A response to Emily-Jane Clark’s piece in Monday’s Metro Online titled “18 things only people who are rubbish at maths will understand“. Before I start, two bits of context: I was intending not to blog tonight, and was in the process of shutting down my laptop when I found the offending article via Twitter. Unfortunately …
Blogs “Stretching Practice” from @mathsjem ~ Jo linked this last week in response to a #mathsTLP question about practice problems for high attainers – there’s lots of great stuff here I’ll be checking out to stretch my Y10 group this year. “An apology from the DfE” from @MichaelT1979 via @Sue_Cowley ~ This really made me appreciate just how tough …
Pick of Twitter 20/09/15 Read More »
Last year, I solemnly vowed that I wasn’t going to use textbooks in my maths lessons. I started the year with a variety of card sorts and problem-solving activities. I even arranged my tables in groups rather than rows from the word go to encourage collaboration. The first few weeks went well, but by half …
The ‘war’ on textbooks Read More »
We’ve moved to mixed ability with some sets across the board this year, which I’m sure will get lots of blog space as the year goes on. We’re also having a dedicated once-per-week slot for problem-solving, and I had such fun with the session I did today with Year 8 that I decided it needed …
Doing some proper problem-solving Read More »
Blogs “New GCSE (9-1) topics by grade” (@Just_Maths) ~ Why trying to sort new GCSE topics by grade is a pointless endeavour; a must-read for the new year. “My Classroom” (@solvemymaths) ~ Great ideas to start the year; I’m going to have a play with the ideas for extension activities and have a think about creating my …
Pick of Twitter 13/09/15 Read More »
I’ve been super-lucky this year to get a top-set Year 10 group on my timetable – I’m feeling dead happy about this because: I taught them in Year 7, and they’re a great group – very enthusiastic about maths, a bright bunch and some fantastic personalities; I haven’t ever taught a top set at GCSE (because I …
LOTW – Making graphical and algebraic links with simultaneous equations Read More »
After blogging about the state of my classroom last week, I spent a bit of time during our training day on Monday putting up some new displays along one wall. It’s now looking much nicer, and wall number two is coming on nicely. Display bundle (from @c0mplexnumber via TES), including the “Change your words” display. Propaganda poster campaign (from @mr_g_walton …
My classroom (after) Read More »
Blog posts “Instagram” (@JemmaPDuck) ~ If Facebook’s not enough for you, how about conquering the next bastion of social media? This blog post looks at interesting ways to use Instagram in the classroom. “Twitter Chats” (@DrBennison) ~ A pretty comprehensive guide to Twitter chats and how to get involved if you’re a Twitter newbie. “Ban the Future” (@Sue_Cowley) …
Pick of Twitter 06/09/15 Read More »
…or how I nearly didn’t complete the summer blog challenge Despite managing to blog through my wedding, honeymoon and holiday, this final post in the blog challenge is nearly the one I failed on. It’s going to be a short post tonight, as I’m trying to write this on my phone due to the fact …
(Almost) falling at the final hurdle Read More »
I’ve had my website in some form for about three years now; I created my original site using Weebly as my knowledge of HTML was (and still is) fairly limited, and I was more interested in quick functionality than building everything from scratch. As I’ve gone along, I’ve found loads of places with useful information …
Useful tools for website developers Read More »