EDUC4105

In the study of language and mathematics there are 5 concepts or terms that are used to describe the way we use, think and communicate mathematics. These terms are; literacy, numeracy, mathematical literacy, quantitative reasoning and quantitative literacy. Some of these concepts are difficult to understand especially since many people have different views on their meanings.

The concept of numeracy seems to be of particular interest to people and has been debated internationally. I would define it as the ability to use and communicate mathematics to meet the demands of home life, the work place and the community. Some people like to delve much deeper into the meaning of numeracy but I think things are better kept simple.

The definition for mathematical literacy seems almost identical to the definition of numeracy. I feel the only difference would be that numeracy refers to meeting the demands that life puts on our mathematical abilities while mathematical literacy refers more to our general ability as a mathematician.

Literacy refers more specifically to the use of mathematics in communication. This means recognizing and understanding characters, words and mathematical language. Alternatively you should be able to use characters, words and mathematical language to communicate as well.

The information on the definitions of quantitative literacy seemed to talk about the reasoning and thinking side of mathematics. I found it a difficult concept to grasp. Quantitative reasoning was an even harder concept to grasp. All I know is that it has something to do with interpretive meaning.

These definitions are still changing and under debate. This would explain the difficulty for me to develop my own meaning of these concepts.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 26th, 2008 at 1:37 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.