End of Year Message | December 2018

Thank you to all the teachers, learners, partners and supporters who have contributed to our work in Mathematics and Science education during 2018. It has been another significant year as we continue to make strides in realising our vision of changing the lives of learners through quality and innovative mathematics and science education.
As is customary we take this moment to pause and reflect on some highlights for the year and also to acknowledge our supporters.

Mobile Science Gaining Traction
Our mobile science programme under the Science2Go brand was piloted between 2014 and 2017 in partnership with MAHLE Behr SA who continue to champion and support our work. During the pilot phase we have been able to demonstrate a cost-effective response to the need for practical science learning experiences where school laboratories are not a reality in many schools. Our evaluation of the pilot phase showed a 43% increase in Physical Science enrolment in the participating high schools. The Science2Go project reached 10,000 learners and provided support to 100 teachers during 2018 in the Pinetown District. On the back of these successes we were joined by Astron Energy SA (formerly Chevron SA) to launch Science2Go 2.0 to expand the reach of the project by a further 30 schools in the Umlazi District.

2018 also saw Sasol Inzalo Foundation partnering with the Umjikelezo We-Science mobile science festival programme (a collaboration between Science2Go, UKZN STEC, UniZul Science Centre, KZN Science Centre, Durban Natural Science Museum and Kitchen Chemistry at University of East Anglia) with the donation of a Science on the Move mobile science laboratory to support this innovative initiative.

We remain committed to rolling out mobile solutions as a means to reach further, deeper and wider.

An important focus has been on embedding our work within that of the Department of Education. CASME faciliated the establishment of a Digital Learning Community of Practice to support the Department's Digital Learning Framework. The CoP brings together NGO partners, donors, provincial and district education department ICT roleplayers to share lessons, minimise duplication and to leverage partnerships. 

ICTs: Next Generation Solutions
In our strategic focus areas, CASME identified ICTs for Teaching and Learning as a lever by which to expand both impact and reach in our programmes. We partnered withClickMaths to implement tablet based tuition in schools in Clermont and KwaDabeka. We believe the blend of open education, mother tongue instructional lessons, self-directed remedial tools and unique offline capabilities we have a resource that is relevant for the context in which many schools find themselves. We also continue our work in the Ilembe district as part of the Izimpande Zokukhanya project supported by The Zenex Foundation which includes Siyavula Practice and our own Remote Support pilot. We are excited about these developments and are actively researching and monitoring their impact.

Foundations
Our work in primary schools continues to expand and remains an area of growing interest. We are pleased to report positive results from our work in partnership with the Ugu District and NPC Intercement with Intermediate Phase Mathematics and English teachers. Over the past 3 years we have been working alongside the district to develop mathematics and english lead teacher knowledge, skills and capacity, a key component of which has been support for professional learning clusters. Teachers and learners have demonstrated significant gains in the recent round of evaluative assessments.

These words from one of the lead teachers captures this essence:
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The project helped me to develop my self-esteem; empowered me with various methods and various approaches. My biggest highlight was when my student won the Maths Olympiad

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Bridging Research and Practice
CASME has a long history as interlocutor in maths and science education. This year we continued to build on this role through our work on a Communication Learning Brief for the Mathematics Education Chairs Initiative, which distilled key lessons for practical application by policy makers and practitioners. The booklet, commissioned by the First Rand Foundation, is available on our website and includes downloadable resources developed by the Numeracy and Mathematics Research Chairs. It was officially launched at the NRF/DST/DBE/HRDC Community of Practice earlier this year.

In a similar vein CASME launched a new forum aimed at bringing together researchers, education development specialists and practitioners in mathematics education. The inaugural session of the MERDaP (Maths Education Research Development and Practice) Forum focused on ICMI Study 24 which is co-chaired by CASME Trustee Prof Renuka Vithal.

\This is just a snapshot and a select few highlights. We encourage you to stay on top of our latest news through our social channels.

None of these successes would be possible without your continued support and commitment to our work. We are grateful to have had generous contributions by our donor partners from the business sector and independent trusts who continue to recognise the importance of quality education for the future of all South Africans.

Our office will re-open on 3 January 2019. We look forward to connecting with you during the course of 2019 and wishing you all the best for a restful festive season with family and loved ones.

Yours in education
The CASME Team
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