Resource 1:Science & Numeracy-Number and Number Sense

[Numeracy Resource Collection]

Task Item 2: Part A - RESOURCE 1

Science & Numeracy: Special Collection –Number and Number Sense

By using the Paint software, from the Science & Numeracy webpage - available at http://literacynet.org/sciencelincs/home.html, the following image of the 'Science & Numeracy' page - available at http://literacynet.org/sciencelincs/slnum-number.html,  is collected  and imported.

1.1-My first date accessed:  31 August 2016

1.2-Site's address: http://literacynet.org/sciencelincs/slnum-number.html

1.3-What does the website offer?

This is an American based website in which its resources have been arranged to follow the American national education standards. Its vision is to internationally promote and share knowledge of adults’ mathematics learning for the public benefit. 

Concentrating on practices, the site offers mathematical information and numeracy instruction. For Numeracy learning and teaching, the site emphasises the ways in which math skills are important to understanding the world around us. In addition, with a considerable amount of Numeracy and Mathematical information and resources, the site delivers these useful resources for direct and independent use by learners. Also, it provides a broad range of curricular materials, learning activities, and lesson plans which can be used in learning and teaching adult numeracy in diverse contexts. 

Importantly, this site covers all numeracy features and areas which are required in the ACSF, hence, I find the site is very useful and could be used for numeracy learning and teaching in the Australian context including in VET education.

1.4-Who might find the website useful?

In general, the site of Number and Number sense  is very useful for those who want to develop and understand number sense at all numeracy level, because this site provides useful information and resources in helping and developing mathematical knowledge towards numeracy skills of a range of focus areas, such as to:
*communicate using formal and informal language, symbolic and diagrammatic representations, and conventions of mathematics
*identify mathematical information and meaning in activities and texts
*solve a range of numeracy problems within adult contexts 

Hence, the Resource 1 will be extremely useful for those dealing with the above matters.

Particularly, in the VET context, I find that because the website provides and delivers useful materials and mathematical information and tools closely relating to the Units of competency of FSKNUM04 - Locate, compare and use highly familiar measurements for work, FSKNUM32 - Use and calculate with complex measurements for work, and FSKNUM34 - Use and apply concepts of probability for work, therefore, it would be useful for teachers and learners who are conducting and learning the above Units of Competency.

1.5-How might you use/ how have you used this website with students?

Within the area of Numeracy, the A+Math is the one has been chosen for my Study Skills lessons of the Numeracy focus. However, I have not used it very often since Business Studies and Commerce since my approval is to teach in NSW high schools. Importantly, I would design Numeracy activities linking to this site for my teaching subjects. For example, getting ideas from our tasks, I would require my students to practise the Games providing in the Mathematics Resources. Students would be advised to access this site, and work on some pages; then, they would be asked to write a short essay or response showing influences and their reflection and/or feedback concentrating on ‘dot points’ in the Syllabuses of the Commerce and Business Studies subjects. Regarding my teaching course, in the VET context, numeracy activities would be designed in emphasising and linking to Units of Competency. For example, in the Units of competency of FSKNUM04 - Locate, compare and use highly familiar measurements for work, in order to know and understand how learners learn, all numeracy activities might be used for formative assessment during lesson sessions in both oral and written feedback to and from students. 

Link to my Google site of Resource 1 @ https://sites.google.com/site/lydiale2016eeb308csu/resource-1--ann

Assessment Item 2:Part A-[Collecting] Numeracy Resources

[Collecting] NUMERACY RESOURCES

Subject Coordinator: Dr. Annette Green @ Charles Sturt University

Assessment Item 2 - Part A: 10%

(My RUSSIA strategy: Read - Underline/Understand - Search - Select - Interpret - Answer)


To locate one to five numeracy resources from the web that the learner could use when teaching adult numeracy. Be creative - it could be a site for buying discounted items or a sport oriented site for example. Provide the web address and date accessed as well as describing how the learner might use the site with adult students. To do this, consider:
-what does the website offer?
-who might find the website useful?
-how might the website be used?

A visual overview of my five numeracy resources is as below.

Resource 1: Science & Number - Special Collection Number and Number Sense

Resource 2- My Tax

Resource 3- Skills Workshop

Resource 4- AWPN  (Australian Workplace Practitioners' Network)

Resource 5- WSU Math Circle - WSU The Math 750J Project

Link to my Google Sites
*Learning Teaching Adult Numeracy in VET @ https://sites.google.com/site/lydiale2016eeb308csu/resources-for-teaching-adult-numeracy
*ACSF - Numeracy Skills Framework Collection @ https://sites.google.com/site/lydialelearningteachingvet/useful-links

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;