Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic supported an investigation of ongoing challenges as to whether and how to make mathematics relevant to learners’ lifeworlds. Given that COVID-19 created major disruptions in all learners’ lives, we developed and taught tasks that attempted to make links between their experiences of the pandemic and disciplinary mathematical knowledge. We located our investigation in current debates about the extent to which disciplinary knowledge can be linked to learners’ out-of-school experiences. We developed and analysed two tasks about COVID-19 that could support link-making and productive disciplinary engagement, and analysed one Grade 10 teacher teaching these tasks. We found that linking mathematics to learners’ lifeworlds is both possible and extremely difficult in relation to task design and how the teacher mediates the tasks. In relation to task design, we argue that teachers cannot do it alone; they need to be supported by the curriculum and textbooks. In relation to mediation, we saw that teacher practices are difficult to shift, even in the best of circumstances. We articulate the complexities and nuances involved in bridging powerful knowledge and lived experience and thus contribute to debates on how to teach powerful knowledge in relation to learners’ lifeworlds.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created major disruptions in the lives of many South Africans
We present the analysis of two tasks that can support learners to use mathematics to understand elements of the COVID-19 infections in South Africa (SA) and to develop mathematical knowledge based on thinking about the outbreak
All learners bring with them their own everyday experiences, which influence how they engage with school knowledge
Summary
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created major disruptions in the lives of many South Africans. A study by Spaull et al (2020) shows that three million South Africans lost their jobs between February and April 2020, two million of whom were black women. Spaull and Kotze (2015) show that in poorly resourced schools, learners lag three to four grades behind their peers in better-off schools. The shutdown and concurrent loss of time in schools may have disadvantaged learners even further, those who did not have access to online learning. Jansen (2020) notes the unequal experiences of learners through the lockdown period and Hoadley (2020) shows how much time was missed by learners in government schools, given school closures and rotational timetables when schools were open The shutdown and concurrent loss of time in schools may have disadvantaged learners even further, those who did not have access to online learning. Jansen (2020) notes the unequal experiences of learners through the lockdown period and Hoadley (2020) shows how much time was missed by learners in government schools, given school closures and rotational timetables when schools were open
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