Making Maths Engaging and Operational

Mathematics has a chilling effect that discourages most students from pursuing it to higher educational levels.

 In Zimbabwe, it is known to be the business of nerds, drawing a wafer-thin following compared to other disciplines. Mathematics, like Greek, has come to be a synonym for all things beyond the reach of the everyday mind.Many students simply fail to make the grade while others find it hard to conceive how a range of mystifying procedures fit into everyday life or industry.

Sadly, this alienation of students from Mathematics is short-changing the sector of the enormous benefits of the subject.

Mathematics is not a detached discipline but one of the core subjects whose learning outcomes can enhance students' understanding of other disciplines.

Making Maths Engaging and Operational

Most disciplines, including seemingly unrelated ones such as humanities, require logic and precision, skills largely developed through Mathematics.

Zimbabwe in the 21st century faces the challenge of innovation in a technologically revolving world in which Mathematics is required to play a central role.

The challenge is not only selling Mathematics to "right-wired" minds, but to calibrate the subject to the needs of a globalised century where creativity, innovation, critical thinking, communication and synthesis are the buzzwords.

The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is, therefore, bent on improving Mathematics education to make it more operational and socially relevant in light of the challenges.

"Firstly, we have had a declining interest in Mathematics among our learners due to poor teaching, the low numbers of learners continuing with Mathematics at secondary level and beyond and the under-supply of appropriately qualified Mathematics teachers," Primary and Secondary Minister Dr Lazarus Dokora said during a national Mathematics conference.

Faced with these warning signs, the ministry convened the conference in partnership with the World Bank recently to improve the prospects of the discipline in the country. The conference was part of a consultative process towards the drafting of a new curriculum.

The ministry will introduce the curriculum in phases, beginning at the ECD level next, going one level up each subsequent year so that current students are spared the sweeping revolutions of the new curriculum.

Dr Dokora said the ministry was looking to develop a curriculum which raises the interest of students, increases the rigour of learning to fill manpower gaps in the knowledge economy, increases the number of Mathematics graduates and provokes critical thinking and communication skills.

Participants at the national Mathematics conference called out Math phobia, a stagnant curriculum that disappoints both the talented tenth and the non-participating majority and rigid assessments methods that encourage mechanical computation and inadequate teacher training.

Dr Dokora explained that Zimbabwe needs to scale up the third rung in the evolution of Mathematics education.

According to the minister, Mathematics worldwide has been evolving, first from a focus on mathematical procedures to Mathematics as a vehicle for acquiring 21st century skills. Zimbabwe has been largely stuck in the more procedural and sense-making approaches, hence the ministry's move to calibrate the discipline for emerging requirements.

"Increasingly, many complex systems and structures in the modern world can only be understood through Mathematics or mathematical modelling. Much of the design and control of high technology systems depends on mathematical inputs and outputs.

"Mathematics enables us to probe the natural universe and develop new technologies that have helped us control and master our environment. When we master our environment, we can change social expectations and lifestyles."

Minister Dokora spoke to the need to evolve the discipline further.

"However, the state of Mathematics shows that if we continue on the current trajectory, it is possible that we will not have the right amount or the right kind of Mathematics when we need them," he said.

Turning to the problem of stagnation, the minister lamented that most schools are majoring in procedural Mathematics which has proven inadequate to the needs of society. Procedural Mathematics was informed by the conception that if students internalised procedures through practice, understanding would follow.

"However, current learning research tells us that in many cases, understanding never followed, incorrect understanding followed, or, if correct understanding did follow, the learner did not know if it was important or how it related to any other part of Mathematics or daily routines," Minister Dokora said.

Minister Dokora said the new curriculum was meant to correct this problem so that Mathematics was seen to be an organic discipline rather than an isolated set of skills.

Dr Dokora said Mathematics students need a range of content and skills that are more diverse, complex and integrated than what was offered in the previous dispensation. The Primary and Education ministry has also identified teacher capacitation as a key area in improving Mathematics education.

The ministry has tasked Bindura University of Science Education to upgrade the qualifications and skills of Mathematics teachers. It has also been observed that while other teachers have degrees in Mathematics they cannot process knowledge into consumable packages for the levels they will be teaching.

State universities are also offering a post-graduate diploma in education to equip qualified Mathematics teachers with skills to break down knowledge effectively to students.

The question of the day, Dr Dokora said, is: "How best do we prepare our learners for a future of work that does not yet exist, careers that have not yet been created and an economy that prizes creativity and innovation?"

"We need to equip our learners with the soft skills, that is, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity and innovation that will be valuable to them and applicable in a variety of settings when they enter the workforce of the future.

"Fusing a learning area like Mathematics with these skills makes teaching and learning Mathematics more engaging, more relevant and rigorous, ensuring that a great number of learners have an advanced understanding and ability in Mathematics," he said.

"We do not have a single brain to waste. We must demystify Mathematics so that all learners feel the joy that follows understanding," Dr Dokora said.

According to Curriculum Development Unit director Dr Arthur Makanda two of the five pillars guiding the curriculum review process are teacher capacity development and teacher professional standards. Secondary Education director Tomax Doba said the ministry had created a platform for stakeholders in Mathematics education to share experiences and best practices towards the effective teaching and learning of Mathematics.

One of the outcomes of the conference was the identification of relevant ICT tools and media to enhance the teaching of Mathematics under the new curriculum.

Principal Director of Primary and Non-Formal Education Peter Muzavazi said Mathematics was an important area in the ongoing curriculum review process as it is strong in solving problems and unpacking of abstractions, competencies emphasised by the new curriculum.

"Considering that Mathematics is a compulsory subject which also occupies a pivotal role in the post-school career progression of learners, access to affordable and enjoyable quality Mathematics education becomes a right and a must for every child.

"With more than half of the children exiting the school system after writing their Ordinary Level examinations, Mathematics education from primary to secondary levels should therefore help learners to prepare for the challenges they may face further in life," Mr Muzavazi said.

The stage is set for sustained consultation and enhancement of the Mathematics curriculum to make it engaging, inclusive, operational and social.