Reaching out far and wide
AMESA attendees revelled in the positive energy of networking with international professors, local experts and fellow maths colleagues from South Africa and abroad.
Four Uplands Outreach staff members and more than 60 partner educators recently participated in the annual national Association for Mathematics Education of South Africa (AMESA) mathematics conference. There were 132 attendees from Mpumalanga and more than 1 790 in total.
The conference was held in the first week of July at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and saw foundation phase teacher Adam Nkambule present on the topic “How to assess conceptual understanding of addition and subtraction in grade three” – a remarkable achievement for an event of this magnitude.
AMESA attendees revelled in the positive energy of networking with international professors, local experts and fellow maths colleagues from South Africa and abroad.
“If it were not for Uplands Outreach, the donors, and our partner school principals, none of this would have happened,” said Boy-boy Ndhlovu from Uplands Outreach afterwards. “The sharing and exploring of ideas, the time together and the exposure to cutting-edge research and expertise in mathematics were very rewarding and gave a sense that we belong to a much bigger vision.”
The deputy principal of Sifunindlela Primary School expressed gratitude for what Uplands Outreach did for everybody and thanked them for the assistance, and an intermediate phase maths teacher of Nyalungu Primary School also lauded Uplands Outreach for making it possible for them to attend the conference. “If it were not for Uplands Outreach assisting us with transport and AMESA membership fees, we would not have made it. We attended different parallel sessions presented by different maths professors. We were taught strategies that will benefit our learners. We learned a lot from them!”
For many local attendees it was a first visit to KwaZulu-Natal as well as a university-type experience for many more.
They gained knowledge on teaching how to use scientific calculators, the importance of reflection in teaching and learning, how to teach volume and capacity, teaching mathematics in the foundation phase, the use of ‘real life’ examples and experiences and much more.
