|
May 2011
In this month's News you will find:
 Software for Tower of Hanoi
A Maths Mat for Every Class!
Tasks in Africa
Swedish Teachers at Work
Tasks of the Month
Task 129, Farmyard Friends
Task 130, Protons & Anti-Protons
|
928 tasks placed in schools during March.
331,009 placed since the project began in July 1992.
Due to the Easter holiday, look for an April/May update of this section next month.
We offer an email news service from each of the three key projects linked to this site. If you would like to receive updates from the Task Centre Project, Maths300 or Calculating Changes send an email to doug@blackdouglas.com.au:
- In the subject line write Subscribe Maths.
- In the body of message state which projects you want to subscribe to, or simply write Subscribe All.
- Add your name and preferred email address.
Please feel free to distribute this information.
Browsing Hint
Use the View/Zoom options of your browser to 'move' the page closer or further away. Ctrl +, Ctrl - and Ctrl 0.
|
- Software for Tower of Hanoi
Last month we released the cameo for Task 142, Tower of Hanoi. A day or two later, George Dimitriadis sent a Tower of Hanoi program to share. George develops these programs simply for the challenge - for himself and for his students. He invites you to share the challenge of Tower of Hanoi with your students through the hands-on experience of the task and the companion experience of the software. See Link List below.
- A Maths Mat for Every Class!
Yes, that's right. Clontarf Beach State School in Queensland has made a Maths Mat for every classroom. Why? This message from Kylie Wall, their Numeracy Coach, will explain.
Our school has really immersed itself in the kinaesthetic style of learning! We love it and it has completely changed the way teachers, students and the community view maths as a subject now.
And Matt Skoss, a long time proponent of the Maths Mat as a learning tool, has sent Kylie every activity he has devised to help them out further. If you would like to learn more about the Maths Mat and Matt's Maths Mat activities (both primary and secondary), see Link List below.
- Tasks in Africa
The following email from Ian Lowe, Professional Officer, Mathematical Association of Victoria, tells its own story:
Hi Doug,
I am back from three weeks in South Africa and Malawi. I used several of the ideas inherent in Maths300 and the Mathematics Task Centre with three groups of primary or secondary teachers during that time, and I want to report that an approach using group work, cooperation, hands-on material and problem solving works brilliantly with teachers - and they tell me, it will also work with students - in Africa. There is an active interest in a new approach to teaching.
|
Truth Tiles and Jumping Kangaroos. |
 |
|
Fay's Nines (also done with cards) and Circumference of a Circle (we did it for 8 steps then predicted what it would be for 4 steps.) |
 |
- Swedish Teachers at Work
Valkomna alla nya mottagare av eNews från Sverige.
Outside of Australia there are more teachers, more schools and more districts in Sweden excited by working like a mathematician in best practice classrooms than anywhere else in the world. Mathematics Centre has just completed a nine day tour of Sweden involving 13 presentations from two hours to one day. At every one of them we met teachers wanting to sharing experiences of:
- modelling what it means to work like a mathematician,
- inviting students to apply the model for themselves, and
- meaningfully developing the toolbox skills of a mathematician.
Teachers in Sweden are supported and encouraged by a new national curriculum, applicable from next August, that has major strands of reasoning, communication, justification and problem solving. A positive development from which many other countries could learn.
We extend our thanks to Leif Lundgren, JL Utbildning, who organised this tour which brought us into contact with 550 - 600 professional colleagues over such a short time. Our thanks also go to long time supporters Per Berggren and Maria Lindroth, who arranged our initial meeting with Leif in November last; and to Ulla Öberg who initiated our work in Sweden back in 1996 and has continued to nurture it throughout the years.
|
Tasks being used in a full day workshop in Katrineholm
for teachers from
Year 1 to Year 10. |
 |
Teachers from Göteborg exploring and recording teaching craft features that support students to work like a mathematician...
|
...and later exploring Bridging 10 from Calculating Changes and Billiard Ball Bounces from Maths300. |
 |
- Tasks of the Month
Two new cameos this month.
- Farmyard Friends is a language and logic task for Year 1/2 which, with a twist or two, becomes a combination theory task for Year 11 - and there's lots of opportunity for investigation for students in the years between.
- Protons & Anti-Protons draws from science to build a hands-on model which begins by challenging our concept of zero and leads to a representation of integer arithmetic.
 
Click a photo to access its cameo, or access all current cameos through the Link List below.
Keep smiling,
Doug.
Link List
- Did you miss April?
If so you missed information about:
- Praise for tasks from Queen Victoria High School, Scotland
- PD from MC
(Professional Development from Mathematics Centre)
- Solomon's Puzzle
- Iceberg Information about two Tasks of the Month
(Tasks 128, 142)
- ...and more...
|
 |
Did You Know?
- You can find tasks coded by Year Level and Curriculum Strand in the Task Centre Catalogue (PDF file).
- The Activities link of Calculating Changes offers Content Finder & Year Level Finder tools.
- Our Site Map acts as a Table of Contents to help you find what you need in Mathematics Centre.
- You can search for lessons by Year Level, Curriculum Strand, Lesson Features & Keyword at Maths300.
- You can connect Tasks to their Maths300 companion lesson using Tasks & Maths300 (a PDF file).
|
Previous News
March 2011 ... February 2011 ... Dec 2010/Jan 2011
November 2010 ... October 2010 ... September 2010 ... August 2010 ... July 2010
June 2010 ... May 2010 ... April 2010 ... March 2010 ... February 2010 ... Dec.2009/Jan.2010
November 2009 ... October 2009 ... September 2009 ... August 2009 ... July 2009
June 2009 ... May 2009 ... April 2009 ... March 2009 ... February 2009 ... Dec.2008/Jan.2009
November 2008 ... October 2008 ... September 2008 ... August 2008 ... July 2008
May/June 2008 ... April 2008 ... March 2008 ... February 2008 ... Dec.2007/ Jan.2008
November 2007 ... October 2007 ... August/September 2007 ... July 2007
June 2007 ... May 2007 ... April 2007 ... March 2007 ... February 2007 ... Dec. 2006/ Jan. 2007
November 2006 ... October 2006 ... September 2006 ... August 2006 ... July 2006
June 2006 ... May 2006 ... April 2006 ... March 2006 ... February 2006 ... Dec. 2005/ Jan. 2006
November 2005 ... October 2005 ... September 2005 ... August 2005 ... July 2005
June 2005 ... May 2005 ... April 2005 ... March 2005 ... February 2005 ... Dec. 2004/ Jan. 2005
November 2004 ... October 2004 ... September 2004 ... August 2004 ... July 2004
June 2004 ... April/May 2004 ... March 2004 ... February 2004
December 2003 ... October 2003 ... August/September 2003 ... July 2003
June 2003 ... April/May 2003 ... March 2003 ... February 2003 ... January 2003
December 2002 ... November 2002 ... October 2002 ... September 2002 ... March 2002
December 2001 ... October 2001
Continue exploring our history back to July 1992 through the Sense of History link.
|
