South Africa’s economic and social transformation demands that we empower the country’s citizenry, particularly the children, with much needed skills and knowledge to flourish in this new world of work, the 21st century environment.
In response to this national call, AIMSSEC continues to deliver much needed knowledge and skills to the mathematics teachers nationwide, with our children being the ultimate beneficiaries of the knowledge and skills imparted to teachers. AIMSSEC’s key objectives are to play a pivotal role in the extension of educational opportunities for disadvantaged communities in South Africa as well as to raise standards by improving the quality of teaching and learning of mathematics at school level.
For this academic year, 2023, two courses are already under way, MCL 3 (Mathematical Communication and Language) and MT4 (Mathematical Thinking) online courses. The MCL3 started on 28 January 2023 and runs till 11 June 2023, whilst the MT4 commences on 4 February 2023 and runs till 4 June 2023.
These ongoing projects cannot be achieved easily without the involvement of AIMSSEC’s stakeholders in education. A BIG thank you goes to the following sponsors:
1. Standard Bank.
Standard Bank is responsible for sponsoring the MCL3 course. They have been with us on a three-year programme, and we look forward to continued partnership with them. We would like to single out the following people for the crucial roles they have been playing in terms of securing funding for our courses, inclusive of the MCL 3 online course:
- Mrs Tshiamo Molanda – Standard Bank: Head, Youth Clients SA
- Mrs Venessa Oger – Human Capital / Youth Development & Employment ? Programme Manager
2. South African Mathematics Foundation (SAMF)
The SAMF is responsible for sponsoring some of the courses we have been running, including the MT4 online course. It is worth mentioning the names of the following people, whose input in acquiring funding was of paramount importance:
- Prof. Kerstin Jordaan – Executive Director of SAMF
- Mrs Ellie Olivier – General Manager of SAMF
- Mr Herman Bosman – Project Manager of SAMF
MCL is a second in a sequence of seven courses to develop subject leaders. It is an online course which is envisaged to run for fifteen weeks. The course pays a lot of attention to mathematical communication and the language of communication during classroom instruction, making sure that language does not become an obstacle in the process of knowledge acquisition by learners. In addition to the Subject-Content Knowledge, all our courses heavily embrace Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) as well as Educational Technology. Seventy-five (75) students were invited to register for the course, 40 Senior Phase (SP) and 35 Further Education and Training (FET) teachers.
The MT4 online course is sponsored by the National Skills Fund (NSF). The course is extended to 80 teachers countrywide, 40 SP and 40 FET teachers. Our main aim is to is to change the teaching style of our teachers, from the traditional “chalk and talk” approach to teaching and learning mathematics in a more learner-centred approach, where the teacher facilitates the learning process and learners actively engage in the discovery of knowledge. A problem-solving approach dominates the acquisition of knowledge by our learners.
Both courses on offer enjoy a high standard of lesson delivery from a team of local and international experts in mathematics education. The international team renders its services as unpaid volunteers, a contribution which AIMSSEC appreciates a lot.
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