Date: 02/11/2006
Source: Department of Education
Title: Pandor: Maths and Science Professional Development programme
Address by the Minister of Education, Naledi Pandor, MP, at a Maths and Science Professional Development programme celebration ceremony, Engen Court, Cape Town
"Science, teachers, and textbooks"
Programme director
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Thank you for inviting me to be part of this occasion.
It is always a pleasant occasion when we celebrate success and the achievement of educators.
Science, maths and information communication technologies play a vital role in social and economic development. Competence in science opens up access to a range of disciplines, encourages curiosity and promotes innovation and the search for new knowledge. Competence in maths is essential for new entrepreneurs, financial analysts, statisticians, and accountants. Information and communication technologies open new forms of communication.
Developing countries need to enhance their human and institutional capacity in maths and science if they are to succeed in their developmental goals.
Building scientific capacity depends on creating quality schools. Teachers have to have a positive appreciation of the role of maths and science, if they are to attract larger numbers of young people to these important subjects. Early introduction to the wonders of science and the magic of mathematics would assist in building an expanded pool of mathematics and scientists.
Programmes such as this one are important because they support our objective of expanding access to these fields. They also demystify science and introduce teachers and learners to these disciplines in a fresh and accessible manner.
Our recent performance in science and maths confirm that our most important educational priority is to expand our mathematical and scientific capacity in our schools. We are performing far below expected standards. Too few learners study maths and science and not all our teachers are fully competent professionals.
The Dinaledi initiative is our flagship programme in promoting the study of maths and science at school.
Through collaboration and partnership between government and the private sector we hope to double the number of learners passing higher grade maths from 24 000 in 2005 to 50 000 by 2008.
I urge the teachers who have participated in this programme to share their knowledge and skills with other teachers. It is clear that we need expert mentors to work with each school that offers maths and science to provide professional support whenever it is required.
It gives me great pleasure today to congratulate the teachers who have graduated. I congratulate you on your hard work, dedication and commitment. I would like to encourage you to explore all the opportunities that are available to you through this initiative.
Your graduation could not have happened at a more opportune time.
Dedicated mathematics and science teachers are the role models that will support our drive to modernise South Africa.
I am sure that you will utilise your training to support our national objective of increasing South Africa's success rates in maths and science.
I encourage teachers who have participated in this programme to take the initiative of engaging in serious conversations with their colleagues. I encourage you to form collaborative teams where science and maths is discussed and programmes developed to support the professional development of other teachers.
On behalf of the department I thank the National Business Initiative (NBI) for taking steps to address the acute skills shortages in critical sectors of the economy.
An initiative such as this one should be taken up by other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and such interventions should be firmly linked to the need to increase success rates.
We have other examples of successful initiatives. Mathematics educators in the tertiary sector and some well known non-governmental organisations (Shuttleworth Foundation) have developed professional development programmes as well as innovative curricula and learning materials.
It is interesting to note, by way of illustration, that international research has consistently shown that most Asian pupils outperform American pupils by a wide margin in mathematics.
One of the reasons for this lies in the nature of textbooks in countries whose pupils excel in mathematics.
In Asia (and in Cuba based on East German materials) texts are language intensive and well written.
They focus on applying mathematical understanding to real situations, and they constitute a coherent curriculum that builds each year on previous learning rather than repeating the same material year after year.
Such texts broaden and deepen teachers' understanding of mathematics, and improve their own language skills, as they prepare their lessons.
Here a pioneering textbook project, The Free High School Science Texts (FHSST) initiative is driven by volunteer contributions and funding from the Shuttleworth Foundation.
About 60 scientists and mathematicians have been involved in the writing and editing the books, many of whom are still students or just out of university. What this means is that the writers use a language and style that a high-school pupil will understand and enjoy.
The first three books are for Grade 10, 11 and 12, maths, physics and chemistry and are due to be released next year.
The department will support this initiative and others like it; for example, the recent publication of Xhosa dictionaries that focus on chemistry, biology, mathematics and technology terms.
International research also shows that where school performance in maths is low pupils are likely to be taught by maths teachers who are not properly qualified, which is why we appreciate the upgrading of skills that the course you have just completed has provided you with.
In closing, a special word of thanks to all the educators who have graduated and the National Business Initiative (NBI) and the Organisation for Educational Resources and Technological Training (ORT) Tech for the efforts they are making through this initiative to improve the quality of teachers in mathematics and science.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Education
2 November 2006
Source: Department of Education
Title: Pandor: Maths and Science Professional Development programme
Address by the Minister of Education, Naledi Pandor, MP, at a Maths and Science Professional Development programme celebration ceremony, Engen Court, Cape Town
"Science, teachers, and textbooks"
Programme director
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Thank you for inviting me to be part of this occasion.
It is always a pleasant occasion when we celebrate success and the achievement of educators.
Science, maths and information communication technologies play a vital role in social and economic development. Competence in science opens up access to a range of disciplines, encourages curiosity and promotes innovation and the search for new knowledge. Competence in maths is essential for new entrepreneurs, financial analysts, statisticians, and accountants. Information and communication technologies open new forms of communication.
Developing countries need to enhance their human and institutional capacity in maths and science if they are to succeed in their developmental goals.
Building scientific capacity depends on creating quality schools. Teachers have to have a positive appreciation of the role of maths and science, if they are to attract larger numbers of young people to these important subjects. Early introduction to the wonders of science and the magic of mathematics would assist in building an expanded pool of mathematics and scientists.
Programmes such as this one are important because they support our objective of expanding access to these fields. They also demystify science and introduce teachers and learners to these disciplines in a fresh and accessible manner.
Our recent performance in science and maths confirm that our most important educational priority is to expand our mathematical and scientific capacity in our schools. We are performing far below expected standards. Too few learners study maths and science and not all our teachers are fully competent professionals.
The Dinaledi initiative is our flagship programme in promoting the study of maths and science at school.
Through collaboration and partnership between government and the private sector we hope to double the number of learners passing higher grade maths from 24 000 in 2005 to 50 000 by 2008.
I urge the teachers who have participated in this programme to share their knowledge and skills with other teachers. It is clear that we need expert mentors to work with each school that offers maths and science to provide professional support whenever it is required.
It gives me great pleasure today to congratulate the teachers who have graduated. I congratulate you on your hard work, dedication and commitment. I would like to encourage you to explore all the opportunities that are available to you through this initiative.
Your graduation could not have happened at a more opportune time.
Dedicated mathematics and science teachers are the role models that will support our drive to modernise South Africa.
I am sure that you will utilise your training to support our national objective of increasing South Africa's success rates in maths and science.
I encourage teachers who have participated in this programme to take the initiative of engaging in serious conversations with their colleagues. I encourage you to form collaborative teams where science and maths is discussed and programmes developed to support the professional development of other teachers.
On behalf of the department I thank the National Business Initiative (NBI) for taking steps to address the acute skills shortages in critical sectors of the economy.
An initiative such as this one should be taken up by other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and such interventions should be firmly linked to the need to increase success rates.
We have other examples of successful initiatives. Mathematics educators in the tertiary sector and some well known non-governmental organisations (Shuttleworth Foundation) have developed professional development programmes as well as innovative curricula and learning materials.
It is interesting to note, by way of illustration, that international research has consistently shown that most Asian pupils outperform American pupils by a wide margin in mathematics.
One of the reasons for this lies in the nature of textbooks in countries whose pupils excel in mathematics.
In Asia (and in Cuba based on East German materials) texts are language intensive and well written.
They focus on applying mathematical understanding to real situations, and they constitute a coherent curriculum that builds each year on previous learning rather than repeating the same material year after year.
Such texts broaden and deepen teachers' understanding of mathematics, and improve their own language skills, as they prepare their lessons.
Here a pioneering textbook project, The Free High School Science Texts (FHSST) initiative is driven by volunteer contributions and funding from the Shuttleworth Foundation.
About 60 scientists and mathematicians have been involved in the writing and editing the books, many of whom are still students or just out of university. What this means is that the writers use a language and style that a high-school pupil will understand and enjoy.
The first three books are for Grade 10, 11 and 12, maths, physics and chemistry and are due to be released next year.
The department will support this initiative and others like it; for example, the recent publication of Xhosa dictionaries that focus on chemistry, biology, mathematics and technology terms.
International research also shows that where school performance in maths is low pupils are likely to be taught by maths teachers who are not properly qualified, which is why we appreciate the upgrading of skills that the course you have just completed has provided you with.
In closing, a special word of thanks to all the educators who have graduated and the National Business Initiative (NBI) and the Organisation for Educational Resources and Technological Training (ORT) Tech for the efforts they are making through this initiative to improve the quality of teachers in mathematics and science.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Education
2 November 2006
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