Critical Numeracy
Introduction
Critical numeracy is the ability to make decisions about everyday issues that involve mathematical concepts (Watson, 2008).
The approach to prove the importance of critical numeracy was based on selected articles which were used to critically analyse percentage.
Watson (2004) suggests a three-tiered hierarchy of goals for developing the quantitative literacy skills. These tiers suggest increasing movement away from pure mathematical skills into context and then into critical thinking (Watson, 2004). By designing a set of questions for each article according to the hierarchy it led participants to think using
3- tiers of critical numeracy.
Tier 1
The first tier of Framework is the understanding of basic terminology (Watson, …show more content…
They were both able to show the relationship between percentage and fractions and draw a bar model correctly shading 34 %.
Article 2: Avon Advertisement
1. In week one 100% of women show improvement in skin texture What is the 100% of ?
Answer P.1 34/34 P.2 34
Both of the participants were able to understand where the value of 100% came from. They were able to show a clear understanding of the link to part-whole based on assumptions that 100% is always a whole (Watson, 2011).
Tier 2
Next set of questions focused on tier 2 of the Framework . Learning must take place in what is called the second tier of Framework for Critical Numeracy and that is the understanding of terminology in context, especially in social contexts ( Watson, 2008).
Article 1: Holidays at Home Appeal
1. If 39% of Tasmanians would like to holiday in Western Australia, 23% in Northern Territory and 15% in South Australia, what percent of Tasmania’s prefer the remaining states?
Answer P.1 23% P.2 23%
In this section both of the participants showed no problem working out the solution. They displayed their knowledge of percent being over …show more content…
This therefore required me to constantly guide the participant through each questions so that they had a clear understanding of what is needed in this task.
The advertisement for the Avon skin care was a fantastic piece of news to show how percentage can manipulate a buyer into purchasing the product. With its unrealistic clinical study and farfetched results, the use of percentage managed to show how successful the product is.
The article from The Mercury shows an example of ways the writers represent percent in their articles to emphasize a point. The social issues associated with the article are quite complex. The article ties up our views on the importance of using percentage in a correct way. The approach illustrated in this article emphasises the difficulty of interpreting survey data with limited information. It provided us the opportunity to recognise and explore mathematically different ways of representing the same information using
Critical numeracy is the ability to make decisions about everyday issues that involve mathematical concepts (Watson, 2008).
The approach to prove the importance of critical numeracy was based on selected articles which were used to critically analyse percentage.
Watson (2004) suggests a three-tiered hierarchy of goals for developing the quantitative literacy skills. These tiers suggest increasing movement away from pure mathematical skills into context and then into critical thinking (Watson, 2004). By designing a set of questions for each article according to the hierarchy it led participants to think using
3- tiers of critical numeracy.
Tier 1
The first tier of Framework is the understanding of basic terminology (Watson, …show more content…
They were both able to show the relationship between percentage and fractions and draw a bar model correctly shading 34 %.
Article 2: Avon Advertisement
1. In week one 100% of women show improvement in skin texture What is the 100% of ?
Answer P.1 34/34 P.2 34
Both of the participants were able to understand where the value of 100% came from. They were able to show a clear understanding of the link to part-whole based on assumptions that 100% is always a whole (Watson, 2011).
Tier 2
Next set of questions focused on tier 2 of the Framework . Learning must take place in what is called the second tier of Framework for Critical Numeracy and that is the understanding of terminology in context, especially in social contexts ( Watson, 2008).
Article 1: Holidays at Home Appeal
1. If 39% of Tasmanians would like to holiday in Western Australia, 23% in Northern Territory and 15% in South Australia, what percent of Tasmania’s prefer the remaining states?
Answer P.1 23% P.2 23%
In this section both of the participants showed no problem working out the solution. They displayed their knowledge of percent being over …show more content…
This therefore required me to constantly guide the participant through each questions so that they had a clear understanding of what is needed in this task.
The advertisement for the Avon skin care was a fantastic piece of news to show how percentage can manipulate a buyer into purchasing the product. With its unrealistic clinical study and farfetched results, the use of percentage managed to show how successful the product is.
The article from The Mercury shows an example of ways the writers represent percent in their articles to emphasize a point. The social issues associated with the article are quite complex. The article ties up our views on the importance of using percentage in a correct way. The approach illustrated in this article emphasises the difficulty of interpreting survey data with limited information. It provided us the opportunity to recognise and explore mathematically different ways of representing the same information using