SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS AT OKATOPE JUNIOR

SECONDARY SCHOOL: SHARING EXPERIENCES.

By
Salom M Shikola and Reuben Sirinji

@ Rundu College of Education, Namibia,

November 2008.

Introduction.
In this assignment are the strength and weaknesses in teaching math and
science largely based on my three weeks of observation at Okatope Junior
Secondary School in the Ohangwena region of Namibia. The school is five
kilometres away from the centre of the upcoming Helao-Nafidi urban area and
only 15 km from the busy border town of Oshikango. The assignment explores
five strengths that can be used to overcome the relative disciplinary isolation of
science and mathematics in a school curriculum. There are also weaknesses in
teaching mathematics associated with essentializing, contextualizing, and
problem-centring and also arising from the interdisciplinary curriculum and the
purposes of the discipline driving the integration. Essentializing raises the
scientific and mathematical facts to a level of fundamental concepts and helps
establish internal connections within science and mathematics.
Contextualizing efforts create external ties between the scientific and
mathematical theories and their historical and cultural roots. Problem-centered
integration (another strategy for external integration) mobilizes different
disciplinary tools toward the solution of a pressing problem. Substantiating our
claims with examples from programmes and courses according to Mathematics
and Science Academy (IMSA), Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of
science subjects can help educators choose the optimal way to present their
interdisciplinary material or to design hybrid approaches that build upon the
strengths of several strategies.

Observed strengths in mathematics and science

teaching.
1. The school has a mathematics and science club. This club was
introduced in the same year 2003. The club is not for getting profit but is
to making sure that all the learners are attended to and they can give
back what they were given and apply it in the community and Even in
their daily life Okatope Junior secondary school is not training doctors or
engineers but they are concentrating on literacy and numeracy, to know
to write and read and count to make sure vision 2030 is realised. Some
learners went the extent of coming up with more imaginative projects like
making an electrical pulleys and it worked very well. According to the
principal this learners are improving each and every day. Learners used
to compete in this club within the school and outside the school. There
are also some neighbouring schools which have mathematics and science
clubs.

2. The department of Mathematics and Science at Okatope junior

secondary is determined to be a regional recognized centre of
 learning, creativity, as well as a major partner in the development of
education. It is committed to playing a leading role in the growth of their
school into a comprehensive educational centre. Their purpose is the
advancement of mathematics and the sciences by engaging learners and
staff in many learning programme. They create a scholarly environment
in which programmes, are based on solid scientific experiments aimed at
expanding the knowledge of learners. We integrate teaching, learning
and programmes at learners’ levels. Their learners will be responsible
citizens who possess the skills of enquiry and the ability to critically
evaluate and to disseminate scientific knowledge. The department of
Mathematics and Science is committed to increasing opportunities in
both fundamental and applied areas of their disciplines. They feel that
the time is ripe to expand their presence in the community by supporting
the type of applied programs and development that will provide
opportunities for their learners to get opportunity in senior secondary
schools that offer their field of study utilizes their prior skills. At the same
time, they are adamant that the current high quality incoming primary
learners programs must be maintained and enhanced in several areas.
They are dedicated to helping the school to become an engine of growth
and development for the new knowledge-based industries that will
determine Namibia’s future as a leader in the new economy.

3. The school provide learners with projects in mathematics and

science. This happen in this way that learners are given opportunity to
participate in projects locally nationally and even internationally if it is
possible this projects are not for the privileged but for all learners despite
race or back ground. For a learner to participate in this projects is him or
her self to prove it does not have a limited number as long as a learner
must be capable of what is going on in the project. Learners use to take
part in mathematics and science competitions which took place in the
region and other region. They started this project in the year 2003 when
Mr Kennedy Mbidi was selected as a principal of Okatope junior
secondary school. They find more interesting followed by an excellent
performing in Ohangwena school projects competition where they won
the first position. By my own point of view when I am looking at this
programs I feel so incredible and I feel like if I was a learner at that school
even though I am still a part of it. I am saying I am part of it because it is
just at our back yard and is where my young sisters are schooling. These
projects help learners to think critically and help them to be positive
toward mathematics and science as many people have wrong perception
about mathematics. These projects help learners to connect better with
basic understanding of four basic operations and how to use them in
different mathematical operations. It help learners to read more books
that are having more information even those for the following grades,
this broaden their knowledge and understanding of maths and science in
general. One of the reasons why this school is performing well especial in
mathematics is because they are working hard. When learners are
learning mathematics or in science class they put more effort to make
sure they will ensure their place in the project so they are motivated and
well prepared for the task that they have to do.
 4. Math set: The school manage to assists learner with mathematic set and
calculator for free. This motivates parents and children that math and
science is important in their kid’s life. the set is consist of pacer with
pecil,15cm ruler, scissor and compass plus a calculator, in my point of
view this will help student to work well with mathematics because math
need instrument for it to prefect. According to the information we got
they set up this program of assisting learners to find out what is the
really cause of the fairer, this thought was because most of the learners
are orphans some are from poor families that can even afford the
calculator, for the school to make sure learner are having calculators
during the examinations they assists them.

5. Make teaching of mathematics and science be more integrative

with other areas of knowledge? The first is internal integration within
maths and science where different school of the same curriculum are
brought together through their common conceptual roots. The second
kind of integration is external integration, where science and
mathematics exchange ideas and tools with other fields outside of the
paradigm of the scientific or logical-analytical method. The external kind
of integration may appear to be a more definitive case of integration, as
cross-paradigmatic bridges are established. However, the integration of
sub-fields of science and mathematics may be a necessary first step to
connect more distant epistemologies.
In the 1970’s, the humanistic trend in (Lindsay, 1970) psychology stimulated
educators to centre their curricula on core issues of the human condition.
The spirit of connecting the natural sciences to social and human values
produced a number of “unifying approaches” to the teaching of science in
the secondary school curriculum (Lindsay, 1970). “A path to the greatest
fulfilment and self-actualization” was envisioned in science (Maslow, 1971).

Weaknesses in teaching mathematics:

a. The over-reliance on calculators. There talks of growing evidence that
too much cyber-time dumbs down our children. The too frequent and too
early use of calculators in the teaching and learning of math can do the
same. Students soon learn to systematically click on particular features of
the calculator to obtain a numeric result. In essence, they memorize the
functions of the calculator to achieve a result, rather than learn or
understand how to do the math. Because they have absolute trust in the
answer the calculator provides, they don’t even bother to check to see if the
answer makes any sense. For them, math is more an exercise of pushing
buttons than of problem solving or making quantitative judgments. When
their calculator is removed, they are at total loss as to how to proceed, even
for simple additions or multiplications. For example, they are unable to
readily compute 13 x 25, because they lack the ability to conceptualize the
problem and are hence unable to break this product down as (10 x 25 =
250) + (3x 25 = 75), for a total of 325. This discomfort with simple
calculations and excessive trust in calculators has now infected many
 people’s daily lives. When taxes are to be computed on a purchase and
change given, they place full trust on a sales clerk who is likely equally inept
with simple calculations. In this case learners will be shocked when they go
to senior secondary schools were not every time they should use
calculators. Learners have to fully understand the fundamentals of the
subject in order to succeed. Without understanding the math, science and
theory behind the numbers, while they are in junior secondary school they
may suffer as they proceed.

b. The proliferation of topics at all levels. Things That Don’t Add Up in

Math Classes” describes the spiral math and science curriculum used in the
teaching of math and science as crippling learning, especially among
disadvantaged learners. The spiral model offers a surface-level mix of math
and science topics each year, with the idea that the learners picks up a bit
more with each passing. As noted in the in their school record. But one of
the teacher concluded that there were too many topics that were introduced
too early, repeated too often, and covered too superficially. They suggest
that fewer topics should be covered each year, but at greater depth. And
because this model fails to provide the necessary foundation at the
elementary level, it leaves many otherwise capable learners completely
unprepared when faced with the realities of math and science.

c. The de-emphasis of fractions in the school curriculum. Because the

use of calculators to produce decimal answers is seen as so important,
competence with fractions is viewed with less importance than it once was.
Learners receive little knowledge of fractions at the primary level. Face
students in a post primary math class who cannot comprehend that 5/4 (five
quarters) of a portion is greater than one full portion (four quarters). Post
primary learners have never heard of matter and science terminologies
which make it difficult for them to cope with new level of education. Many
counsellors (and sometimes teachers) reinforce the notion that math and
science is for every body.

d. The perception of math as too hard. While this seems to be a growing

universal perception by society at large, it is reinforced far too frequently
within the learners, especially that sciences are too hard.
Perhaps this is partly due to their own discomfort with mathematics, but
these are the very people who should be encouraging learners that they can
do math and science if they work at it and helping them explore ways to
succeed at math and science. Instead, they suggest easier pathways for
students, or avoidance of math beyond the bare minimum required for
secondary school completion. And students believe them – after all, it’s what
many learners want to hear by that stage anyway. Is this wrong? Most
counsellors probably agree, at least quietly if not openly, that this approach
is not a proper solution to the problem. A common error is to counsel
learners to take the wrong pathway despite their anticipated academic
plans. For example it is important to do basic arithmetic without the use of a
calculator. While the content of this Grade 10 course may not be a perfect
match for all the above, it is nevertheless critical that learners have strong
 math competencies. But the main thing is that it is not a hard pathway.
e. The lack of a mathematics background of many teachers.
This is undoubtedly the number one problem with the teaching of
mathematics in the Namibian educational system. Many teachers are
themselves uncomfortable with mathematics and science, yet they are
assigned to teach it. Likewise, many secondary teachers of mathematics
and science lack appropriate backgrounds in mathematics and science, and
yet are assigned to these subjects. in June 23 this year (2008), there was an
article in the Namibian news paper which almost stipulate the statistics of
mathematics in Namibian examinations grade 10 and 12 it shows me that
most learners have low content of math and science including some
individual teachers, and to that may be added only one mathematics
education (how to teach math) subject. Sadly, the school teachers do not
have a mathematical and science or scientific background to supplement
this skeletal exposure to mathematics and science in their teacher-training
program. And for many of these teachers, their entire math and science
schooling may have been undertaken with trepidation and apprehension.
Would you ask a person who barely speaks English to teach an English
class? I doubt that anyone would seriously suggest that this is reasonable
and worthy. Then why would one suggest that a person without a sufficient
background in math and science, and possibly even a discomfort with the
subject, would be competent teaching introductory foundational
mathematics that becomes the building blocks for further comprehension in
arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, algebra, and numerical logic in
general? Sadly, it doesn’t get a lot better at the secondary level. Some
learners claims that of secondary school math classes were taught by “out-
of-field” teachers, defined as teachers without a major or minor in
mathematics (or science, likely, for that matter).
Long live Okatope Combined School.