Using Podcasts to Mediate Mathematics Learning in a Higher Education Context in South Africa: A Reflective Approach

Using Podcasts to Mediate Mathematics Learning in a Higher Education Context in South Africa: A Reflective Approach

Agripah Kandiero (PhD), Sabelo Chizwina
Copyright: © 2023 |Pages: 20
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-8292-6.ch019
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Abstract

In South Africa, the Department of Basic Education has continuously referred to the lack of students with good passes in mathematics and physical science to be able to enroll for medical and financial sector degrees. The reason for the lack of good passes has been attributed to the availability of resources and the training of teachers. Many universities have developed interventions and strategies to assist students who enter their institutions. Using the cultural historical activity theory, this chapter argues that technology in the form of podcasts can mediate the problem of under-prepared mathematical students by providing supplemental instruction. The chapter justifies the choice of podcasts and presents literature on how and why podcasts will mediate learning.
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The State Of Mathematics In Higher Education

The Department of Basic Education and the Department of Higher Education (2010) stated that South African scholars have a good enough pass in mathematics and physical science to be able to enrol for medical and financial sector degrees. The South African Development Indicators Report (published by the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, 2010) also states that “no matter what index is used, South Africa performs poorly in mathematics and science”. The Department of Basic Education (2011) reported that of 300,000 students who took Mathematics in Grade 12 in 2008, the number had decreased by 25% by 2011. This shows that, as a subject, mathematics is seen as a challenge. In response to this challenge, universities across the country have implemented intervention strategies to help students cope when undertaking financial sector degrees. This paper seeks to examine whether podcasts can be used to mediate learning.

Foundation Programme

The context of this paper is for students enrolled in a Foundation Programme. Foundation programmes were established to address the legacy of Apartheid that disadvantaged many African learners in terms of quality education and well-resourced schools. The purpose of the Foundation Programme is to grant these students access, but also allows them to develop the necessary skills, knowledge, attitude, and values which will prepare them for success at the tertiary level (Wood & Lithauer, 2005). In essence, these Foundation Programmes are bridging courses, which are a remedial attempt to re-teach aspects of the school syllabus (Mckenna, 2012). The foundation programme therefore widens access for South African students with no matriculation exemption (a matriculation exemption is required for university entrance), South African students with matriculation exemption but who did not meet additional faculty requirements, and international students whose qualifications are not accepted by the South African authorities as the equivalent of a matriculation exemption (Wood & Lithauer, 2005). Students completing the Foundation Programme successfully, by passing all the required modules, are guaranteed admission to a degree programme at the university.

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