As a new year begins, planning and programming are often the focus for classroom teachers. It’s a time to try new things, adapt what has worked before, and think about what makes a great lesson. For mathematics, as with any subject area, flexibility is the key. Catherine Attard (@attard_c) provided some good advice regarding lesson…
As we start a new year with a new class, we often begin our teaching and learning cycle by asking ourselves “What do our students already know?” Building on prior knowledge, whether students have already been at school or not, is an essential practice as we guide students through the learning continuum of content. So…
When teaching writing to our students we provide time for planning. When teaching writing to our students we also allow for drafting and re-drafting of ideas, paragraphs, and plot lines. How often do we allow students to revise their thinking or work in mathematics? How often do we allow students a second or third revision…
If you live in Sydney and catch the train, then there’s a good chance you’ve played the Train Carriage Numbers game. The rules are easy but sometimes finding a solution is hard! A good game has few rules, and limitless possibilities, and this fits the bill. The game was brought back to my attention when…
Last week NESA (NSW Education Standards Authority) released the interim report on the curriculum review Nurturing wonder and igniting passion: Designs for a future school curriculum. This 131 page document presents a summary if initial feedback and early recommendations regarding the future of education in NSW. “The Interim Report is informed by a first phase…
This blog is the second of two reflections on the annual MANSW (Mathematical Association of NSW) conference “Mathematics: The greatest Show”, you can access the first blog here. Following on from the first blog, this reflection focuses on the keynote and a couple of workshops from Day 2 of the conference. Choosing and using problems…
This blog is the first of two reflections on the annual MANSW (Mathematical Association of NSW) conference. This year’s theme was “Mathematics: The Greatest Show” and it didn’t disappoint! What an amazing conference, ever year it gets bigger and better and the calibre of presentations and keynotes was out of this world! (I should save…
Last year I wrote one of my first blogs about the various ways to utilise the Coles little shop toys in mathematical investigations. You may now find yourself as a teacher or parent with an abundance of these little toys after the second release of the new items. Although they may have a bad image,…
In August I presented at the Making 2020 count numeracy conference organised by Tracy Durheim (from Evans River K-12 School) and her team who run the Northern Rivers Mathematics Community. The conference connects teachers, leaders and educators to explore current research and teaching strategies to drive effective mathematics teaching and learning. The conference opened with…
It’s Book Week! To celebrate book week, schools across Australia encourage students to read, hold book fairs or promote the joy of reading through dressing up as favourite characters, just to name a few of the common events. This year’s theme is Reading is my secret power, this focus reminds students of the amazing ability…