Assessment Item 1 - Part B

Subject Coordinator: Dr. Annette Green @ Charles Sturt University

Assignment Item 1 – Part B

Value 40% - max 1500 words

Due date: 22 August 2016

The National Foundation Skills Strategy for Adults… was launched in September 2012 … It represents the official state of play in Australian adult literacy and numeracy policy and practice currently and for at least the next decade… It should be noted firstly that the term ‘foundation skills’ is used in the Strategy in preference to literacy and numeracy. Foundation skills are defined as the combination of English language, literacy and numeracy and: employability skills such as collaboration, problem solving, self-management, learning and information and communication technology (ICT) skills required for participation in modern workplaces and contemporary life. (Black, Yasukawa & Brown, 2015, p.607).

Beginning from the perspective on numeracy expressed in the quotation above, discuss and define adult numeracy as a concept for teacher of adult numeracy in the context of your teaching and learning. Use the theoretical approaches discussed in the opening chapter of your set text, Foundation numeracy in context, as a guide to some of the key ideas, and apply these ideas to your own reading, teaching and learning in numeracy and/or mathematics education.

Useful link
CSU Academic Referencing Tool (ART)

Question 5-Internet Usage Time Problem

Internet Usage Time Problem

5-Question members of your family or a group of five colleagues or friends (whoever they are, you must survey five people) to discover how many hours per day they spend on the internet each day across a one-week period. Display results in a table or graph and be prepared to discuss your findings with others. 

Solution:

PART 1 -My procedure for answering this question is as below.

I have designed a simple form to collect some data from my friends, Millar, Leanne, Peter, Millar's daughter - Channel, and Peter's son - Aiden,  about their average internet usage time for a week. The following Table 1 displays my collected data on an average week.

Table 1-A collection of Internet Hours used by my friends and their children - on an average week.

From the collected data in Table 1 above, by putting these information into Microsoft Excel 2013 and using its functions of Insert / Chart / Insert Column Chart / 2-D line, my column graph and line graph have been automatically generated. 

The next steps, I have used the Paint tool to capture and lightly tailor the images of the above graphs, then posted them on my subject learning webpage, my learning blogs, and the CSU's discussion forum.

For explanations, with the information collected, figures illustrating the average hours used by each member of my friend and their children, each day across a one-week period can be viewed in a column graph, also called the bar graph,  as below. See Figure 1.

Figure 1 - The column graph,  or the bar graph, of Internet Usage Time of my friends and their children.

OR The figures above can also be viewed in a line graph as below. See Figure 2

Figure 2 - The line graph of Internet Usage Time of my friends and their children.

OR
In terms of the total hours of Internet usage - on average - over the week, for a display of the relative amount or size of data as a whole, a pie graph is my option. See the Figure 3 below.

 

Figure 3 - The Pie graph of one-week Internet hours used by my friends and their children.

My notes: 
*Note 1-Why is the internet usage time considered as a problem? 
I believe that impacts of long hours using internet could cause problems for our physical health. 

*Note 2-Internet usage time is various and varied. This depends on the difference of gender, ages, careers, habits of practice, contexts, and also some degrees of internet addiction.

PART 2-A COLLECTION of PEERS' FEEDBACK from the CSU' DISCUSSION FORUM

 

This task is also posted on 
*my google site Learning Teaching Adult Numeracy in VET at https://sites.google.com/site/lydiale2016eeb308csu/display-the-results

Question 3 - Medicine: Usage Time and Daily Cost Problem

Individuals’ Medicine: Usage Time and Daily Cost Problem

3-Mary was prescribed a medicine in liquid form. It cost her $36.85. The bottle contains 300 ml and she has been advised by her doctor to take 20 ml three times every day. How long will her medicine last and what is the daily cost?

Solution: 

PART 1-My Calculation

With a calculator, the figures are found as follows:

*Cost per ml = $36.85 ÷ 300 ml 

*Each day, Mary needs 20 ml x 3 times per day = 60 ml

1-How long will medicine last?

        300 ml ÷ 60 ml per day = 5 days                  

2-What is the daily cost?

This is calculated from cost per ml 

        ($36.85 ÷ 300 ml ) x 60 ml = $7.37 per day

Therefore, Mary's medicine will last in 5 days and each day the cost will be $.37

Notes:

Why do the medicine usage time and the daily cost matter? 

My view for an issue here is that Mary might need to plan and arrange her budget for her own personal health.

PART2- A COLLECTION OF PEERS' FEEDBACK

This task is also posted on 
*my google site Learning Teaching Adult Numeracy in VET at https://sites.google.com/site/lydiale2016eeb308csu/how-long-and-what-is-the-daily-cost;

Question 2 - Loose and Pre-packaged Almonds Problem

Daily Life Activity: Loose and Pre-packaged Almonds Problem

2-Loose almonds in a supermarket cost $6.48 for 250 gm, or you can buy 375 gm of pre-packaged almonds for $10.65. Which is the better buy? How might you calculate this in a shop?

Solution:

PART 1- Decision Making - In general, a cheaper price should be the better buy.

*Method 1

Currently in Australia, in supermarkets such as Woolworths and Coles, in order to provide information of food products to customers, the price units, for example costs per 100 gm, are already calculated. I only need to check those before my decision making.

*Method 2 
My full explanation:
I would bring with me a pocket calculator such as my Iphone, to find out the price per 100 grams as below.
- the cost per 100 grams [the cost unit] of loose almonds = ($6.48 ÷ 250 gm) x 100 = $2.59 per 100 gm

- the cost per 100 grams of pre-packaged almond = ($10.65 ÷ 375 gm) x 100 = $2.84 per 100 gm

Practicing with my calculator - Press chosen numbers and relevant functions to find 
-the cost unit of loose almonds                ==>               6.48 ÷ 250 x 100 = 2.59
-the cost unit of pre-packaged almonds ==>             10.65 ÷ 375 x 100 = 2.84


The results show the cost per 100gm of loose almonds of $2.59 is the cheaper price.
Therefore, a choice of loose almonds will be the better buy.

*Method 3
Having no calculators, I would create or set my own 'common measureable unit', for example, in this case I would double 375 gm of pre-packaged almonds to make it  becomes 750 gm; and then I need triple 250gm of loose almonds to make it becomes 750 gm. Now I have them in the same my 'common measureable unit' of 750 gm.
Then working in my head, the double price of 750 gm of pre-package almonds is the double of $10.65 that equals something more than $20 - I just need to know roughly this figure [the exact figure is $21.30]; and the triple price of loose almonds is the triple of $6.48 that equals something less than $20 - and again, I only need to know roughly this figure [the exact figure is $19.44]. 

Therefore, a choice of loose almonds would be the better buy in my head.

*Further in reality, in many cases, if buying a small amount of almonds, for example I need to buy 100 gm only - i.e. an amount is less than 375 gm,  or an even amount for example one kilogram, then buying loose almonds would be my first choice. This choice would be made without any thinking and calculations. 
Therefore, in these situations, I would go straight to buy the loose almonds without making any comparisons of prices.

My notes

*Why do the loose almonds and pre-packaged almonds matter? 

*Why do I need to know this matter?

*For viewers: You may have more different methods or options depending on your own choices, contexts, and other factors.

PART 2 - PEERS' FEEDBACK

With more detailed information, this task can also be viewed @ 
*my google site Learning Teaching Adult Numeracy in VET at https://sites.google.com/site/lydiale2016eeb308csu/which-is-the-better-buy;