Making maths make sense.
OLICO Maths Education have released a brand new app we think you will love. It’s called Two Minute Tango and it’s been designed to get you practicing your times-tables in the most fun way.
Choose an avatar and unlock cool upgrades as you progress through different levels of difficulty.
Try your hand at the Times-Tables Challenge and see if you can beat the clock to get onto the leader-board.
This FREE booklet summarises key mathematical concepts across all three grades in the Senior Phase (Grades 7, 8 and 9).
It is not intended to replace the prescribed textbook but is useful for revision, consolidation of skills, and provides a range of practice questions and summaries for learners. The booklet provides a clear indication of the content covered in each grade and, where necessary, includes reminders of mathematical concepts covered in earlier years.
This booklet is published under a creative commons licence BY-NC-SA and is free to share and distribute. Please do let us know if you find it useful, we welcome any feedback.
Authors: Dr Lynn Bowie, Susan Jobson, Carol Wyeth, Kim Mosca, Marie Weitz, Emily Nicklin, Susan Clarke, Silke Brandt.
Joint collaboration between OLICO Maths Education and Winning Teams.
It is with great pride that OLICO announces our Diepsloot matrics achieved an 82% pass-rate for pure mathematics with two-thirds scoring in the Top 20% of maths performers nationally. Overall, OLICO learners achieved 55% Bachelor Level passes and 27% Diploma Level passes.
The Diepsloot matric class of 2017 first joined OLICO in 2013 as Grade 8 learners seeking extra maths support. On first enrolment, these learners were approximately 3-4 years below their expected maths grade level (which coheres with Kotze and Spaull, 2015). In Grade 9, this group scored an average of just 24% on the 2014 Annual National Assessments (ANAs) for maths.
OLICO’s multi-year approach is to build core foundational skills and gradually deepen conceptual understanding over an extended period of time. OLICO’s matric class of 2017 dedicated significant proportions of their after-school lives, over many years, to improving their maths competencies.
OLICO’s Programme Coordinator, Andrew Barrett adds, “Given the realities of the schooling maths situation in South Africa, the time and support available during school hours is simply not sufficient to cover all that needs to be covered so OLICO’s after-school support and blended use of technology is one way in which we can supplement the work of the teacher.”
Ultimately, 82% of OLICO’s Diepsloot matric learners passed pure mathematics compared to only 19% of their Diepsloot peers.
Further to this, two-thirds of OLICO’s learners scored above 50% in pure mathematics which puts them into the top 20% of maths achievers across South Africa.
This 2017 matric class in Diepsloot is part of a larger group of 155 learners between Grades 7-12 who receive extra maths support after-school 2-3 times a week. The improvements are the result of intensive work on number skills and supplementary curriculum support with OLICO’s freely available online maths tool and tailored tutoring support.
OLICO learner, Boledi Mampa believes OLICO made a huge difference to her maths results, “I joined OLICO 5 years ago and today I got my Bachelor Level matric certificate. It’s been great being part of OLICO as it’s helped me pursue my dream which is to study Environmental Science at the University of Johannesburg this year.”
Likewise, her classmates Lebogang Mafa and Mokgadi Morwasehla believe OLICO has helped them unlock their potential and achieve her goals. Says Lebogang,
My maths was poor when I first joined but by practicing with OLICO’s support, my results have really improved. I want to start a new life at university where I’m looking to pursue a BSC degree.
Intervening Early.
There is no quick-fix or simple solution to improving South African maths results but there are clear indications that intensive multi-year support in an after-school setting can achieve substantial improvements. At OLICO, we use a custom-built online maths programme (http://learn.olico.org) with our Grade 7-9 learners alongside skilled maths tutors to supplement learning. This online maths tool is published under a creative commons licence and contains over 22,000+ unique interactive maths questions and 330 tutorial videos specifically tailored for South African senior phase maths. The belief is that establishing firm foundations and good number sense is essential for future maths success.
The South African Education challenge
Some excellent articles on the maths situation in South Africa:
Nicky Roberts: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-01-08-school-maths-what-is-our-story/#.WHSakxt96Uk
Paul Berkowitz: http://mg.co.za/article/2017-01-06-the-difference-between-achievement-and-excellence-mathematics-results-for-the-nsc
Nic Spaull: https://nicspaull.com/2018/01/05/explaining-the-matric-results-in-7-gifs/
Beyond Diepsloot
In addition to the 155 Grade 7-12 learners in Diepsloot, OLICO is also working in 5 schools in the Western Cape on the Year Beyond programme and has over 5000 learners enrolled on the FREE online maths program for Grades 7-9 at http://learn.olico.org. OLICO is also working on a younger intervention through Maths Clubs in collaboration with the SA numeracy Chair Project at Rhodes University and the Maths Clubs Collective (www.mathsclubs.co.za).
With grateful thank to our supporters:
OLICO is deeply grateful to our donor partners who have helped make this happen. including: The Datatec Education and Technology Trust, The Learning Trust, Hatch, The Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, The Claude Leon Foundation and the Nedbank Private Wealth Educational Foundation.
OLICO is looking to appoint a vibrant and dynamic individual with strong MATHEMATICS skills to coordinate the Year Beyond (YeBo) Maths & Literacy Programme in a Western Cape school in 2018.
The YeBo Maths & Literacy Programme seeks to improve the schooling performance of Grade 8 & 9 learners by providing after-school academic support in maths and literacy. The successful candidate will play the lead mathematics-tutoring role and oversee the daily after-school activities and YeBo volunteers. This position involves working closely with the OLICO team, teachers and learners. OLICO currently operates out of Heideveld High School and is looking to add an additional high school nearby (the exact school is still to be determined). The successful candidate will be responsible for managing relationships with the school and families. The candidate will monitor and support progress and retention of learners. OLICO is committed to helping build a strong, inclusive, democratic and collaborative educational platform and environment.
The project is located at a Western Cape High School, mosty likely in the Heideveld/Gugulethu/Mitchells Plain/Delft/Khayelitsha area and the position is full-time. Candidates from the above mentioned communities and/or those with a tertiary qualification or teaching/community/volunteering experience have an advantage.
Duties & Responsibilities include:
OLICO needs someone who:
Initially a 1 year full-time contract. Based at A Western Cape High School. Please submit your CV PLUS detailed motivation (1-2pgs max) to vacancies@olico.org by 5 December 2017.
Salary range: R12 000 – R14 000 pm based on experience/qualifications.
The position starts in January 2018. Visit www.olico.org for more about OLICO.
OLICO is looking to appoint a vibrant, dynamic and enthusiastic individual who is passionate about mathematics and making it accessible to young learners. The successful candidate will coordinate OLICO’S MATHS CLUBS programme for Grade 1-6 learners; offer training support to Maths Clubs partner organisations; and collaborate with the SA Maths Clubs Collective.
OLICO’s after-school MATHS CLUBS offer fun, exciting and engaging maths activities for learners in Grades 1-6. The lessons and activities are designed to build strong number-sense skills and a love for mathematics. Maths Clubs take place in small groups of 10-15 learners at a time. The MATHS CLUBS COORDINATOR will be responsible for directly facilitating the daily after-school sessions and/or supporting OLICO’s existing facilitators. There will 25 Maths Clubs in Diepsloot in 2018 with the aim to establish 100 Maths Clubs in Diepsloot by 2020.
In addition, the MATHS CLUBS COORDINATOR will offer regular training and coaching support to community partner organisations running Maths Clubs in their own communities. The successful candidate will also work closely with the OLICO team and the SA Maths Clubs Collaboration Network to jointly develop effective solutions to some of SA’s most stubborn maths challenges.
The successful candidate will play a leading role in developing a love of numbers with Maths Clubs learners and in developing a resource for schools, teachers, parents and NGOs to use in their own contexts. Finally, the successful candidate will be responsible for on-going monitoring and evaluating the progress of the Maths Clubs and individual learners, as well as managing learner retention and collaborations within the MATHS CLUBS programme.
See: www.mathsclubs.co.za.
Duties & Responsibilities include:
OLICO needs someone who:
The successful candidate will be based at OLICO’s Diepsloot centre in Joburg and should have their own transport.
Please submit your CV PLUS detailed motivation (1-2pgs max) to vacancies@olico.org by 5 December 2017.
Help us turn a GREAT story into an INCREDIBLE story.
In the past few weeks, Christine’s personal story has featured in a WEF article and on EWN. When she was in Grade 8, Christine joined OLICO with a maths mark of just 24%. With 5 years of support form OLICO and a lot of hard work and commitment from Christine, she matriculated last year in the top 20% of maths performers in the country. She’s now pursuing a BSC in BioChemistry at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
However, despite massive efforts and multiple appeals, she hasn’t been able to receive support from NSFAS to access the funding required to pay for her studies. Her mom is the sole-breadwinner after Christine’s dad passed away 11 years ago. Her family is assisting her with living expenses and OLICO is assisting with accommodation but we need help to pay her tuition fees of R35 000. Please consider making a donation.
[one_half]Donate via Snapscan:
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Or Donate via EFT
Standard Bank
Account number: 000928852
Branch code: 002305
Branch: Carlton Centre
Ref: Fund Christine
All donations are tax deductible. Please email info@olico.org with proof of payment and we’ll write up a Section 18A receipt.[/one_half_last]
