Last Friday, we took a massive leap in what we hope is a forward direction. The Maths coordinator (@Jason_Loke) and I gave our students a summative assessment task that could potentially change the way we assess students in maths. In South Australia, we have two main types of assessment in mathematics: Folio Tasks (Mathematical Investigations) and…
Sometimes a Professional Learning workshop can make you think. Sometimes they can make you so sleepy that you question whether there was any caffeine in that triple shot latte latte you just finished. Sometimes they can make you question how you teach and excite you to try new things. Luckily for me, I went to…
For the past eighteen months (three quarters of my teaching career), I have been teaching at least one “All-Boys” Maths class. Many of my pondering posts have been about teaching such classes, with some explicitly referring to the context in which I teach them; Year 10 and 11 students in the same class, sometimes sharing the…
Problem Based Learning in Mathematics – how can we authentically respond to the students’ needs while maintaining the appropriate level of challenge, harnessing student interest, and helping them connect their prior knowledge with new content that they see as useful and important?
Investigating the mathematical prices of pizzas
Lesson here. So today I asked my Year 12 Maths Studies students if they have ever bought a Mars Bar during the “Free Bars” Promotion where 1 in every 6 bars wins a free Mars Bar. A few hands around the classroom went up and we were discussing who had the longest run of free…
Learning how to create Cubic and Quartic regression models and apply them to analyse Australian Rules Football statistics – 3-Act Maths
Today was the penultimate day of school, coming second only to its slightly more beautiful, ultimate day of school – otherwise known as the second to last and the last days of school! Trouble is, today was also the last real opportunity that I had to complete my “application” to come off probationary employment. What…
I’ve been looking for different ways I can prioritise my extensive to-do list and I can’t help but focus my attention on the things that really interest me and what I feel needs the most immediate resolution. In an attempt to build up my efficiency, I tried this whole “kill two birds with one stone”…
How I teach maths. 