Image: Brett Jordan on UnsplashHigh school learners’ concentration levels are waning, and teachers have to compete with social media-hungry students who struggle to retain information.
This is in part what the LEDIMTALI (Local Evidence-Driven Improvement of Mathematics Teaching and Learning Initiative) project at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) is addressing with a select group of Mathematics teachers in the Western Cape. Led by Prof Cyril Julie, a Teachers Conference took place earlier this year and has now published its proceedings. Prof Julie is also the SA Research and Development Chair in Mathematics Education at the School of Science and Mathematics Education in the Education Faculty at UWC. A recent study showed the importance of spiral revision in High School Mathematics teaching and learning.
Dr Benita Nel is a senior lecturer at UWC, a Mathematics Education expert, and Director of the Science Learning Centre for Africa. She assisted with editing and compiling the conference proceedings and said: “The big challenge with mathematics is that concepts build on each other. So one of the big problems in mathematics is that learners struggle because they ‘forget’ what was previously covered in class. So you need to revise what they have previously done on a regular basis.”
The reality is that this is exacerbated by teenagers' waning attention spans and increased screen time.
“Spiral revision is when you revise work at different intervals so that learners' prior knowledge of other topics is then strengthened. LEDIMTALI’s approach is to address learners' ‘forget syndrome’ by giving learners regular intervals of revision. Whether it's every second day or weekly, and for five or ten minutes before teachers begin their next lesson, it's a recommended teaching practice.”
Image: Antoine Dautry on UnsplashIn the conference proceedings, Prof Julie acknowledged that every school and every Mathematics classroom has its unique set of challenges. But he hopes that the LEDIMTALI conference will be a starting point for both teacher and learner success.
“Despite challenges like limited time for collaboration and the lack of structured learning forums, LEDIMTALI aims to break down professional isolation by sharing these proceedings with a broader audience, recognising teachers’ autonomy, and elevating their voices in the conversation about teaching and learning,” said Prof Julie.
This was the second conference proceedings outcomes that have been published since the inaugural publication in 2019. All the LEDIMTALI resources are available HERE.
