A Report to the Adult Basic Education Unit, Toronto Board of Education, 1988

by Tom Ciancone

Preamble

Mathematics is a topic that evokes wonder, excitement and satisfaction in some adults, but anxiety, frustration and inadequacy in others. Yet even this second group acknowledges the need to learn mathematics. It is mainly for the latter group that we seek to explore the subject of this paper: the learning of mathematics by adults. We get encouragement to proceed in our study from the great mentor of adult education, Eduard Lindeman (1961), who proclaims that “because adult education is free from the yoke of subject tradition, it's builders are able to experiment boldly even in the sacrosanct sphere of pedagogical method. Indeed, if adult education is to produce a difference in quality in the use of intelligence, its promoters will do well to devote their major concern to method and not content.” (p. 114) This paper is essentially divided into three parts. First, we will look at the nature of the adult learner who needs and seeks instruction in mathematics. Secondly, we will examine the nature of mathematics learning and its role in interpreting the real world. Finally, we will see what implications these two areas of study have for instruction of adults in mathematics.

A Definition of Numeracy

Until now we have avoided a word that appears in the title of this paper. “Numeracy”, as distinct from “arithmetic” or “mathematics”, is a relatively new word in the jargon of adult education. Like literacy, there are many ways to look at numeracy, but as we proceed through this research paper, its meaning should become more clear. For the sake of a common starting point, however, let us adopt the definition of numeracy given by Penny (1984): “the ability to understand and use mathematics as a means of communication; to interpret a situation given in mathematical terms or to employ mathematics to represent a situation and,if necessary, use mathematical symbols to obtain further information.” (p. 24)