Question

'The terms numeracy and mathematics are often used interchangeably, but in fact they are very different concepts' (Grimley, 2016).

Your essay should be informed by your understanding of the two concepts: mathematics and numeracy. Weeks 1–4 of your learning materials will give you an understanding of both concepts and how they are crucial to one’s understanding of the world around us. You are required to support your discussion with examples of everyday (maths) phenomena and identify where mathematical and numeracy skills are used in everyday life.

Essay structure

1. Introduction: Write a clear introduction that frames the essay (approximately 10% of the word count).
2. Main body: Identify and briefly discuss the quote to scaffold the following sections of the essay:
   • What are the two concepts? Define and describe both concepts (maths and numeracy).
   • How and why are they different? Explore the similarities and differences between the concepts.
   • Where and when are they seen in the world around us? Support your discussion with a minimum of one everyday (maths) phenomena and at least one example where numeracy skills are used in everyday life, found in Weeks 1–4 learning materials. 
3. Conclusion: Conclude with a brief explanation of the importance of understanding the two different concepts and the impact this has for educators (approximately 10% of the word count).
4. Reference list: All resources that you have cited in-text in the essay need to be referenced in APA style.

Answer 1

INTRODUCTION

Mathematics is an important aspect of our lives as mathematics is everywhere. Be it a shopkeeper, a doctor, an engineer, a scientist, a teacher, a student and even insects in natureuse some form of mathematics. Mathematics and numeracy are often thought to be the samebut are two different concept.

Mathematics is the study of patterns, numbers, space, change and relationships (Maths is fun,2018). By nature, mathematics is about abstract ideas and logical thinking (Siemon et al.2015).

Maths involves a lot of symbols, patterns, numbers, formulas, rules, calculations andequations. In the Australian Curriculum, mathematics is divided into three strands. They arenumber and algebra, measurement and geometry, and statistics and probability (ACARA,2018). Mathematics is generally taught in the classroom (Grimley, 2016)

.By numeracy we mean a person’s ability to use mathematical skills and applying it in theirdaily lives (National Numeracy, 2018). According to Grimley, numeracy is the capacity,confidence and disposition to use mathematics in our everyday lives, in school, at work andhome (Grimley, 2018). Numeracy enables a person to develop logical thinking and reasoningstrategies in their daily lives. We need numeracy to solve problems, make sense of time,numbers, patterns and shapes for activities such as cooking, shopping, budgeting and paying bill.

MAIN BODY

Mathematics and numeracy are often used interchangeably in schooling
and in general usage, some believing numeracy to be a subset of mathematics, or the basic mathematics skills that are needed for participation in society or for further mathematics learning.

QUOTES

1).Interim national Curriculum Board now the Australian Curriculum Assessment and
Reporting Authority) used the following definition of numeracy in its 2009
document Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics: “Numeracy is
the capacity, confidence and disposition to use mathematics to meet the
demands of learning, school, home, work, community and civic life”.T

2) Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers describes numeracy
as involving “the disposition to use, in context, a combination of: underpinning mathematical concepts and skills from across the discipline
(numerical, spatial, graphical, statistical and algebraic); mathematical
thinking and strategies; general thinking skills; and grounded appreciation
of context” .

MEANING
It is clear that numeracy is a capability; one is either numerate or not,
meaning that a numerate person has the ability and disposition to use and apply mathematics in a range of contexts outside the mathematics classroom.
This means that mathematics is learned as a body of knowledge. Being able to apply it independently by first assessing a context and determining that ‘some mathematics will help here,’ then making some choices about
what mathematics will help, the degree of accuracy needed for the context, and then applying that mathematics confidently, is what makes someone
numerate.

Assessing numeracy
To assess a student’s numeracy capability would require that we observe
the student and determine their independent ability to:
• clarify and make sense of a situation and recognition that ‘maths willdegree of accuracy needed,
– representations of interpretation,
– reasonableness of solution, based on ability to estimate,
• apply/use selected methods, tools, strategies, accuracy level;
• interpret solution and appropriateness of choices made and efficiency
of use; and
• communicate their results and methodology in appropriate format for
audience and purpose.
Clearly it is impossible to do this on a large scale for every student across
Australia, and some might even argue this for their own class. Indeed, very
rarely do teachers assess numeracy, focussing instead on aspects of
numerate behaviour and, in particular, on their students’ abilities to use
and apply selected methods. This type of assessment frequently results in
only the assessment of mathematics and, even then, a narrow form of
mathematics since the methods, tools, strategies and accuracy levels are
often pre-determined by the questions used.
For example, consider the following assessment item:

EXAMPLE
Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the height of a tree which casts a
shadow 2.35 metres long and has an angle of elevation with the ground of 53°
(give your answer to two decimal places).
What is being assessed is a mathematical skill, as opposed to an application of mathematics since most decisions are made for the student;
indeed, if a student had experienced many questions like this in the classroom and for homework, then it is likely that only the student’s recall is
being assessed. This same comment might apply to the following questions
if found on an assessment task:
23 × 4 =
56 + 27 =
243 ÷ 7 =

What is the difference between Numeracy and Mathematics?

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN NUMERACY AND MATHEMATICS

• Numeracy is the ability to grasp mathematical concepts to deal with quantities and other situations in daily lives.

• Mathematics is a field of study that involves numbers, space, and concepts that correlate objects and their qualities. It teaches specialized operations that help in solving complex problems in many other fields of study. There is no scientific subject that can be studied or explained without making use of basic mathematical concepts such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

• Earlier it was thought that being able to apply mathematical concepts to understand things around us in daily lives was enough and a person was called numerate. However, today there is much more than basic mathematical abilities that are required by an individual, to understand and manage personal finances. An individual is expected to have knowledge of frequency, mean, median, and percentage to be able to manage his portfolio and also not to be fooled by others.

• Mathematics is a much broader field of study than mere numeracy but numeracy involves one part that is outside mathematics too. This means there is some overlapping between a large circle (mathematics) and a small circle (nume

REAL LIFE EXAMPLES

NUMERACY

• How many Euros you’ll get to take on holiday given a certain exchange rate.
• How many taxis do you need to get everyone home?
• Comparing labels in the supermarket to see which product has less sugar per 100g.
• Interpreting graphs and statistics in the newspaper.
• Checking the VAT on an invoice.
• Working out how much wood you’ll be left with after sawing the amount.

• 2 ) NUMERACY EXAMPLE

  Children start learning numeracy skills from the time they’re born. This learning happens from watching and experiencing numeracy in action, especially in everyday play and activities. For example, it happens when you encourage your child to:

• count fingers, toes and toys
• recognise numbers and shapes on objects like clocks and phones or in books
• decide how many slices of apple she wants.

• As your child gets older, he learns more numeracy and maths skills, including size and measurement. For example, this happens as he starts to:

• compare things of different sizes – ‘big’, ‘small’ and ‘medium’
• group things together and talk about same and different
• use words to describe where things are – ‘over’, ‘under’ and ‘next to’
• help set the table
• fill a water bottle
• help with the shopping and use money to buy things
• divide food into equal shares.
• MATHEMATICS EXAMPLE
• :- you talk with your child about maths concepts in your everyday activities, it helps her understand how and why maths is useful. For example, this happens when you point out:
• big and small (size)
• high and low (height)
• heavy and light (weight)
• fast and slow (speed)
• close and far (distance)
• first, second and last (order).

REFERENCE

www.wikipeedia.com

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