INNOVATIVE LEARNING
EXPANDING MINDSETS
A large body of evidence links childhood poverty with poor educational outcomes. Children from low income households generally have lower educational aspirations and are more likely to require remedial help or special educational needs assistance than their better off peers. It's important to recognise that more than half of all grade 12 learners sitting with their National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations at the end of 2016 did not even choose mathematics as a subject. Considering that South Africa's workforce struggles with a shortage of workers in STEM* related fields, this is gravely concerning. In addition, only 7 of every 100 students achieved 40% or higher results in maths and this was an improvement on 2015 results. The results earned South Africa a place as the second worst nation according to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. Reflective learning is a company that provides individual assessments in order to identify gaps in learning for focused intervention. The idea is based on pinpointing exactly which fundamental areas in maths the learners are missing, and then provide workbooks to allow the learner to catch up and gain those important basics of maths.
The innovative learning program is a combination of reflective learning, and preparing kids for the work of the fourth industrial revolution.
There is a tremendous burden on our education system to prepare school leavers for an uncertain future. Urgent reskilling and upskilling efforts are needed for higher education and adult learning curriculums. But, we have the opportunity to start much younger.
For this we need a future-ready curriculum that speaks to the increasingly technology-driven economy and learners require proficiency in science, technology, engineering, maths (Stem) and digital literacy. Currently, according to the WEF, South Africa scores second to last for quality of Africa’s education systems.
