The work schedule was one of the documents that teachers used to select context for their classes. The topics that were listed could be classified as more content-led or more context-led and located respectively at the more mathematical extreme or the more situational extreme in terms of their orientation using the description given by Julie (2006) of the two positions. Examples of these are given below. I then list the topics in the work schedule:
Mathematical topics:
Fractions, decimals, conversions, perimeter, area and volume, straight line, Simultaneous equations ratio and proportions, simple interest and compound interest, distance, speed and time etc.
Situation topics:
Only three topics are mathematical literacy oriented; Loans, entrepreneurship
and currencies.
From this classification, it seems that in the work schedule there is a significant number of topics that are mathematical in nature and a small number which are situational. The mathematical topics are expressed in a more mathematical way and there is no blending of context within them. The situational topics are more life related and context oriented i.e. loans and entrepreneurship. The same Mathematical topics appear in the NCS policy document, which simply implied that the work schedule was designed following the same structure as that of the NCS policy document.
Under content and context, there is again more content based information than context based i.e.
content listed; distributive law, point by point plotting of data, from
equation to graphs, perimeter and area of polygons and circles, volume of right prisms, theory of Pythagoras etc.
Context listed; buying property, cell phones, substance abuse in the
school, water conservation,
Within each context/content there are examples of context that the teacher could use which relate to everyday life situations i.e. (the circled section in the extract from the 2009 district work schedule)
Under context/ content there is a combination of content and context, where they provide the content that has to be learnt and the context that can be used i.e.
- compound bar graphs[content] to show the abuse of different substances [context], pie chart [content] to show the relative proportions of learners who have flu [context], use grid maps [content] in order to determine locations and plan trips [context]
Again, in content/context column, there is a significant amount of content as compared to context. In some instances there seems to be a same amount of emphasis on content and contexts.
But when looking across the topic and the context/content columns there seemed to be a contradiction in some of the situational topics i.e. within the currencies topic the context is cell phones billing, contract vs prepaid. There seems to be no correlation between „cell phone billing‟ and „currency‟ (unless you are looking at roaming charges). Maybe when looking at „credit card‟, there could be some association if one is buying from another country using the credit card. Furthermore, there is an inclusion of entrepreneurship, but no content or context provided. One could assume that the planner wanted to include some contextualized topic to ensure that this document was in line with the Maths Lit goals. In some topics there was a correlation between the topic and the contexts i.e. loans. Meanwhile in the more mathematical topics there is no context
included, only content to be taught. In such instances the word context is just included for the sake of compliance, but not of implementation.
The Learning Outcomes and Assessment Standards are presented in numerical manner, not in words i.e. 10.2.3, 10.1.1., without explanation of what each number represents. This representation of Learning Outcomes has an assumption that teachers have access to the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) document for Maths Literacy to refer to the Learning Outcomes being addressed.
A further breakdown was undertaken focused on the split across LO s to see if there is any integration across them. This is useful as it will indicate if the planner and the teachers are implementing the Maths Lit goals. Moreover, where there is integration there are opportunities for authentic contextualization. The topics and context/content seem to be arranged according to the Learning Outcomes. The first 2 terms work‟ start with LO1 followed by LO2 then LO3, LO4 is not included. The table below indicates the sequence that is depicted in the work schedule in relation to the Learning outcomes and the topics covered each term:
number of topics which address each Learning Outcome Term Number of
topics per term
LO1 LO2 LO3 LO 4
1 10 7 2 1 0
2 8 0 6 2 0
3 5 0 0 1 4
4
From the table there is evidence that the work is arranged according to Learning Outcomes, as one can see that in term one (7 out of 10) of the work focus on LO1, in term two (6 out of 8) of the work is based on LO 2 and in term three (4out of 5) of the work is based on LO 4, in term 4 according to the work schedule is time for revision, where learners revise work from all Learning outcomes.
Within the work schedule this structuring according to LOs means that there is no evidence of integration of Learning Outcomes within the work that is done, meaning that in term 1 the first seven topics that are covered are based on LO1, and the eight and the 10th topic, is based on LO 2. According to Steen (2001), the
learning program or the works schedule should focus on mathematics in context, where the context provides meaning and the problem solving strategies, mathematical tools and the Learning Outcomes all should depend on the specific context. Therefore, each topic or context will consist of at least two of 3 or 4 Learning Outcomes integrated to create a meaningful learning.
The work schedule was used by three of the four teachers (T1, 2 and 4). Teacher 3 was also provided with the same work schedule but the school had created its own work schedule based on the prescribed textbook for the learners. The work schedule from teacher 3 school had dates similar to the District work schedule, but no Learning Outcomes listed or stated. In his case there were contextualized headings such as: food on budget, travel and tourism, managing money, world measurement, shape of the world, Lets take a chance etc. These headings are
similar to those in the Classroom Mathematical literacy grade 10, which is a prescribed book in this particular school. In referring to the book, I discovered that these headings were the same as the units in the Classroom Mathematical Literacy Grade 10.
The table below indicates the topic-source for tasks sequential by the four teachers:
Teachers T1 T2 T3 T4
Topic-source Work schedule Work schedule Textbook Work schedule
Most of the examples given by the teachers were based on the topics in the work schedule; they indicated content such as fractions, percentages, simple and compound interest and then context such as loans. The tasks selected by the teachers are content led as the work schedule consists of more content led topic. Steen (2001) argues that the expression of Qualitative Literacy (Maths Lit), should consist of topics that serve primarily personal ends and with some serving the goals of a democratic society for examples topic such as „understanding the effects of compound interest‟; „estimating how to split a lunch bill three ways‟ etc. These are not the type of topics that appear in the work schedule – where topics tend to veer towards a more traditional mathematical topic orientation.