- Professional Development at Work
| Professional development has been the order of the day in the last few weeks. Sydney and Canberra back in March, the Association of Teachers of Mathematics (ATM) conference at Swansea the week before Easter, the next two weeks at various education communities through Sweden and Finland ... and still two more weeks of presentations in Sweden. It's wonderful to think that such a large web of teachers around the world are all interested in building classrooms in which students are learning to work like a mathematician, or på svenska, lära sig arbeta som en matematiker.
Over decades, thousands of teachers and students have contributed to what we know about this vision of mathematics education and now the contributions flow from all over the world. This is evident in the links below for Squound and Star Numbers, as well as in this collection of comments from recent workshops. |
Steps, Task 176, as a whole class investigation with teachers in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden |
Pymble Ladies College, Sydney
This two day workshop, which included two Discussion Lessons, was tailored to support the school's work with girls having difficulty learning mathematics in both primary and secondary school. However, staff clearly saw that the principles and practice were applicable to all students.
- Really good, practical course - great to actually 'do' the activities using the materials the girls will use - and to navigate around the web sites as we go. Fantastic discussion resulted amongst participants - lots of principles relate across many stages.
- The course was great. It was completely relevant to department goals and the college goal of student engagement. Dialogue between the prep, junior and secondary school was so valuable.
- Very beneficial for all who were present as this course gives teachers strategies in order to assist students who have special needs or gaps in numeracy.
- The course was very relevant and the use of materials was brilliant. It could be used for any level and it brings to us that maths is fun and can be brought to life.
- Provided teachers with ideas of how to reach maths using hands-on investigations linked to syllabus strands. This will assist staff to make progress away from use of text books. Activities focus heavily on Working Mathematically strand - use of reasoning, communicating knowledge and applying it.
Menu Maths at Örnsköldsvik. |
ATM Conference
- These menus make it much easier for teachers to introduce investigations into their curriculum.
-
Dear Doug,
Just to let you know - I did Greedy Pig again today. Twice. Year 8 - basic stem & leaf. Year 9 Set 1 - Quartiles, strategies. hanks so much for this task!
James Robinson
Thanks for the message James. Perhaps Task 18, Same or Different, will be your next adventure.
Learn more about our Professional Development courses from the Link List below. |
- Working Mathematically with Infants: Full day workshop
This is our next workshop in Australia. It will be held on May 8th in Ivanhoe, Victoria and is being organised through Critical Agendas. At time of writing there are still places available for teachers of 5 - 7 year old children. Please pass this information on to your Prep to 2 teachers. We wouldn't want anyone to find out too late.
- See the Link List below to find:
- the application form with more details
- one school's excitement about their success with WMI
- details of the WMI kit.
- More on Squound
|
Why is Marlin looking so happy about her solution to Task 139, Squound? Simple. She had a strategy for an organised search. She persisted regardless of the approaches taken by others in the session. She found the solution to the number of Squound questions for 12 counters and it was a thrill.
Marlin has also laid a foundation for finding the number of Squound questions for any number of counters.
Full details in the Link List below (including a close up of Marlin's solution). |
 |
- Maths300 Software
A new version of Maths300 software has been released. It has revisions of a small number of programs within the range available. It is important to keep up with the latest version of the software, so, if you are a member and have your own computer, you are invited to visit, download and install. If you use Maths300 on a network, this is a good time to request that your Network Adminstrator downloads the installation file ready for the next re-imaging of the network. See Link List below.
- Tasks of the Month
Two new cameos this month.
- Garden Beds presents a story shell of a gardener planting a single row of plants and bordering them with paving tiles. It is rich in arithmetic calculations, pattern, alternative generalisations and opportunities for symbolic representation. It is a wonderful opportunity to develop algebraic concepts and skills through concrete, visual experiences.
- Star Numbers is instantly appealing. Colour and shape attract the eye and stimulate the mind to see patterns and seek for more. And there are more. The obvious square with four triangles is only the start. The tasks offers a visual algebra experience which can be tackled through patterns of square and triangle numbers, and can lead into quadratic algebra. The cameo contains a wonderful report from one Year 9 student working like a mathematician.
 
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 March News?
If so you missed information about:
- Menu Maths Packs
- Working Mathematically with Infants Workshop
- Maths on the Mat Expanded
- Iceberg Information about two Tasks of the Month
(Tasks 146, 173)
- ...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).
Excel version provided by Pymble Ladies' College
- All these links, and more, appear in Working with Mathematics Centre (a PDF file).
|
Previous News
February 2012 ... January 2012
December 2011 ... November 2011 ... October 2011 ... September 2011 ... August 2011 ... July 2011
June 2011 ... May 2011 ... April 2011 ... 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.
|
