    It is important for higher education educators to understand the quantitative literacy (QL) competencies of incoming students, in order to make appropriate assumptions about prior knowledge and to design suitable curricula. In this article we analyse the results of a National Benchmark Tests project’s (NBTP) QL test written by a large cohort of prospective applicants to higher education, in order to contribute to this understanding. A large proportion of these candidates were unable to cope with quantitative literacy demands of the kinds commonly encountered in higher education. More than half of candidates need some kind of supplementary QL support and at least 30 per cent require extensive support. Candidates’ performance on subgroups of the QL test items and on individual items provides further insights into particular strengths and weaknesses. The results highlight that opportunities for the development of QL competencies should be found and these should be integrated into disciplinary teaching.
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    The quantitative literacy of South African school-leavers who qualify for higher education
    (Pythagoras, 2017-10-31) Prince, Robert
    There is an articulation gap for many students between the literacy practices developed at school and those demanded by higher education. While the school sector is often well attuned to the school-leaving assessments, it may not be as aware of the implicit quantitative literacy (QL) demands placed on students in higher education. The National Benchmark Test (NBT) in QL provides diagnostic information to inform teaching and learning. The performance of a large sample of school-leavers who wrote the NBT QL test was investigated (1) to demonstrate how school-leavers performed on this QL test, (2) to explore the relationship between performance on this test and on cognate school-leaving subjects and (3) to provide school teachers and curriculum advisors with a sense of the QL demands made on their students. Descriptive statistics were used to describe performance and linear regression to explore the relationships between performance in the NBT QL test and on the school subjects Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy. Only 13% of the NBT QL scores in the sample were classified as proficient and the majority of school-leavers would need support to cope with the QL demands of higher education. The results in neither Mathematics nor Mathematical Literacy were good predictors of performance on the NBT QL test. Examination of performance on selected individual items revealed that many students have difficulty with quantitative language and with interpreting data in tables. Given that QL is bound to context, it is important that teachers develop QL practices within their disciplinary contexts.
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    Quantitative literacy provision in the first year of medical studies
    (Taylor & Francis, 2011) Frith, Vera
    This article presents a description of and motivation for the quantitative literacy (numeracy) intervention in the first year of medical studies at a South African university. This intervention is a response to the articulation gap between the quantitative literacy of many first-year medical students and the demands of their curriculum. Interventions of this kind should be integrated into the medical curriculum, primarily because quantitative literacy is a practice which is embedded in the disciplinary practices. Tensions involved in attempting this integration are largely due to structural conditions and other curricular factors. Results of evaluation of its effectiveness show that the intervention is seen as useful by the students and that the workshops provided are effective in improving students' performance in assessments. The intervention should be enhanced by including aspects that address students' spatial abilities and reading and writing competencies. Extension of quantitative literacy provision beyond first year is also desirable.
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    Reflections on the role of a research task for teacher education in data handling in a Mathematical Literacy education course
    (Pythagoras, 2006) Frith, Vera; Prince, Robert
    The introduction of the subject “Mathematical Literacy” in the Further Education and Training band from 2006 has created an urgent need for large numbers of teachers to be educated about the nature of mathematical literacy and to become effective teachers of it. In this paper we report on an attempt to contribute to this goal through a curriculum component in an “Advanced Certificate in Education” course. This curriculum component on data handling was structured around a research task which required the teachers on the course to practise mathematical literacy in a context where there is close linkage with other vital competencies, such as verbal reasoning, writing and computer literacy. This approach articulates well with the kind of teaching envisaged by the curriculum statement for “Mathematical Literacy”. We report on an initial analysis of the teachers’ reflections on their experience of the curriculum-embedded research task on this course, the manner in which this task contributed to their understanding of mathematical literacy as a practice and themselves as practitioners.
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    Towards understanding the quantitative literacy demands of a first-year medical curriculum
    (Health & Medical Publishing Group, 2011) Frith, Vera; Gunston, Geney
    Setting. When designing a medical curriculum, assumptions that are made about students' quantitative literacy (QL) competencies often lead to demands that students are unable to meet. In order to improve the match between the literacy demands of the curriculum and the literacy competencies of students, the demands need to be examined critically and the assumptions made explicit. Curriculum changes that reduce the articulation gap between demands and competencies are particularly important for broadening access and promoting success, in tertiary study, for students with disadvantaged educational backgrounds. Objectives. The objectives of this study are to survey the QL implicitly and explicitly contained in a course curriculum, in a manner that could be useful for the following purposes: raising awareness in health science lecturers of the nature and extent of the QL demands of their course materials, developing the theory relating to best practice for QL development in health sciences and informing the design of QL interventions. Method. We focus on the analysis of the QL competencies required of a student engaging with text-based learning materials in the curriculum of a first-year integrated human biology/epidemiology/biochemistry course. For the analysis we use a framework, which classifies quantitative material according to a mathematical and statistical dimension and a competencies dimension. Results and conclusions. A range of examples is presented which illustrate that the implicit QL demands of this first-year course curriculum are substantial and varied.