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Application of Number
Why teach Application of Number?
To help with the main course
of study
You will find examples of number appearing in all subjects,
at all levels and on all courses in the curriculum. The numerical
demands of the courses are usually greater at the higher levels.
Clearly, students whose number skills are equal to the demands
of the subject or course will achieve higher standards. Key
skill Application of Number provides us with an opportunity
to improve this area of students' skills and this can result
in an improvement in attendance, attainment, achievement and
retention across the institution.
Most subjects and all vocational areas in the 14-19 curriculum
contain some mathematics and use of number - here are a few
examples.
Art and Design
Areas, volumes, ratios of paper size and the golden section,
percentages, costings of materials, perspective, measurements.
Geography
Using maps, interpreting charts and statistical data about
different countries, soil analysis, flow rates in rivers.
Economics
Inflation, handling financial data, handling economic indicators
and models, moving averages.
Social Sciences
Handling statistics, correlation, tests for significance,
interpretation of graphs and charts. Of all the social sciences,
psychology contains the most number skills but you will find
number appearing in them all.
Health and Social Care
Interpreting health statistics for the population, temperatures,
designing a ward or nursery, weight vs height graphs, blood
pressure charts before and after exercise.
Sciences
All the sciences are rich in references to number. Physics
includes equations, measurements (distance, speed, time, voltage,
to name just a few), area, compound units (density and acceleration,
for example) and work with graphs and charts. Biology makes
much use of statistical techniques including correlation (when,
for example, looking for a relationship between a plant's
growth rate and the soil ph), t-tests, working with averages
and equations. Chemistry includes moles, reaction equations,
measurement of mass and temperature.
Leisure and Tourism
Statistical data about holiday destinations and preferred
leisure pursuits; measurements of length and area calculations
when looking at leisure park design.
Business courses
Company accounts, business plans, analysis of marketing
surveys, budgets, sales forecasts, cash flow.
PE and Sports Studies
Measurement of time of a sprint, measurement of distance
when marking out pitches or running tracks, equations to calculate
ideal body weights.
For future employment
Virtually every job in a modern economy, from skilled operatives
to middle and senior managers, requires the use and application
of number skills. Surveys show that employers place number
skills high on their list of essential skills for employees.
Teaching Tip
Divide the class into small groups of two or three. Ask each
group to write down five jobs and then for each, list all
the number skills that would be required to carry out the
job.
In everyday life
We all use number in our everyday lives. When out shopping, planning
a kitchen; as a student budgeting when living away from home for the first
time; checking our payslips; choosing a building society account and even
when buying a lottery ticket; reading statistics in the newspaper; choosing
a mobile phone; or planning a holiday, we have to carry out calculations
and base decisions on the results.
Progression to higher education
The development of key skills encourages students to become independent
learners and to take responsibility for the process of learning, as well
as the outcome. These are the very skills that enable students to be successful
in higher education.
Most higher education courses require some number work. The key skills
give students the skills that they will need to make a success of higher
education.
Teaching Tip
Students are often surprised by the mathematical content in degree courses.
Ask A-level students to research the number skills required in the degree
courses that they are thinking of applying for through UCAS. This may
well generate the incentive to study Application of Number with greater
enthusiasm.
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