Birmingham Branch
Branch Contact
Do not hesitate to e-mail me with any queries.
Forthcoming meetings
Wed 15 May 2013 • 19:00
Dave Coglan and Kevin Young from Kings Norton Girls School.
Sharing one of their favourite lessons and there is the invitation for each of you to share one of your favourite lessons to a small group of five other teachers too (they will also share their's with you!).
It would be helpful if you can email me to let me know if you are coming to know numbers to help arrange drinks and biscuits.Meetings venue
Room G39 (Ground floor, go through doors next to the reception), School of Education, University of Birmingham
Wider area of Edgbaston campus
Since we are a branch of the Association of Teachers of Mathematics and the Mathematical Association we are wanting to encourage everyone to be members of one or both of the associations. So our changes for the day will reflect this with £2 towards refreshments and travel for the speaker but FREE if you are a member of one of the associations.
Previous meetings
Sat 26 Jan 2013 • 09:30-13:00
A morning with Pythagoras: don’t mention the theorem!
With Geoff Faux, Open University and ex-Mathematics Adviser for Cumbria.
Pythagoras is quoted as believing that the gods used the small whole numbers to design the universe. Where was his evidence?
During the session, we will start with small whole numbers but also remind ourselves that in 600 BCE there was no Arabic base ten symbol system. One consequence of that is that they generated numbers from length, area and ratio. From geometry there is then the question that perhaps the gods existed in a higher dimension. Are there patterns as we move up a dimension that we mortals should have noticed?
Much of the work will be practical including work with scissors and A4 sheets of paper and will be suitable for teachers of KS2-4.
We will have a bookstall of ATM and MA publications which will be open at 09:30 and also during a break in the morning. So bring some money with you to spend on the bookstall!
Please email Dave Hewitt to let him know so that we are aware of numbers for tea/coffee, etc.
03 Oct 2012 • 19:15-20:45
Laurinda Brown from the Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol giving us 10 starting points which will cover much of the syllabus.
On doing the same problem
Are you always looking for a new idea to keep you interested in your teaching? Although you will get some new ideas in this session, we will be working on the minimal set of ‘big’ problems that could cover a syllabus.
As a teacher, then, you could be using the same problem with different classes and becoming aware of the different responses from the students and how to deal with them. There are always surprises! The first step is to explore the mathematics yourself. This session will discover how much of the syllabus is covered from 10 starting points leading to exploration spaces.
Download a copy of the resources Linda used for this session
Thu 21 Jun 2012
We have Elizabeth Bridgett from Kings Norton Girls School and Jon Ingram from Rugby School giving us activities and ideas about teaching statistics and mechanics respectively.
Please see the flyer for more information
Meryl Hargreaves will also be there selling some of her mathematics books and journals at a cheap price! So come with some cash to spend! It would be helpful if you can email me to let me know if you are coming to help arrange drinks and biscuits.
The session will be 19:00 for 19:15 start and will end at 20:45pm.
Since we are a branch of the Association of Teachers of Mathematics and the Mathematical Association we are wanting to encourage everyone to be members of one or both of the associations. So the evening will be free if you are a member or £2 if not.
The session will be in room 422, which is on the fourth floor of the School of Education building at the University of Birmingham.
The School of Education is building R19 on this map
Sat 14 Jan 2012
Working with the Big Ideas
With Christopher Martin from Haverstock School in London.
Chris Martin’s blog page for those that were at the meeting (or not)
Wed 05 Oct 2011 • 19:00-20:45
Shifting Intentions with Don Steward (MEDIAN)
Transformation, invariance and adaptability
- We don’t need to do a sum we are presented with — we can make it easier
- All shapes bounded by straight lines are rectangles in disguise
- Algebra is a study of allowable transformations
- All ratio and percentage problems are identical
- All tessellations are actually triangle tessellations
There is an argument (Tall and Gray) that students who struggle with maths are held back by using more demanding skills than those who are successful. This session will explore ways in which teachers can focus on choice and transformation, across several topic areas, as a means of encouraging greater student facility.
Don Steward has worked on finding better ways to teach maths topics for very many years. This session is suitable for KS2 and secondary teachers.
We have Don Steward who has a strong association with Birmingham, having worked with many schools in the area. He is also well known for his wonderful MEDIAN materials. It would be helpful if you can email me to let me know if you are coming to help arrange drinks and biscuits.
The session will be in room G39, which is on the ground floor of the School of Education building at the University of Birmingham. The session will be 19:00 for 19:15 start and will end at 20:45. Since we are a branch of the Association of Teachers of Mathematics and the Mathematical Association we are wanting to encourage everyone to be members of one or both of the associations: our charge for the evening will reflect this with £3 towards refreshments and travel for the speakers but only £1 if you are a member of one of the associations. There will be membership forms available during the evening for those interested in joining.
Our Annual General Meeting will take place on the same evening, 17:45 for 18:00 start. If you are interested in joining the local committee or just want to attend the AGM then you will be most welcome.
Reaching the Core A Level
29 Jun 2011 • 19:00
Andrew Steed from BCU will be demonstrating ways of teaching A Level Mathematics using the computer package ‘Autograph’.
Lindsay from Windsor School will be introducing a variety of activities from the ‘Reaching the Core of AS Mathematics’ publication — copies will be available for sale.
As we will be in a computer room for part of the evening there will be limited places available and so please email me to book your place.
The session will be in Room 224, which is different to usual. It is on the second floor of the School of Education building at the University of Birmingham. The session will be 19:00 for 19:15 start and will end at 20:45.
There will a £2 charge on the day to cover drinks and biscuits and other costs such as paying travel for speakers.
For those not familiar with the University here is a map. The School of Education is building R19 on this map.
Promoting and Assessing Mathematical Thinking
Sat 29 Jan 2011 • 10:00-13:00
With John Mason • Oxford University, ex-Open University.
Participants will be invited to engage in mathematical thinking for themselves, and to reflect both on how to promote it in others and to assess its development in learners. Tasks will be chosen to be suitable for your own development, with possibilities for modifications for use across the age range from primary to secondary.
Engaging learners to think mathematically
Wed 13 Oct 2010
Presented by Charlie Gilderdale.
The NRICH website initially published problems targeted at highly achieving maths students. Recently we have tried to cater for a much wider range of students by creating ‘low threshold - high ceiling’ tasks. This session will offer teachers the opportunity to work on some of these tasks, and to see how such activities allow all students to engage with key mathematical processes, regardless of their prior level of achievement.
Teaching and learning are co-operative activities: ideas that have inspired us
Wed 16 Jun 2010 • 19:00 - 20:45
Katherine Carlisle (Aston Manor School) and David Lawrence (Plantsbrook School)
At the British Congress of Mathematics Education (BCME) Easter Conference Katherine and David were fortunate to have worked with many creative and rich ideas for use in the mathematics classroom.
Having been inspired by the process of working on and discussing these ideas with others, they now present a condensed session where you will have a similar opportunity to work on and discuss some of these ideas with other passionate mathematics teachers.
Although these tasks are focused upon the secondary mathematics classroom, many of them have great potential to be used at the primary stage and so our primary colleagues are also more than welcome to attend.
Please e-mail d.p.hewitt@bham.ac.uk to confirm attendance.
Thu 19 Nov 2009
Adapting and Extending: Geometry from the Isosceles Triangle
Pat Perks and Stephanie Prestage
This was a practical session based on the symmetry of the isosceles triangle and its relation to the circle.
For those who may have been to an isosceles triangle session with us before we aimed to find a new edge.
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