Sibawu Siyepu from the Student Learning Unit in Fundani opened the Fundani research seminar series with a presentation he delivered at a recent conference entitled ‘The Zone of Proximal Development in the learning of mathematics‘.

Abstract:

South Africa has a huge shortage of skilled workers in various fields such as engineering, applied sciences, accountancy, architecture, medicine and law. Mathematics is a requirement for entry in these careers to enable learners to grasp the content of various subjects in these disciplines.  Despite that, in South Africa, learners’ performance in mathematics is shocking.  This presentation highlights high failure rate of mathematics in a South African context. It suggests possible causes of learners’ poor performance based on the literature. The presentation brings a socio-cultural theory of learning focusing on the zone of proximal development as a possible solution in the development of instructional practices. It makes recommendations on what should be to done to tackle anticipated problems as suggested in the discussion.

For more information contact siyepus@cput.ac.za