Numeracy Across the Curriculum

or

I read the news today. Oh boy!

Elmwood High School

Darren Kuropatwa

Dept. Head Mathematics

Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute

You Need Math …

literacy?

Literacy

Clarence Fisher, Globally Literate K12 Online Conference

Literacy is always changing ... with your location

geographically and in time. All definitions haveconsistently had three components:

(1) Literacy = Comprehension(2) Literacy = Production(3) Literacy = Interactive

OED

Literacy: (noun) the ability to read and write.

David WarlickRedefining Literacy for the 21st Century

“If all your kids learn to do is read and write, they won't be literate.”

Is All Information Knowledge?

Types of literacy

• text literacy (what's text?)• information literacy• technological literacy• media literacy• internet literacy (hypertext, validity of sources, reading

links, site ownership)• visual literacy (Photographs, cartoons, line drawings,

diagrams, concept maps, ...)• mathematical literacy• and more ...

Types of literacy

The Language of MathematicsCdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy. It dn'seot mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm.

The Language of MathematicsMiittluvraae asilyans sattes an idtenossiy ctuoonr epilsle is the itternoiecsn of a panle pleralal to the xl-yapne and the sruacfe of a btiiarave nmarol dbttiisruein.

Multivariate analysis states an isodensity contour ellipse is the intersection of a plane parallel to the xy-plane and the surface of a bivariate normal distribution.

Is numeracy a problem?

Does numeracy matter?

1997

Does Numeracy matter?

• Unemployment/low employment tied to poor numeracy rather than literacy

• poor numeracy + poor literacy = manual occupations.

• followed closely, not [by those] with poor literacy + competent numeracy, but [by those] with competent literacy + poor numeracy

• People without numeracy skills suffered worse disadvantage in employment than those with poor literacy skills alone. (--> school, jobs)

• One feature of the modern labour market is the relentless decline in unskilled and partly skilled occupations. Our case studies showed that people with poor

numeracy were in exactly these kinds of jobs.

Source: (Basic Skills Agency, UK 1997)

International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey

2003

Bermuda

Italy

Norway

Switzerland

United States

International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey

• literacy and numeracy skills contribute to individuals’ economic and social well-being.

• 48% of adult Canadians aged 16 and over– perform below Level 3 on the literacy scales

• 55% of adult Canadians aged 16 and over– perform below Level 3 on the numeracy scales

• little change in Canadian literacy performance between 1994 and 2003. • Proficiency of Canadians, aged 16 to 65, in literacy, numeracy and problem

solving is clearly [positively] linked to their labour market outcomes.

• the evidence suggests that health issues and literacy issues intersect. • The hidden problem

Source: (Statistics Canada, 2003)

Is numeracy a problem?

Is innumeracy a problem?

Kathy Cassidy’s Class

A Dollar A Second …

€ 1000000sec60sec=16666.66min€ 16666.66min60min=277.77hrs€

277.77hrs24hrs=11.57days€ 1000000000sec60sec=16666666.66min

€ 16666666.66min60min=277777.77hrs€

277777.77hrs24hrs=11574.07days€

11574.07days365days=31.71years

The Mega Penny Project

Gambling bites into family funds

The Herald Sun, Saturday, February 3, 1996, p.5

VICTORIANS are using housekeeping money to finance an $89 million a week gambling habit …

Beware the pushy fish-eaterMEN who eat a lot of fish are driven byambition and the desire for success, Britishresearchers claim.

Seven in 10 men whofrequently eat canned tuna.sardines, salmon, mackerelor kippers admit to beingambitious, and one in tworate themselves as moresuccessful than others.

The study, commissionedby John West Foods,reveals they are also thin-skinned types, with only 5per cent of regular fish-eaters saying they copedwell with criticismcompared with a quarterof the non-fish eaters.

Source: The Mercury, 7 May, 1991.

Source: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/resdocs/

How is numeracy addressed in the

BC Grades 8 to 12 mathematics curriculum?

An unusual incident …

Coffee anyone?

Ahhh …

1 Billion is Big …

Probability …

LotteriesDefinition: a self imposed tax on the

innumerate.

Literacy in Math Class

• Pre-Cal 30S (Fall ‘06)

• Pre-Cal 40S (Fall ‘06)

• AP Calculus AB

Your Take Away Wiki

Did You Know?

thanks