At all grade levels, teachers encounter learners who experience difficulty with mathematics. There are many reasons for such difficulties and a compact disk (CD) which is soon to be distributed to schools provides an easy way of identifying each learner's barrier and offers suggestions for dealing with it.

The CD is for the use of teachers, not learners. It provides teachers with

• assistance in identifying learners with barriers to learning mathematics;
• further information on the possible barriers;
• suggested teaching strategies which could be used to assist the learner; and
• examples of worksheets which could be used.

The CD will be distributed in the first term of 2009 as follows:

• Circuit teams will provide each primary and special school with one copy.
• Learning support advisers in each circuit will provide one copy to each learning support teacher.

Copies for independent schools and additional copies can be ordered through Edumedia (tel. no. 021 689 2641 or fax no. 021 685 7421).

The learning support adviser in each circuit will hold sessions to explain the CD to teachers. Schools will be notified as to when these sessions will take place. Any problems in accessing the CD should be referred to your LAN administrator or IT support person.

By the end of February 2009 the material on the CD will also be available on the curriculum website at http://curriculum.pgwc.gov.za/site/121/page/view so that teachers can add to it and thereby develop this valuable resource. Teachers who have other successful teaching strategies and worksheets for various barriers to mathematics are requested to forward this information to Ms Lynette Malan at lymalan@pgwc.gov.za so that it can be added to the information on the website.

It is suggested that, in each school, a teacher introduce the CD to the teaching and support staff as a way of making this easy-to-use resource known. The WCED hopes that this CD will be a valuable resource for all primary and special school teachers.