On Thursday 26 November, CASME hosted internationally renowned author and online learning guru Prof Barbara Oakley along with local IT in Education champion Dr Craig Blewett in a public seminar titled Learning How to Learn.

The seminar attracted an audience of 80 academics and teachers in what was hailed as an "excellent learning event".

Prof Oakley shared her unique story and personal journey from linguist to Professor of engineering and how as an adult she had to teach her brain to think mathematically. During this time she discovered some unique things about learning and has gone on to research and investigate these and is now considered a world expert in the field of learning, drawing on the fields of neuroscience and cognitive science.

Her best selling book "A Mind For Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra)" is an accessible and interesting read for anyone interested in learning.

Prof Oakley offers her keen insights through a free online course titled "Learning How to Learn".

The first phase of a new training initiative for 500 Mathematics and Science teachers from 6 districts across 3 provinces concluded on Saturday 14 November 2015.

31 trainers, facilitators and coaches from Limpopo, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal met for an intensive two-day programme to prepare for the training of teachers which kicks off on the weekend of 20, 21 and 22 November.

The 9 day short course for Mathematics and Science teachers at the FET level (i.e. Grades 10, 11 and 12) has been designed by CASME and focuses on carefully selected content that is nortoriously and historically poorly performed by learners in the National Senior Certificate examinations.

The short course is designed to engage teachers not only in the content mastery required in these topics but also to expose them to the teaching strategies that will assist them to develop problem solving and conceptual understanding in their learners.

The course has a strong ICT integration element with CASME sharing its knowledge and experience of free and open source software for teaching and learning mathematics and science.

The course is accredited by the South African Council of Education and carried 10 professional development points for participating teachers.

By March 2016 the teachers will have completed the course which includes opportunities for them to test the strategies in their classrooms and develop and portfolio of evidence to demonstrate the application of the course content.

The project is funded by the ETDP SETA through the National Education Collaboration Trust as part of a broader District Improvement Programme to assist government to meet its National Development Plan education objectives.

The Centre for the Advancement of Science and Mathematics Education (CASME), as part of its 30th Anniversary Celebrations, is pleased to invite you to a free Public Seminar by acclaimed author, academic and teacher, Prof Barbara Oakley.

Coursera's inaugural 'Innovation Instructor' Prof Oakley will share highlights from her New York Times Science bestseller "A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra)", which inspired the world's most successful online course with over 1 million students since inception a little over 1 year ago.
Prof Oakley's second offering on the day will share the strategies, techniques and tools she used to develop her Learning About Learning course.
Included on the day is a Networking Lunch.
DATE: 26 November 2015
TIMES: 09h00 to 13h00
VENUE: Edgewood Campus, University of KwaZulu-Natal

Click on the link below to confirm your attendance:

​http://goo.gl/forms/HS1TUk5BvH