{"id":26193,"date":"2013-12-09T16:45:35","date_gmt":"2013-12-09T14:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/2013\/12\/local-maths-development-unit-walks-away-with-prestigious-award\/"},"modified":"2013-12-09T16:45:35","modified_gmt":"2013-12-09T14:45:35","slug":"local-maths-development-unit-walks-away-with-prestigious-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/local-maths-development-unit-walks-away-with-prestigious-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Maths Development Unit walks away with prestigious award"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A novel high-tech approach to maths and science education \u2013 which has been boosting pupils\u2019 knowledge and skills in Saturday classes across the province \u2013 won a R40 000 gold award at last week\u2019s prestigious Impumelelo Social Innovations Awards for 2013. The award ceremony took place on 1 December 2013 in Cape Town<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The award-winning Maths and Science Incubator School Programme \u2013 run by Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University\u2019s Govan Mbeki Mathematics Development Unit (GMMDU) \u2013 has been run in urban and rural schools in four districts of the province for the past seven years, reaching more than 2000 learners. They were handpicked for the programme having shown potential in maths and\/or science.<\/p>\n

This year saw the introduction of Android tablets and MXit self-assessment \u2013 as part of a successful one-year pilot study \u2013 to enhance the programme\u2019s curriculum-aligned, video-based content, which acts as a 24\/7 personal tutor for pupils. The constantly-evolving Saturday school programme reached 530 Grade 10 to 12 pupils from 80 previously-disadvantaged schools this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re aiming to use the latest technology to close the gap between teaching and learning, in terms of the expectations of the new Generation Z, which is also called the \u2018Facebook Generation\u2019 or
\nthe \u2018Screen Generation\u2019,\u201d said GMMDU head Prof Werner Olivier, who also holds NMMU<\/a>\u2019s First First Rand Foundation research chair in Mathematics Education.<\/p>\n

The model, which blends different technologies, is not dependent on Internet access or Windows skills and its material is \u201c100% aligned\u201d to the new CAPS curriculum.<\/p>\n

Old exam papers and a glossary of maths and science terms are included on the MXit app, which is open to all learners in the country and not just those attending the incubator schools. \u201cWe\u2019re aiming towards a much bigger support system.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of the pilot, the touch screen tablets were also introduced in Grade 10 classes at schools in urban, rural and deep rural areas throughout the region, where research and development is taking place under the auspices of the FRF chair, and in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education and the Meraka Institute at the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).<\/p>\n

\u201cThis research will continue for the next two years to determine the impact of the model on learner performance,\u201d said Olivier.<\/p>\n

The techno-blended teaching and learning model is also being utilised in accredited skills development programmes for teachers.<\/p>\n

NMMU\u2019s Incubator School programme was one of 25 projects to be recognised by Impumelelo Social Innovations Centre \u2013 and one of three Eastern Cape winners, the other two being the General Motors South Africa Foundation (GMSAF) Walmer Link Affordable Housing and The Hope Factory, an enterprise development organization.<\/p>\n

\"Impumelelo<\/a><\/p>\n

Minister of Science and Technology Derek Hanekom (right) applauds after handing an Impumelelo gold award to Prof Werner Olivier (second from right), head of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University\u2019s Govan Mbeki Mathematics Development Unit and GMMDU\u2019s Communications and Administration Manager Margot Collett (second from left), joined on stage by (from left) University of the Free State Vice-Chancellor Prof Jonathan Jansen and Liberty\u2019s Lynn Husselmann and Maxwell Pirikisi.<\/p>\n

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