Scifest promises Tour de Science

With the celebration of the 21s anniversary of South Africa’s National Science Festival (Scifest Africa) only days away, the organisers have confirmed that Prof. Jon Davis’ Using Educational Technology to learn Mathematics, is one of the many enriching lectures on the educational lecture programme. Prof. Davis’s lecture will looks at transforming the mathematics classroom at grassroots level.

“A teacher from the 1900s would not only be comfortable with the teaching tools present in the mathematics classroom of today, he or she would also most likely be comfortable with the mathematics content as this has not undergone significant changes” Davis says.

An array of technologies have however, been developed to help school-age children learn mathematics and Davis's lecture will share a range that can help children develop a deep understanding of number-to-computer algebra systems that have the ability to solve the vast majority of mathematics problems that pupils will encounter up to Grade 12. The theme for this year’s festival is “Tour de Science” with reference to the UN declared International Year for Sustainable Tourism for Development.

The theme for this year’s festival is “Tour de Science” with reference to the UN declared International Year for Sustainable Tourism for Development. Through the continued support of the Department of Science and Technology, Scifest Africa will provide a diverse programme that encourages visitors to embark on a journey that explores milestones, accomplishments, mysteries, discoveries, and the historic and exciting wonders of different fields of science, including Maren Seehawer’s lecture titled Integrating Indigenous and Western knowledge in Science Education.

In her lecture, Seehawer poses questions to stimulate thinking around integrating indigenous knowledge into the science curriculum.

Lookout for the electronic programme at www.scifest.org.za; and book tickets at www.tickethut. co.za/scifest or 0860 002 004.