adults and numeracy

Making sense of mathematics and perceiving it as a tool

Making sense of mathematics and perceiving it as a tool that may be useful and important in a social sense is known as numeracy. Because it acknowledges the significance of mathematics in a person's daily life, numeracy is more closely tied to functional mathematics (Ginsburg & Gal, 1996). When teaching numeracy to working people, for instance, the emphasis should be on numbers, money, statistical reasoning, percentages, and problem-solving in connection to adult life's responsibilities. The purpose of teaching adult numeracy is to enhance each person's attitude toward mathematics, communication skills, as well as cultural, social, and personal factors (Tout & Motteram, 2006). Numeracy skills can only be developed if taught from a contextual and task-based approach. The teacher should focus on ways to improve the understanding, thinking, and reasoning skills of the students in the adult class (Tout & Motteram, 2006). The focus should also be on improving interest and application where students work in groups on modelled investigative tasks. The tasks should develop a specific concept in the numeracy train.

Literacy and numeracy are interconnected

Literacy and numeracy are interconnected and it is upon the teacher to link them through the provision of opportunities for students to communicate in regards to the mathematical issues (Black, Yasukawa, & Brown, 2015). In the workplace, people are not only required to solve mathematical problems but it is expected they will communicate their reasoning to the others in an effective way. According to Ginsburg and Gal (1996), teachers should situate problem-solving tasks in meaningful and realistic contexts. This is to enhance the transfer of learning to work and life environments (Black, Yasukawa, & Brown, 2015). One way of achieving this is by creating or modelling simulations based on students' experiences. For example, if the topic discussed is money, the teacher should use real-life scenarios to ensure students have the ability to practise applications in contexts different from the classroom (Braaten, 2017).

Teaching numeracy to workers

Teaching numeracy to workers requires the teacher to develop students' skills to enhance their abilities to interpret numerical or graphical information that is appearing within documents and text. For example, the teacher may have students put information in their lives in graphs (Ginsburg & Gal, 1996). The aim is to allow students to understand the connection between events in their lives and the drawn representations in form of graphs. It is through this practice that students will be able to understand how other graphs are constructed and how to draw information from them (Ginsburg & Gal, 1996). The first thing in doing this should be to address and evaluate attitudes and beliefs among students in regards to learning math and using it in their lives (Black, Yasukawa, & Brown, 2015). The teacher should engage students in discussions on how everything in their lives can be described mathematically. The objective is to change their view of mathematics and the role it plays in their day to day life (Braaten, 2017).

Teaching numeracy skills

Consequently, teaching numeracy skills requires the teacher to develop understanding by providing opportunities that students can use to explore ideas through visual representations as well as hands-on activities (Braaten, 2017). Estimation skills are practical in problem-solving aspects. The teacher should engage the learners on different aspects of their lives where estimates are more appropriate compared to the real answers.

Teaching numeracy to adults

Teaching numeracy to adults requires a functional mathematics approach to ensure what is learnt is transferred to the social context of the individual. Although numeracy may not improve performance at work, it makes it easier for an individual to be better in problem-solving. Working in groups ensures that learners are able to communicate their ideas to others and in the process develop their numeracy skills.

References

Black, S., Yasukawa, K., & Brown, T. (2015). The literacy and numeracy ‘crisis’ in Australian workplaces: Discursive rhetoric vs. production floor realities. Journal of Education and Work, 28(6), 607-630. doi: 10.1080/13639080.2013.854875.

Braaten, M. (2017). Time well spent: Making choices and setting priorities in adult numeracy instruction. Journal of Research and Practice for Adult Literacy, Secondary, and Basic Education, 6(1), 67.

Ginsburg, L., & Gal, I. (1996). Instructional strategies for teaching adult numeracy skills. Philadelphia, PA: National Center on Adult Literacy

Tout, D., & Motteram, G. (2006). Foundation numeracy in context. Camberwell, Australia: Australian Council for Educational Research.