Abstract:
Mathematical literacy (ML) is a compulsory subject in South Africa for those learners who choose not to do mathematics to Grade 12 level. ML is designed to enable a learner to become a self-managing person by providing opportunities to analyse and solve real-life problems through the mathematisation of contextual situations. The subject thus lends itself to modelling situations in which a mathematical problem involves a process of transferring between the mathematics and reality. This article reports on an explorative case study conducted with four ML teachers who were required to facilitate mathematisation in modelling situations in their classrooms. Schukajlow’s three categories of mathematical problems were applied to identify the types of problems the ML teachers used. The strategies used by the teachers in facilitating the mathematisation process were analysed using a framework in which a real-life problem is explored, a model is formulated and analysed and the result of its application is interpreted and validated in terms of the context. This study focuses on the horizontal mathematisation that lies between context presentation and model formulation. Classroom observations were used to collect the data and a deductive analysis approach was implemented. The study revealed that some teachers find it difficult to go beyond intra-mathematical problems and that the modelling process in general, and the function and direction of mathematisation in particular, are not well understood. The resistance to the use of real-life contexts in the ML classroom was based on disinterest in the context itself or an inability to relate to the real-life situation. We make the recommendation that the process of mathematisation in a modelling situation must be taught systematically and deliberately in pre-service mathematics teacher training programmes.
