The Makings of First Class Maths | garethmetcalfe So the level 6 tests were introduced into primary schools at the end of KS2, and I took a sharp intake of breath: was the maths curriculum about to become narrowed for our most able learners? I appreciated that there were many children for whom a greater level of challenge was required to retain an interest and purpose in maths. However, I feared that in reality our most able children would be accelerated through monotonous, dry level 6 materials (or, more to the point, past papers) in order for them to reach the level 6 holy grail. My belief, a view supported by all manner of research and guidance, was that more able children need to be given deep, conceptual mathematical experiences rather than to be accelerated through maths content. Over the subsequent years, I have written a maths resource which I am enormously excited to release called First Class Maths. Below is an extract from one of the tasks: The Village Elder. Like this: Like Loading...
Find the Factors | A Multiplication Based Logic Puzzle Independent Learning using iPods in Maths (iPodagogy) Since the beginning of September we have been trying to maximise the use of 1:1 iPods in year 6 in all areas of curriculum. The potential of enhancing teaching and learning in mathematics through the use of this technology has been particularly interesting. We have been developing the creative use of a range of Apps to support progress, engage children and add relevance to maths teaching with positive outcomes ( 10 Practical ways to use Apps in Maths ) We have also explored a wide range of maths specific Apps which have helped pupils mainly in the areas of number fact and tables recall. ( Apps for Maths ) Recently we have extended the use of the iPods to allow them to support independent learning, and play a central role in effective formative assessment. Each week the children complete regular short assessment tasks based on assessment criteria appropriate to the level of maths they are working towards. The children track their own progress on a target sheet in their exercise book.
Roderick Kimball's Path Puzzles Photo Our challenges this week are Path Puzzles — original creations by Roderick Kimball, a recreational mathematician and puzzler also known for his juggling and music in the traveling troupe The Flying Karamazov Brothers (check out this review). “Path Puzzles provides original challenges that test your spatial and logical problem solving skills,” says the mathematical sculptor George Hart. Path PuzzlesEach puzzle is a map with clues that will help you find your way across a grid. Now let’s add something new. Sometimes, a number will be adjacent to more than one row or column. We hope you have enjoyed this introduction to Path Puzzles. I enjoyed finding my way through Path Puzzles and asked Mr. Check out this short introduction to the Flying Karamazov Brothers (Roderick Kimball is “Pavel”). Solution Check back Wednesday, August 6 for solutions and commentary by Mr. Path PuzzlesTo see the full article, subscribe here.
If This Is Wrong, I Don't Want To Be Right - Growth Mindset Blog by Emily Diehl, Director, K-12 Professional Learning and Curriculum Design, Mindset Works Just Tell Me What To Do One of the most frustrating classroom experiences occurs when students disengage from learning because they're scared to be wrong. As a teacher, I met many students who wanted someone to just give them the answer and now with my own children, I see it again. I'd like to tell you a story about what this looks like and then share some tips on how to encourage students to take on challenges, risk being wrong, and begin to see "being wrong" as part of a natural process of learning. Once Upon A Classroom I observed this lack of willingness to engage in a middle school Science class a few years ago. However, the emerging issue was not even that this was a low-level task in which the students were not problem-solving or actively learning. Once the task began, students raised their hands right away, and when the teacher got there, they said, "We don't know what to do." 6 ÷ 2(1+2) = ?
Path Puzzles.com 3 Teaching Techniques That Made My 2014 - Mr Thomas' Blog January 2, 2015 At the start of this academic year I wanted to really put the theory of learning I knew into practice. Here are three teaching techniques I tried that I’ll be taking with me into 2015. 1. It’s also made the questions I write far richer and more interesting than ever before. 2. The first way I’ve done this is through our departmental testing. The second way is through an idea I’ve borrowed from Bruno Reddy and Kris Boulton at KSA. 3. Quick Key is an optical scanning app for mobile phones. Like any technique, these three have worked well because I made them a habit.
Puzzles and Starters | cavmaths I love maths puzzles, I like solving them and I like setting them in lessons. I have written many posts about how I’ve solved them, so I thought I would put some time in and collate them into a single page for people to use as starters. Most puzzles have more than one solution, the solutions I’ve blogged are the ones I came up with. And I’ve tried to include my reasoning and other thoughts around them. Here is a nice number puzzle that can be used for most year groups: A high school has a strange principal. There are one thousand lockers and one thousand students in the school. Here is a nice little puzzle based on the number 71 which would be suitable for higher GCSE students and those studying A Level: 71 is the smallest prime that can be expressed as x^2 + xy + 2y^2 where x and y are nonnegative integers, find x and y giving 71. Here is a nice triangle based puzzle from the maths challenge that could also be used for any year group: Additional solutions can be seen here. 4 Pics 1 word
Bar modelling- a powerful visual approach for introducing number topics Building on my recent post about a taxonomy for deep learning in maths, I have been trying to think a bit deeper myself about what each type of ‘deep learning link’ might look like. In particular, I have been researching and putting a lot of thought into what effective ‘visual models’ look like for the ‘key nodes’ I have previously identified as the most important foundation maths knowledge for students to master before starting their GCSE maths course. These are principally number topics. Last year I became aware of the Singapore Maths Bar Modelling approached have recently found the time to research it further. Maths No Problem In short, I really like the approach and am convinced it could enhance my own practice significantly by giving students powerful, but simple visual models they can draw upon and use to solve problems. In primary education in Singapore, maths teachers follow a Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract (CPA) sequence when teaching maths topics. Next up, equivalent fractions:
Rogo - Home #MathsCPDChat on times tables strategies | Mr Reddy Maths Blog Pre-reading: Strategies for learning, remembering and understanding the times tables. Some additional thoughts for starting out teaching the times tables with year 2s onwards, prompted by a #MathsCPDChat These are the things I think are important for mastery of the tables (most of which, I suspect our primary colleagues are doing): 1. Begin with manipulatives - physical objects to aid in seeing multiplication as repeated addition, e.g. 2 beads + 2 beads + 2 beads is equivalent to 3 lots of 2 beads. [15 mins in the first ever lesson, then 15 minutes of the same at the end of the same day. 2. 3. As you can see, with 1 to 3 above, I would adopt an over-arching approach of little-and-often. The following is for week 2 or 3. 4. 5. 6. So far, they’ve barely had to write anything – just a bit with 3, 4 and 5. The other thing that’s important to me is a pupil’s self-efficacy – the feeling they have that it (maths) is in their power to master. 7. 8. And now repeat with 5s and 10s!
Puzzle Levels Explained | Find the Factors The object of the FIND THE FACTORS 1 – 10 (or 1 – 12) puzzle is to write the numbers 1 to 10 (or 1 to 12) in the top row and again in the first column so that once the factors are found, the puzzle works as a multiplication table. All of the puzzles require a basic, but not necessarily quick or perfect, knowledge of all the multiplication facts from 1 to 10 or from 1 to 12. Each puzzle has only one solution, and it can be found using logic. Even though some of these puzzles can be completed by 3rd grade students, I know adults who have math or science related degrees who also solve them regularly regardless of the level of the puzzle. Once a level has been mastered, work on mastering the next level as well. Level ONE puzzles allow a person with only a limited understanding of division or factoring to solve and complete a puzzle. The fact that one row and one column contain no clues can be confusing the first time a person does one of these puzzles. Like this: Like Loading...