Khanya - Maths

Every year there is much excitement on March 14th on this day we celebrate pi day. In 2009 it was no different. Internationally this day is chosen because of the digits of pi (3,14159…..). The 3 indicates the third month (March) and 14 the 14^th day of the month.Each year we have different activities for our learners to make it a day a memorable day. A typical programme for the day consists of

• A short talk by a teacher on the significance of pi as well as a brief history of the development in the calculation of the digits of pi.
• An activity where learners (in groups) measure with string and a ruler the circumference and diameter of everyday circular objects like CD’s, cans, lids, etc. The learners then have to calculate the ratio and the conclusion is reached that this ratio is pi.
• Since 2008 learners made pi-necklaces. Each of the digits 0 to 9 were assigned a different colour bead. The beads were then strung in the order of the digits of pi.
• In the past we ran a competition in which learners were given a week in which to memorise the digits of pi. The three learners who memorise the most digits of pi each receive a small prize like a chocolate or movie tickets. The unbeaten record of 384 digits was set in 2004. The grade 10’s 2008 did very well. First position went to Asiphe Dumbane who recited 225 digits. Qiqa Mavumengwana occupied second position with 218 digits. Nomawethu Ngcukana memorized 23 digits.

Other supplementary pi-day activities were :

• Pie –eating, the best part of pi-day because each learner get to enjoy a real pie.
• a Pi human chain: Digits were printed on coloured paper and handed out to students who had to march around the soccer field in the order of the digits of pi.

Come next year and we will again celebrate the day with news ideas and activities.

All Khanya schools need to be encouraged to start their Matric revision programme as soon as possible. In order to assist the schools in this task, we prepared a programme for learners to complete in their own time. The Revision Progress Chart refers learners to available content in Master Maths and allows learners to plot their progress as well.

The first term concentrates on Grade 11 revision and the learners has 3 weeks to complete the tasks.

The table below shows two different paths of using the resource.

Your comments on the feasibility and use of this chart will be appreciated. A similar document for the other terms will be circulated at a later stage.

Click on the link below to open the full document:
Worksheet in Revision Plan for Matrics

Most of the high schools have computer labs and most of these rooms are equipped with mathematical educational software. Mathematical educational software, without any doubt, can be helpful with the teaching of Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy. Educators are taking learners to the computer lab to explore this software, but without formal teaching are learners just clicking on icons? Without the educator’s support are the learners learning, or just clicking to look busy?  

The question is thus, what type of hardware technology is the best to be used by a Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy educator to teach Mathematics effectively with technology. Is a full lab the best option or is a notebook/laptop with data projector (with or without any other interactive devices) in an educator’s classroom a much better option?

The Khanya project has trained many educators in the use of a freely downloadable program called Geogebra  (http://www.geogebra.org/cms/ ).  Its features can assist educators to teach Algebra, Analytical Geometry, Trigonometry, Vectors, Graphs and so forth.   The integration of this software tool into an educator’s bag of tools can greatly enhance teaching and learning in the classroom.  If this is what we believe, have we seen positive evidence of its use? In fact, has the world seen what South Africans can produce?

People around the world have collaborated on a number of projects even if they are not in the same location. Educators have different perspectives on how to teach a particular topic in their unique environment. A challenge is to get collaboration between various stakeholders and to share invaluable information on new and exciting topics in Mathematics.  

An example of a new topic in South Africa is Transformations.  Khanya facilitators have developed some examples on Transformations using Geogebra and are sharing them in workshops.  In this way they have allowed the educators to dip their toes in the Geogebra ocean. How can coordinators, facilitators and educators drive an initiative to spread the use of this important tool from their small corner to the rest of their own educational districts and indeed the rest of South Africa? What ingenuity or innovation can come from using this tool? Which stories or activities about the use of Geogebra can you share?

As you prepare to share with the rest of Africa and the world, please visit http://math247.pbwiki.com/GeoGebra . 

In today’s era, the use of technology simplifies our lives to such an extent that we sometimes forget how to cope without these luxuries. The use of appropriate software can for example draw an angle of 90˚ with the minimum of effort and without the use of special tools or instruments.

Most of our learners do not have access to computers outside the school environment. How can we assist these learners with thinking outside of the box, or in this case, outside of the CPU? Can your learners complete the task of rotating a point with coordinates (2; 5), 90˚anticlockwise around the origin without the use of technology or instruments?

Your contribution and ideas will assist learners not only to complete their homework during the electricity load-shedding period but also contribute towards the conceptualization when applying technology to the same situation.