MUTI is based in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at the University of Pretoria in South Africa and deals with issues relating to all aspects of undergraduate mathematics.

Next Muti seminar : 14 September 2007


The Team Publications
Seminars
 Our Students
Current Projects Contact us
Collaboration with other institutions

The Team  Johann Engelbrecht
Ansie Harding
Jeanetta du Preez
 
 
2007 Seminars
 Our monthly MUTI seminar is always on a
Friday afternoon at 14:30.
1. 26 January 2007 Vasanthy Velupillai: How mathematics educators teach the OBE curriculum
2. 23 February 2007 Johann Engelbrecht: Conceptual and procedural mathematics
3. 16 March 2007 Jaco Greeff:  Mathematics of reproductive strategies
4. 13 April 2007 Eben Mare and Ettiene van den Berg: Painting by numbers
5. 11 May 2007

Willem Fouche: Some trends in the applications of mathematics
6. 9 June 2007

 Ansie Harding: Those illusive imaginary zeroes
7. 13 July 2007

Tracy Craig: Writing and mathematical problem solving
8. 17 August 2007

Liaan Cilliers: Demystifying actuaries and their mathematics
9. 14 September 2007 Belinda Huntley (WITS)
10. 12 October 2007 Laurie Butgereit
11. 10 November 2007 Richard Tsanwani (Venda University)
     
2006 Seminars
1. 3 February 2006 Richard de Beer: The secret life of numbers
2. 3 March 2006 Mathume Bopape: Mathematical solutions for the country: Muti and SAMF?
3.

24 March 2006

 Werner Olivier: Tablet PC technology adds a new dimension to the teaching of mathematics
4. 21 April 2006 Duncan Baker: Can we capitalise on the IEEE's (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) pre-university initiative?
5. 19 May 2006 Annemarie Hattingh: Why are some mathematics teachers exceptional despite the difficult learning environments they work in?
6. 9 June 2006 Kerstin Jordaan: The mathematics of money.
7. 21 July 2006 Irene le Roux:  E-learning: Thwarted or adopted innovation?
8. 25 August 2006 Bronwen Ladner: The benefits of tertiary mathematics in a secondary education context
9. 15 September 2006 Sudan Hansraj: Reaching for the stars with the help of Einstein
10. 20 October 2006
 Fourie Joubert: The role of mathematics in bioinformatics and computational biology
11. 17 November 2006 Laurent Lafforgue: Mathematics as a human experience



2005 Seminars
 
1. 14 January 2005 Ans Gerber (Naude): The influence of second language teaching on undergraduate mathematics performance
2. 11 February 2005 Elemer Rosinger : Social aspects of teaching and learning mathematics
3.

4 March 2005
Rhena Delport: Teaching large classes
4. 8 April 2005 Marietjie Potgieter : Do they know that they don't know?

5.

 6 May 2005 Koos van Zyl: Cracking polynomials exactly
6. 21  June 2005 Ken Houston:  Professional development of mathematics academics as lecturers
7. 22 July 2005 Jill Adler:  Elaborating mathematical knowledge for teaching: The case of learners' mathematical productions
8. 12 August 2005 Johannes Cronje:  Solve for x or Why clean mathematics teaching does not help
9. 16 September 2005 Retha van Niekerk: Mathematics education through the lenses of Freudenthal
10. 14 October 2005 Ina Louw: The qualitative aspect of a mathematical inquiry



2004 Seminars

1. 30 January 2004 Leigh Wood: Cross-disciplinary teaching
2. 27 February 2004 Ansie Harding: Maths BC meets Maths IT
3. 19 March 2004 Johan van Staden: Mathematics in the sky: The Trojan Asteroids
4. 30 April 2004 Carol Bohlmann: Let's drive from Johannesburg to Sydney
5. 28 May 2004 John Rogan & Hayley Barnes: Mathematical understanding: Current performance and future potential
6. 18 June 2004 Margot Berger: Using technology for learning mathematics: A South African perspective
7. 30 July 2004 Tobia Steyn: Aptitude, attitude and mathematics potential – experiences with first year engineering students at UP
8. 20 August 2004 Mark Saul: Serious games: How the classroom can benefit from the competition experience
9. 17 September 2004 Tom Brown: Is M-learning the future of E-learning?
10. 8 October 2004 Zama Kunene: The National Strategy for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education
11. 29 October 2004 Jeanetta du Preez: The technique mastering programme at UP
12. 19 November 2004 Lou Pretorius: Why school geometry works
 


2003 seminars
1. 7 February 2003 Kobus Maree: Limpopo Province: Trying to achieve in Mathematics despite all odds
2. 7 March 2003 Johann Engelbrecht: Visual Mathematics: Applets and Pictures
3. 25 April 2003 Jonathan Jansen : Can Constructivism work in disadvantaged Mathematics Classrooms?
4. 6 June 2003 Koos van Zyl  : Magic Squares
5. 1 August 2003 Barbara Swart: In a random world... (financially speaking)
6. 12 September 2003 Ans Naude: Mathematically speaking...  Are second language users at a disadvantage?
7. 10 October 2003 Jörg Wenzel: Continued Fractions -- A different way of looking at real numbers
8. 7 November 2003 Kevin Horsley: Pi-day

      
2002 seminars

1. 8 March 2002  Fhatu Netshapala: Classification and Analysis of some Computer Software Packages for teaching Mathematics
2. 4 April 2002 Chantel Marais: Do first year maths students view mathematics as logical?
3. 3 May 2002 Ansie Harding & Roumen Anguelov : Using technology to visualise
4. 7 June 2002 Steve Joubert : Modelling a predator-prey model using technology
5.
 2 August 2002 Meira Hockman: Dynamic Geometry as a Learning Tool in Algebra
6.
 6 September 2002 Sarah Howie: The Search to explain South Africa's Performance at TIMSS-R
7.
 4 October 2002 Avhasei Tsanwani: Teaching Mathematics in Venda and Harvard: a personal experience
8.
 1 November 2002 Riette Maritz, Jean Lubuma, Jan Snyman: THAT WAS GREAT!

Our Students  PhD
Belinda Huntley (Johannesburg)
Batseba Mofolo (Johannesburg)
Humbulani Mutshaeni (Thohoyondou)
Avhasei Tsanwani (Thohoyondou)

MSc
Emily Mavhungu
Vasanthy Velupillai (finished in 2007)
Ans Naude (finished 2005)
Jeanetta du Preez (finished 2004)
Fhatu Netshapala (finished in 2002)

 
 
 
 
 
 
Current projects Developing and evaluating web-based courses in undergraduate mathematics

Cooperative learning in web-based mathematics courses

Assessment in web-based mathematics courses

Academic maturity acquired through exposure to web-based mathematics courses

Professional development of university mathematics teachers

Comparison of students' ability in pure mathematics and applications

Conceptual and procedural understanding in Mathematics and Chemistry

The role of visual understanding in mathematics

Trends in mathematics majors at South African universities

Investigations into the teaching of mathematics in disadvantaged high schools and its implications for tertiary mathematics learning

Format and long term impact of a formal  technique mastering programme

Use of technology in teaching mathematics at South African universities. See below .

Undergraduate students' conceptions of mathematics and its applications

The influence of second language teaching on undergraduate mathematics performance
 
 



 


Cooperation with other institutions Venda University of Science and Technology, Thohoyondou, South Africa

University of Technology, Sydney, Australia

Macquarrie University, Sydney, Australia

University of Ulster, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Linköping University, Sweden

University of Auckland, New Zealand

University of Otago, New Zealand

Concordia University, Montreal, Canada

 
Publications

Engelbrecht, J.,  Harding, A. & Du Preez, J. Long-term retention of basic mathematical knowledge and skills with engineering students.

Velupillai, V., Harding, A. & Engelbrecht, J. Out of (another) frying pan …? Case studies of the implementation of Curriculum 2005 in some mathematics classrooms.
Petocz P, Reid A, Wood L, Smith G, Mather G, Harding A, Engelbrecht J, Houston K, Hillel J, & Perrett G.   Undergraduate students' conceptions of mathematics: An international study.  International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education 5(3), 439-459, 2007.

Potgieter, M, Harding, A & Engelbrecht, J. Transfer of algebraic and graphical thinking between mathematics and chemistry? To appear in Journal of Research in Science Teaching.
Engelbrecht J & Harding A   Impact of Web-based undergraduate mathematics teaching on developing academic maturity: A qualitative investigation. Proceedings of the 8th Annual Conference on World Wide Web Applications September 2006, Bloemfontein, South Africa (http://www.zaw3.co.za)

Wood LN, Smith G, Mather G, Harding A, Engelbrecht JC, Houston K, Perrett G, Hillel J, Petocz P, Reid A.  Student voices: implications for teaching mathematics. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on the Teaching of Mathematics at the undergraduate level (ICTM), John Wiley & Sons Inc, Istanbul, Turkey, 2006, ISBN 0471072709 (6 pages, electronic proceedings, paper 256)

Houston K, Wood L, Engelbrecht JC, Harding A, Kågesten O, Holton D, Barton B  Professional development of mathematics academics.  Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on the Teaching of Mathematics at the undergraduate level (ICTM), John Wiley & Sons Inc, Istanbul, Turkey, 2006, ISBN 0471072709 (7 pages, electronic proceedings, paper 38)
Kågesten, O., & Engelbrecht, J. Supplementary explanations in undergraduate mathematics assessment: A forced formative writing activity. European Journal of Engineering Education 31(6), 705-715.

Kågesten, O., & Engelbrecht, J. Student group presentations as a learning instrument in undergraduate mathematics for engineering students. To appear in European Journal of Engineering Education.
Engelbrecht, J., Harding, A. & Potgieter, M. Undergraduate students’ performance and confidence in procedural and conceptual mathematics.  International Journal for Mathematics Education in Science and Technology 36(7), 701- 712, 2005.
Anguelov, R., Engelbrecht, J. & Harding, A. Partial volume of a tank: From high school trig to multivariate calculus. Proceedings of the Kingfisher Delta ‘05, The Fifth Southern Hemisphere Conference on Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics Teaching and Learning, Fraser Island Queensland, Australia, 307 – 312, 2005.
Du Preez, J., Harding, A. & Engelbrecht, J. Comparison of online and paper tests in a technique-mastering programme in teaching Calculus. 
Gerber, A., Engelbrecht, J., Harding, A. & Rogan, J. The influence of second language teaching on undergraduate mathematics performance. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 17(3), 3 – 21, 2005
Engelbrecht, J. & Harding, A. Taxonomy of online undergraduate mathematics courses. Proceedings of ICME-10, Copenhagen, July 2004 at http://www.icme-10.dk/ 
Engelbrecht, J. & Harding, A. Technologies involved in the teaching of undergraduate mathematics on the web. 
Engelbrecht, J. & Harding, A. Teaching undergraduate mathematics on the internet 2: Attributes and possibilities. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 58(2), 253-276, 2005.
Engelbrecht, J. & Harding, A. Teaching undergraduate mathematics on the internet 1: Technologies and taxonomy. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 58(2), 235-252, 2005.
Engelbrecht, J. & Harding A. Online assessment in mathematics: Multiple assessment formats, New Zealand Journal of Mathematics 32 (Supplement), 57-66, 2003. 
Engelbrecht, J. & Harding A. Combining online and paper assessment in a web-based course in undergraduate mathematics, Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, 23(3), 2004, 217-231.
Engelbrecht, J. & Harding, A. A qualitative investigation on the impact of web-based undergraduate mathematics teaching on developing academic maturity, Technical Report UPWT 2002/13. 
Engelbrecht, J., Fedotov, I., Fedotova, T. & Harding, A. Error bounds for quadrature methods involving lower order derivatives International Journal for Mathematics Education in Science and Technology 34(6), 831-846, 2003. 
Engelbrecht, J. & Harding, A. Cooperative learning as a tool for enhancing a web-based calculus course, Proceedings of the ICTM2, Crete, July 2002. 
Engelbrecht, J. & Harding, A. Is mathematics running out of numbers? South African Journal of Science 99(1/2), 17-20, 2003. 
Anguelov, R., Engelbrecht, J. & Harding, A. Use of technology in undergraduate mathematics teaching in South African universities, Quaestiones Mathematicae Supplement 1, 183-191, 2001. 
Engelbrecht, J. & Harding, A. Internet calculus: An option? Quaestiones Mathematicae Supplement 1, 183-191, 2001. 
Engelbrecht, J. & Harding, A. WWW mathematics at the University of Pretoria: The trial run, South African Journal of Science 97(9/10), 368-370, 2001.

Engelbrecht, J.C. What has happened to undergraduate mathematics teaching over the past ten years? An international survey of undergraduate mathematics courses, Presentation given at the ICMI Study Conference on the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics at University Level, Singapore, December 1998. 

Engelbrecht, J.C. Academic support in mathematics in a third world environment. Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching. 16(2/3), 323-334, 1997. 

Engelbrecht, J.C. The Calculus&Mathematica experiment at the University of Pretoria. Technical Report UP. 1995.

Engelbrecht, J.C. Rekenaargesteunde onderrig teenoor eksploratiewe gebruik van die rekenaar in wiskunde-onderwys. S.A. Tydskrif vir Opvoedkunde 10(4) 300-306,


WE NEED YOUR HELP

Our team is currently running a survey on the use of technology in teaching undergraduate Mathematics at SA universities. It is a big and perhaps somewhat ambitious project. For this purpose a comprehensive computer based dynamic questionnaire has been developed. To make this survey representative, we would like as many instructors as possible to complete the questionnaire. If you read this and you teach mathematics at university level, please take the time to fill in our questionnaire. It is should take no more than about 15 minutes to complete the questionnaire.

We cannot offer any other compensation than giving you access to all the data, once it has been collected and organised, but we are convinced that you share our appreciation of how important this project is for mathematics teaching in South Africa. 

Who else is collaborating?
Motivation for this project
Topics
Some controversial statements
FAQ
Method of implementation

HOW DO YOU DO IT?

Attached you will find a copy of the questionnaire. We recommend the following procedure:
1. Click on the link below and save the file onto your hard drive.
2. Run the file by double clicking it in Windows Explorer.
3. The output will be saved back into the same directory.
4. Send the output file form back to us via e-mail to < samern@up.ac.za >


 
QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN SOUTH AFRICA

 

Maintained by:  Johann Engelbrecht
Last updated: 20 August 2007