- 10th Anniversary Year
It was our 11th birthday on July 2nd and the close of a year long celebration of our first decade. We thought we would mark that moment by taking a quick look at what was achieved during that anniversary.
- This web site was created from the earlier site for Task Centre Consultants.
- The 237,000th task was placed in a school somewhere in the world.
- 1,886 of those were purchased in the month of June.
- The totally new professional development initiative, Maths on the Move was created and programs have been successfully run in three states.
- Our regular professional development programs have been enthusiastically received at conferences and in school and cluster workshops in every state of Australia, as well as in USA, UK, Sweden and New Zealand. At the time of writing, Charles is in New Hampshire, USA, working with teachers at Summer School courses, and training district leaders.
- Around 10 tasks have been added to the catalogue. See Documents on the left for the latest.
- Around 20 lessons have been added to our companion Maths300 site and several of those whole class investigations are built on the iceberg of tasks.
- Sphinx Is Back
Mid-July Emma and Amy, Year 7 students at Thorne Grammar, Doncaster, England wrote:
G'day Doug,
This is Emma Stewart and Amy Milner, we constructed the first ever 11x11
sphinx. (Do you remember us?) Well we have just constructed the first ever 13x13 sphinx Mr Martin has ever seen. We have taken a picture of it using a digital camera. Would you like us to send a picture of it to you? Please get back to us or Mr martin as soon as possible because we break up for 6 weeks for the summer holidays on Friday.
I got back immediately, but the photo hasn't come yet. However, Mr. Martin wrote as follows on July 21:
Hi Doug,
The Size 13 Sphinx is in my classroom safely taped together! Amy and Emma spent one evening making it safe, so I will get you a photo as soon as I can. Yes I am now on a break. Dominoes will feature in Maths In Schools in September.
So now we have two things to look forward to:
- a photo of the largest Sphinx of Sphinxes that we know of so far, and
- an article about using the Dominoes task in the journal of the Mathematical Association, UK.
As Andy Martin would say, Watch this space!.
- A Sense of History
Have you noticed that the Tenth Anniversary link that was in the index has disappeared? Well actually it has changed its name to A Sense of History. At the start of the anniversary celebrations we began that link to tell key stories from the first decade of the Mathematics Task Centre Project. That collection has now been completed and carries this new title. It is only a potted collection, but it carries the message of consistent, worldwide grassroots (or should that be chalkface) support for the vision of a Working Mathematically curriculum resourced with tasks and delivered by enthusiastic teachers.
Students of Mathematics Education History might find the ten pages particularly interesting.
- Systemic Involvement
We have always been available to support systems working towards an across the board curriculum shift. There are several examples in the Sense of History link. That support has developed further in recent months through direct involvement with:
- Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia
- Association of Independent Schools of South Australia
- Aboriginal Education Unit South Australia
- Catholic Education Office Tasmania
Are there system administrators whom you should be talking with about tasks, Maths300 and learning to work like a mathematician?
- Maths on the Move
Four new series of this well received professional development initiative are planned for the months from August to October. See Maths on the Move on the left for details if you are a teacher from Victoria, Tasmania or South Australia.
We will bring Maths on the Move anywhere in the world. We just need you to work with us to explore the possibilities in your region.
- An Outback Idea
Matt Skoss, our Alice Springs-based consultant tells us that Fregon School in the far North-West corner of South Australia, has developed an exciting way of documenting their curriculum shift. They have begun a scrap book style Big Book of memorable moments to support the induction of future new staff.
Great idea. I hope Matt can rustle up an example or two from the book for us.
Would you like to tell us how you have managed the induction of new staff? How about a Task Centre Scrap Book web site???
- Did you miss the June News?
If so you missed information about the new Maths With Attitude kits for Years 3 - 6 and 20 pages of ideas for using Poly Plug to develop the whole class investigation life of particular tasks.
