MFP1501/201/0/2020
Tutorial Letter 201/0/2020
Mathematics for Foundation Phase
Teachers
MFP1501
Year module
Department of Early Childhood Education
This tutorial letter contains important information about your module.
BARCODE
Dear Student
1 INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this tutorial letter (Tutorial Letter 201/0/2020) is to provide you with assignment
feedback and examination guidelines for the module Mathematics for Foundation Phase Teachers
(MFP1501). This tutorial letter includes the following:
• Feedback on the assignments
• Examination information and guidelines
• Appendix A: Self-study questions
FEEDBACK ON ASSIGNMENTS
Assignment 01
This was a multiple-choice question (MCQ) assignment and you already received feedback. However,
please take note of the following:
• I used an MCQ to encourage you to familiarise yourselves with the content and not just choose
the answers randomly. I would like to thank those of you who took your time to work through
the content because you managed to spot the mistakes.
• Question 1.5 was deliberately mistaken for the reason mentioned above. You were not
penalised for it.
• Question 1.26 was incomplete, which made it difficult to choose the correct answer. That was
an oversight and I thank students who spotted this oversight. We did not mark it wrong either.
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Assignment 02
This assignment had eight questions and you had to answer all of them.
Question 1 You were required to write one word for the given definitions. The
definitions were taken from all the learning units in the study guide. Most of
you managed to get all the answers to this question correct. Keep up the
good work.
Question 2. You were expected to name the principles and give practical examples of
instances where learners experienced problems with each principle. Most
of you did not give practical examples or your examples were abstract.
Here are some practical examples to help you understand the activities to
identify learners who experience difficulties with the principles:
Stable order principle: Learners can chant number song as they
sequentially count with their fingers and toes.
One-to-one principle: You can let learners play a game where a child
counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 dots on the dice and jumps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 spaces on the
board because 5 dots correspond in quantity to 5 jumps.
Abstraction principle: When you tell a learner to count toy cars and
shoes in one set, a problem might arise when they end up counting the
objects that were given to them separately instead of counting them all
together.
Cardinality principle: Learners can be given an activity of counting a
number of artificial apples in groups. When they count the last number, for
instance 7, they shout out the number to indicate to the other groups the
number of apples they have.
Order irrelevance principle: Learners can be given a stack of five plastic
cups on top of each other to count and give the total number. If the same
cups are placed on the table horizontally or spread vertically, some
learners might think that the result will change due to a different counting
order.
Question 3 Similar to question 1, you answered this question well. That showed that
most of you understood the problem context and the numerical context.
Question 4 You were required to illustrate situations where continuous quantity is
increased by a scaling factor. Some of you did not understand that the
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following can be types of questions that indicate the scaling up
interpretation of multiplication:
• How many times as much?
• How many times bigger?
• How much less?
Question 5.1 You were expected to discuss how learners' conception of a whole number
can interfere with their learning of fractions with practical examples. Your
practical examples indicated your understanding of the conception of a
whole number. Your discussion should include the following headings:
• Meaning of fraction symbols
• Ordering fractions
• Equivalent fractions
Question 5.2 You were required to name and describe pre-knowledge domains. Your
responses should have included the following:
Equal sharing
• Concept of sharing
• Developing initial fraction knowledge
• Sharing equally as a precursor to understanding division
• Exposed to practical sharing situations
• Involve dividing a set of objects
• Introduce examples where equal sharing may lead to fractions
Partitioning
• Subdividing of a whole into equal parts
• Distinguish the relationship between the size and number of parts
• Explore the relationship between the whole and the two parts.
Unitising
• The size chunk that one constructs in terms of which to think about
a given commodity
• Develop a good understanding of fractions
• It is important to always ask the question: what is the unit?
• The learners' reasoning indicate poor knowledge of unitising in
representing the fraction situations
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Question 6 You could have taken either a long way of drawing a table as indicated on
page 87 of the study guide or you could have used the following formulae:
1. = 2(n+1) +2 or = 2n+4
2. = 2(20+1) +2 or =2(20) + 4
3. = 2(75+1) + 2 or = 2(75) +4
4. =2(100+1) +2 or = 2(100) + 4
5. = 2(150+1) +2 or =2(150) +4
Question 7 You needed to first establish the shape of the pan so that you can use the
formula for calculating the perimeter of that shape. To determine the
shape, you have to look at the given data. The data indicated that the
shape is a rectangle because it shows the values of two sides. You could
have used one of the following formulae:
The first pan
2(8+6) = X or
2(8) + 2(6) = X
or 8+8+6+6 = X
The second pan
2(12+4) = X or
2(12) + 2(4) = X
or 12+12+4+4 = X
The last pan
2(9+51/3) = X or
2(9) + 2(51/3) = X
or 9+9+51/3+ 5 1/3=X
Selina must use a 12 by 4-inch pan.
Question 8 Here you should have shown your data handling skills. Most of you did
well on this question and I liked the creativity you showed on the
statements that you provided about Mrs Naidu's class. Keep up the good
work.
The next section contains guidelines and information to help you to prepare for the examination.
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3. INFORMATION ABOUT EXAMINATION
3.1 Information on the demarcation or scoping of examinations and assessment
Please take note of the following important information.
The College has decided that lecturers may not demarcate scope-specific work for examination
purposes, but that examination questions should be based on all the work covering the notional hours
of the modules. Lecturers should encourage students to learn everything. Where other competencies
or skills are assessed differently during the tuition period, the various assessments will be spelt out
clearly by the lecturer in Tutorial Letter 201.
According to Assessment Procedure Manual 2013, point number 4.5.2(e), the examination
memoranda (like guidelines and rubrics) shall not be made available to students.
3.2 Format of the exam paper
• The examination paper is made up of seven questions that vary according to the revised
Bloom's taxonomy, as is illustrated in table 1.
• You have to answer all the questions. This means that you do not have a choice in questions.
• The duration of the paper is two hours.
• The total marks are 100.
• The format of the paper is as follows:
Table 1: Blooms Taxonomy
Description of cognition NQF 5
Level 1: Remembering (knowledge) Lower order 40%
Level 2: Understanding (comprehension) Levels 1 and 2
Level 3: Applying (application) Middle order 40%
Level 4: Analysing (analysis) Levels 3 and 4
Level 5: Evaluating (evaluation) Higher order 20%
Level 6: Creating (syntheses) Levels 5 and 6
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Table 1 illustrates the expected distribution of questions according to Bloom's taxonomy. Since
MFP1501 is on NQF level 5, the exam questions for lower-order levels are 40%, middle-order levels
40% and higher-order levels 20%. Table 2 indicates the type of questions you should expect for this
exam.
Table 2
Cognitive
Question Verb stem from the question Mark allocation levels
1 Classify and demonstrate 10 1 and 2
2 Complete 18 1 and 2
3 Name, explain and calculate 12 1 and 2
4 Order, explain, create and construct 10 3 and 4
Support, name, list, obtain, obtain and
5 illustrate 20 3 and 4
6 Analyse, compare, contrast, and conclude 10 3 and 4
7 Construct and conclude 20 5 and 6
4. CLOSING REMARKS
I hope that you have enjoyed this module and that you learnt new ideas and concepts about
Mathematics for Foundation Phase Teachers.
I wish you every success in your examination.
You are most welcome to contact me if you need further assistance in the module.
Dr RSS Mphahlele
Telephone number: 012 429 4941
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APPENDIX A: SELF-ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES
Please use these self-assessment activities as consolidation and preparation for the examination. In
addition to these questions, you also need to focus on your assignments for examination preparation.
Learning unit 1
You need to know the key concepts and definitions.
1.1 Explain the characteristics of different types of numbers and stages of early number learning
by revising activities related to the following topics:
• Types of numbers
• Ordinal and cardinal of counting number acquisition and connection
• Stages of early number learning
1.2 Recognise structured images and extend these images to higher number ranges by practising
activities under the following topics:
• Skip counting
• Structured images in five-wise and ten-wise
• Number within number relationship
1.3 Demonstrate a deeper understanding of the decimal system and place value by working on
activities of the following topics:
• Flexible place value decomposition of numbers
• Using example sequences to build a relationship into large numbers
• Exchange and equivalence in the decimal system
Learning unit 2
You need to know the interpretations of addition and subtraction as well as progression from early
counting into addition and subtraction.
2.1 Recognise and appreciate the need for progression from early counting into addition and
subtraction by engaging in the activities of the following topics:
• Addition and subtraction in word and numerical contexts
• Using a bar diagram to represent additive relations problems
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2.2 Explain types of addition and subtraction problem in word problems and numerical context by
doing activities based on the following topics:
• Building fluency with mental calculations
• Commutativity, compensation and equivalence
• Subtraction as taking away and as difference
2.3 Understand a wide range of models and alternative mental strategies for solving addition and
subtraction problems.
Learning unit 3
You need to know that multiplicative reasoning revolves around thinking about how quantities are
related in terms of how many times more or less.
3.1 Understand the learners' developmental stages of multiplicative thinking, and what it means
to think multiplicatively by practising problems of the following topics:
• Multiplication situations
• Models of multiplication
• Multiplication mental strategies
• Multiplication algorithms
3.2 Describe different multiplication situations, models and calculation strategies, including mental
strategies and algorithms by completing activities based on developmental stages of
multiplicative thinking.
3.3 Describe different division situations, models and calculation strategies, including mental
strategies and algorithms by doing all the activities based on the following topics:
• Division situations
• Models of division
• Division mental strategies
• Division algorithms
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Learning unit 4
You need to know that foundation phase learners generally find learning about fractions difficult.
4.1 Identify common difficulties that learners experience with fractions and support them to make
sense of fractional situations by learning more about the following topics:
• Equal sharing
• Partitioning
• Unitising
4.2 Understand which pre-knowledge is required for building a strong foundation for the
understanding of fractions by learning common difficulties with learning of fractions.
4.3 Introduce basic concepts of fractions, such as unitary and non-unitary fractions, comparing,
ordering and equivalent fractions as a meaningful, sense-making, problem-solving activity. To
achieve this, you need to do all the activities under the following topics:
• Unitary and non-unitary fractions
• Comparing, ordering and equivalent fractions
Learning unit 5
You need to recognise that mathematical ideas are constructed through the identification of patterns
and relationships, which constitute the route to formal algebra. Learning unit 5 focuses on patterns
and relationships.
5.1 Appreciate the importance of patterns as a route to early algebraic thinking through:
• Describing, representing and creating repeating patterns
• Constructing a general statement about repeating patterns
5.2 Describing, representing and creating repeating patterns and make a general statement about
repeating patterns. This will be possible when you do activities that relate to the importance of
pattern as a route to early algebraic thinking.
5.3 Demonstrate an understanding of growing patterns by describing, representing, and creating
patterns, and make a general statement about growing patterns by using a variety of strategies
by completing activities of the following topics:
• Describing, representing and creating growing patterns
• Constructing a general statement about growing patterns
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Learning unit 6
You need to know the three important concepts in the primary mathematics curriculum, namely
shapes, space and measurement.
6.1 Classify two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes according to their properties.
6.2 Describe equivalence and different kinds of transformation of geometrical shapes by practising
the activities of the following topics:
• Congruence
• Translation
• Rotation
• Reflection
6.3 Demonstrate an understanding of the principle and concept of measuring perimeter and area.
Learning unit 7
You need to collect, organise, represent and interpret data.
7.1 Describe how data can be collected, organised, represented and interpreted as a decision-
making process.
7.2 Compare the three measures of averages: mean, median and mode.
7.3 Demonstrate an understanding of probability and how it is applied to our everyday lives.
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