Euclidean geometry is hard! Euclidean geometry often seems to be the most difficult area of the curriculum for our senior phase maths learners. Geometry riders don’t succumb well to procedural methods: there are no “steps” that a learner can commit to memory and follow rigidly to reach a solution. Instead the learners are given a Read More …
Previously I analysed homework in terms of cognitive effort and looked at the benefits of homework review. This post proposes an effective method of homework review. Traditional homework review The “default” approaches for homework review seem to be: Solution developed on board by the teacher who simultaneously explains it as though it was an example Read More …
I give my Grade 11 Mathematics learners homework almost every day. The work they do during class time is simply not enough to develop the fluency they need, so each day I send them home with additional problems that they should do on their own. When the learners arrive in class we review the homework from Read More …
There is a whole branch of mathematics dedicated to queueing theory with applications in the design of traffic light systems, shops, computer programming, hospitals and other areas. Origin of queueing theory The math was first developed by a Danish mathematician named Agner Erlang, who modelled the Copenhagen telephone exchange way back in 1909. In those Read More …
Payday in a government town My local supermarket is pretty small (as befits the smallish town I live in). There are eight tellers and an express lane for those who are only buying a few items. Most days there are only four out of eight tills working and the waiting time is negligible. But this is Read More …
Grade 6 maths is more difficult than you realized! A friend linked me this from 9GAG this morning. He and his colleagues in the office were trying to figure out how to do the problem and sent out a cry for help: I messaged him back to say that I was pretty sure there was Read More …
Schemas and learning: Perspectives on mathematics teaching As math teachers we want our learners not just to be able to follow a series of steps in order to obtain a correct solution to a math problem, but to develop mental models of how numbers or numerical representations work and to be able to use these Read More …
Alan Turing’s bicycle serves as a lead into Enigma machines in Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon and opens up a teaching opportunity in a mathematics classroom. I have been a huge fan of Neal Stephenson’s since picking up Anathem while browsing in Exclusive Books. After standing there reading for at least 20 minutes, I remember coming back to Read More …