Mathematics Teaching 211 - Nov 2008

The value of two - Ruth Trundley

What teachers need to do is make understanding cardinality a central part of counting, and include many opportunities for children to create sets of a given number as well as count all of a set. This will, amongst other things, prepare them for the different addition situations of 3 + 4 = ? and 3 + ? = 7. And the value of two? Priceless.

Links between arithmetic and algebra - Wayne Steel

Wayne Steel interviews some Year 10 pupils to find out about their understandings of numerical verification versus algebraic proof.

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Knot theory with young children - Handa and Mattman

Yuichi Handa and Thomas Mattman present some basic concepts from knot theory as a natural extension of commonly-taught geometric ideas.

Patchwork texts - Doug Brand et al

Doug Brand, Melanie Durose, Sharon Walker, Sarah Fryatt and Sarah Baron reflect on a very different form of ITT assessment.

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Joined-up reflections: part 2 - John Mason

John Mason drew the 2008 Easter conference to a close. Here is the final part of his address, continued from MT210.

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A short reflection on the music-making evening - David Cain

Small groups of people took these symbols and, together, both deciphered them and then applied them using their personal musical knowledge and instrumental abilities.

A function machine - Dave Hewitt

Dave Hewitt muses over one real and one imagined lesson.

Inquiry teaching - Andrew Blair

Andrew Blair proposes replacing strategy and investigational lessons with jointly-regulated inquiries, in order to harmonise method with content.

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A creativity taxonomy - George Hardy

George Hardy describes his categorisation of practical mathematical tasks using drama, body maths and a host of outlandish props.

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Hoop Hoop Hooray! - Ruth Tomsett

Ruth Tomsett describes ways in which Venn diagrams can be used to add challenge and develop reasoning, discussion and mathematical thinking at Key Stage 2.

Notes to accompany this article

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What root do you want to take? - Derek Ball

We move away from asking questions to which we want a correct answer, so that we can say ‘Right’ or ‘Wrong’, and instead solve problems that interest us, talk about mathematics and connect ideas together.

More mystery - Paul Stephenson

The combination of rotation and enlargement sometimes called a spiral similarity.

Notes to accompany this article

Litov's mean value theorem - Derek White

I have used this idea with many classes since the conference, ranging from low attainers to further maths A-level students.

Friezes - Bob Burn

If you find two different ways of labelling the same block, you have found an equation for transformations.

Active learning - Rotna Roy

One pupil said, “Once you’ve solved a problem, you feel quite proud of yourself.” Students talk about their work with confidence, ask questions when unsure and are not afraid to be wrong.

ActiveStudio (FLP) file to accompany this article

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Reflections - Helen Williams

Thank you authors. It has been a privilege to hear the voices of so many struggling to make mathematics teaching the personal thing it should be. I am really looking forward to reading the new team's MT from 2009. Long may MT continue to challenge, provoke and reflect.

19 Correlation Street - Jonny Griffiths

We’ve reached the ‘end of the road’ with this, the final instalment of Correlation Street, and the editors would like to express their huge thanks to Jonny Griffiths for regularly providing us with pieces that at different times have been thoughtprovoking, provocative and hilarious. Remember that you can buy Jonny’s Correlation Street ebook here.

Webwatch - Oliver Bowles

Oliver Bowles provides the reader with some free websites where the resources can be reviewed and directly applied to a lesson within only 2-3 minutes.

ScotLines

This is sadly the last Scotlines. The editors are extremely grateful to ‘Frances’ for her honest and thoughtful writings in Hodlines and Scotlines, which have made a fascinating contribution to MT.

ATM news and views

Meetings have been taking place between officers of ATM and other associations to explore ways in which they can better work together to bring about improvement in mathematics education in schools.

Puzzle page

Phil Dodd teaches mathematics in Houghton Kepier in the north east of England. These puzzles come from his Puzzles: A Mathematical Resource Book.