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News

November News

In this edition of the News you will find:

Red Square  Professional Development Matters

Red Square  Much Less Friction With Fractions

Red Square  Cube Tube Updates

Red Square  Arithmagons Insight

Red Square  New Use for Rotagrams

Red Square  Tasks of the Month
Task 171, Number Discs
Task 172, Cover Up

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  • Professional Development Matters

    • In six minutes of PD you can learn something.
    • In six hours of PD you can be inspired.
    • But six days of PD can change your practice ... and shift curriculum across a system.

    The evidence is in these sample evaluation comments from teachers in the Catholic Diocese of Canberra Goulburn. The teachers participated in our six day Working Like A Mathematician course (see Link List below) focussing on engineering 'aha' moments in number and pattern. (Emphasis in the extracts is the author's.)

    Contact Doug Williams, 03 9726 8316, doug@blackdouglas.com.au to discuss 2014 professional development for your school, district or system.

    My practice has changed as I now teach Maths and problem solving with the emphasis on the process and journey that we are taken on as we work like Mathematicians.

    How problems are solved and why we choose particular strategies is reflected upon and the use of multiple and varied ways to solve problems is encouraged. Students are encouraged to choose and use materials and strategies to investigate (often in groups).

    Students are actively engaged in Maths and excited to build on previous lesson content. KIDS ARE GETTING IT - 'AHA' MOMENTS.

    I have changed because I feel more confident in the way I can guide investigations in the classroom. Children deserve to feel success with Maths at their level and risk taking with their learning is encouraged and valued. I have changed because unless I change my way of thinking about how Maths is taught, the children won't change the way they think about how Maths is learnt.

    Changed Practice

    Changed the way I think and feel about maths, how I would plan and program maths activities, what resources I would use that benefit my programming.

    Why

    • because of the needs and differences in learning abilities of the students in my classroom
    • because I feel I'm more confident and competent with maths now than ever before.

    Evidence

    My planning and programming:

    • the resources I utilise to enhance my program and my students' learning
    • the way we are learning in the classroom, the types of 'aha!' moments that my students are having
    • the variety of connections to differing concepts that they are making.
    I use more questioning by asking "how" and "why" - always ask (children) to tell me another way to the solution.

    I have written evidence from my students to show their understanding and the continuous questioning provides oral feedback and understanding.

    I have changed because I have more of an understanding of how to work mathematically and how to get students to work mathematically. I have fantastic resources to use to assist students to work mathematically.

    I articulate my change in observing students being focussed and interested in the learning they are doing.

    Thanks to Gina Galluzzo, Madonna Pianegonda, Fiona Pettit and the Diocese team for inviting us to work with their teachers. Every primary and secondary school in the Diocese has been represented in workshops over the past three years.

  • Tasks of the Month
    Two new cameos this month.
    The Task Cameo Content Finder has been updated to include these tasks.

    • Number Discs is a wonderful reasoning challenge which at several levels offers success to a wide range of students. No significant previous knowledge is required. However there is information to find in the design of the seven discs that will help to solve the puzzles. The ultimate challenge is How many solutions are there? and, perhaps more importantly, How do you know you have found them all?
    • Cover Up this querky game leads students into examining mental arithmetic, driven by the question Can I check it another way?, the sum of the digits 1 - 9 and probabilities associated with rolling two dice and finding the sum of the results. The task has a strong emphasis on explaining to others through a detailed journal entry.
    Number Discs      Cover Up
    Click a photo to access its cameo, or access all current cameos through the Link List below.

Keep smiling,
Doug.
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Link List

  • Did you miss the Previous News?
    If so you missed information about:
    1. Parents Like It Too
    2. Cube Tube on You Tube
    3. Wheely Good
    4. Maths300 Subscription Changes
    5. Iceberg Information about two Tasks of the Month
      (Tasks 169, 170)
    6. ...and more...

Did You Know?

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Previous News

September 2013 ... August 2013
July 2013 ... June 2013 ... May 2013 ... March 2013 ... February 2013
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Continue exploring our history back to July 1992 through the Sense of History link.

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