1. Welcome and feedback
2. Website of the Month: one primary and one
secondary!
3. No video? Here’s a really neat trick!
4. Diary Dates
1.
Welcome to the October
2010 Newsletter
Dear
Friends- welcome to October’s newsletter. Just for you, it contains an
exclusive link to a webpage that nobody other than you subscribers can yet access.
See item 3 for details. I hope you are settled into the new year and things are
going well. I feel as though I have been on a bit of a treadmill already – Secondary
Maths Association Conference in Stirling, Numicon training in East Sussex,
Maths Makes Sense training in various places, INSET visits, lesson observations
and coaching sessions have made it pretty hectic.
Add to
that the fact that we are juggling with an extra little lifeform and it’s been
exciting and non-stop. Next month doesn’t look much slower, to be honest!
Cool, Calm and Calculators – I am slightly baffled that
still only around 100 folks have taken advantage of the free offer – in case the
other 3600 or so of you think there is a catch, I can promise you that there
really isn’t - it’s just HP Calculators being generous! Still, I hope those of
you who did receive your free copy are finding it useful. It’s still not too
late to get yours, though as you will see from the products page it is now on sale to
the general public.
2. Website of the Month; one for everyone.
For anyone
in primary education, Gordon’s
ITPs
are great! I have no idea who Gordon is, but the Coventry LA team must be
congratulated on producing a big range of fabulous maths software that is
completely free and that covers much of the KS1 and KS2 curriculum across a
range of strands. You have to visit it – click
here! Huge thanks and all the credit to
Fiona Large from the East Sussex ICT team for showing me this site.
If you are
in secondary, though, try this: I came across this website by accident, but was hugely impressed. I have included it
because I suspect that few of us would necessarily choose to visit it, yet it
is full of some really good resources for teachers, and is very accessible and
friendly. Amongst other things are a very clear treatise of the Four Colour
Theorem, and an interesting article about the mathematics of scoring in
gymnastics, as well as much, much more about what mathematicians actually do!
Maths Careers is definitely NOT just for those considering a career that uses maths – check it out at http://www.mathscareers.org.uk
3. Forgot the video!
I guess we
all have moments when we just wish we had been able to capture an exciting
moment at school. I was in a primary school last month observing a lesson on
multiplication. I was enjoying the lesson, and wished I had brought my video
camera along to capture the thinking of some of the children, as demonstrated
on their whiteboards. I watched as one girl in particular showed just how much
progress she had made. I thought for a while then thought how I might go about
recreating her thought process for teachers to see. Here is
what she did. Be patient as it takes a moment to load. You need to click to
advance the sequence, and as you do so, think about what she is thinking about
– excellent AFL opportunities. The finished board shows her final solution but
more importantly, it shows her journey towards the solution.
Next month
I will explain how it’s done – anyone can do it!
Here is the link again: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B2i7eohKj_fNY2YyZWY1NzgtYmY3My00ZDcwLTgxMmYtZTg3NGE0YmYyOGE3&hl=en&authkey=CMbV84kI
4. Diary Dates
I have now
been able to finalise the dates for the SATIPS Maths Conference. It will be
held at Feltonfleet school (where the fantastic 2008 conference was held) but
due to time restrictions it will now be held in the Spring instead. Put this
date in your diary now: Thursday 17th March 2011. Next month I will
announce the names of not one but two keynote speakers…
Another
date that will interest some of you is Tuesday 24th May. I will be running
a CPD day called Problem-Solving in Key Stage 1. It will be interactive, with a
mixture of theory and practice, with plenty to take back to the classroom or
share with colleagues. Keep an eye out for further details, including venue, in
the months ahead. The cost will be a very competitive £110, which these days is
a bargain. It is worth adding that all profits from these days will go to
SATIPS the educational charity; although I am organizing them, these are NOT
Magic Message events. (If you would like me to run a course for schools in your
area, please get in touch.)
Thank you yet
again for being a subscriber. I’m off to Ireland at the end of next week, so please
be patient if I don’t respond to emails instantly. (I am currently getting about 10 enquiries a day and struggling to keep
up, especially as my beautiful office manager is currently on maternity
leave!!!)
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