Todays input was on the math behind gaming. Myself and another classmate decided to look into the game rock paper scissors and surprisingly found out quite a lot.

First of all we looked a little into the history of the game and discovered that it was created in China, as far back as the time of Christ. The game then stayed in china for many years after that and then made its way into japan around the 1700s, which it then just kept travelling worldwide. In chinese it is called a Ken game.

The rules behind it are simple.

• Scissors beats paper
• Paper beats rock
• Rock beats scissors
• 2 players

The game only has 4 possible outcomes.

• A tie
• Rock beats scissors
• Paper beats rock
• Scissors beats paper

We thought about the math behind it. When actually playing the game it is statistically said that most people go for scissors first. Though realistically it is clear that the game relies on luck or perhaps pyschology.

Although the results show us that there is a very simple math behind it.

The probability of getting a certain outcome is ¼, 0.25, 25%.

It also highlights the use of chance within math and would be a very fun way for children to see this. It also shows that something so simple like a game of rock paper scissors has math within it and shows how crucial math is within our education system and the importance of a teacher with great confidence in teaching it.

When I first noticed we had a three hour slot of math today I was absolutely dreading it. However the three hours actually went buy so quickly. We were looking into demand planning and how it is used in businesses and the math behind it. I have worked in the hospitality industry before, therefore have had the opportunity to look into stock and how it works, and it was not until now that I realised the huge amount of math that is actually behind it and ensuring it is done correctly.

In the input today we were given the chance to work in pairs and “run our own business.” We were in charge of the order of stock for a whole year. The rules included that we could only buy 5 types of products at a time. Because of this we had to look at the time of year and decide what type of products we thought would sell the most, therefore earning the most money. for example in December we bought selection boxes, and in July we bought ice cream wafers.

After we made the decision with the products we had to find out the percentage of them that sold and calculate this to see how much of a profit we made. It required a lot of concentration and few of us did end up quite frustrated however the math behind it was countless and this was not made clear until after the first month of doing it.

In the end we got to see how successful we were through our overall profit starting from £5000.

This exercise I felt was a tough one, though it is one that I would like to do again. It is the perfect exercise I feel to show how math is used within the wider world and also how different topics within math are connected. It is also good for the repetition used throughout it as you are constantly having to do certain equations over and over again, therefore reinforcing them.

On a whole, I feel like this input today was very beneficial and actually quite shocking on how much math was used within this one simple task.

My understanding on multiple perspectives.

refrences

Ma, L. (2010) Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics. Anniversary edition. Oxon: Routeledge

Music has always been a huge part of my life and not only because of my love for listening to it. I have grew up a dance so I have, from a young age, had to learn to count music and hear it. I then had to learn to read music as I began playing violin, guitar and percussion. I then took music as a subject in school for my whole six years of being there in which I was allowed to discover and learn about musical theory. Though despite this being such a huge and influential thing in my life, I have never seen any connection between math and music as subjects.

“Rhythm depends on arithmetic, harmony draws from basic numerical relationships, and the development of musical themes reflects the world of symmetry and geometry.  As Stravinsky once said: “The musician should find in mathematics a study as useful to him as the learning of another language is to a poet.  Mathematics swims seductively just below the surface.”
Marcus du Sautoy (2011)

When reading this quote from Sautoy, it actually makes sense that math is used within music. There are many more examples on how music is used within math, those of which include; notevalues, tuning, scales, sequences and many more. Though it even goes back to basics such as counting and how it helps us in music.

In our lecture today we done an exercise in which we were split into groups and had to clap a different rhythm each whilst everyone else was doing theres. It took a few attempts for us to  get correct and it wasn’t until everyone had their counting correct that it actually worked. I feel like was such a simple example that was used but is one I would love to use in the future within my classroom teaching.

We then looked at note values and how each note has a different length, for example a crotchet is one beat and a quaver is half a note. For someone to be able to read music, it is essential that they understand all of this and therefore have to have a basic knowledge on the math behind the notes.

Overall there are many examples of how music is used within math. It is something that is actually incredibly important and I feel should be taught more about in schools. It is possible that it may actually help increase children’s positivity towards math as children seem more than likely to enjoy studying music in school, especially at a young age as it is perceived as being fun.

References

Du Sautoy, M. (2011).  ‘Listen by numbers: music and maths’ Guardian.  Available
http://theclassicalsuite.com/2011/06/listen-by-numbers-music-and-maths-via-guardian/

Before doing the discovering maths module this year, I was feeling worried about beginning it. Maths has never been my strong point nor will it probably ever be. It has also never been something that I have enjoyed whilst being at school. This is the reason behind me choosing to do is module as as an aspiring teacher I feel that my views have to change on the subject. I also feel that it is essential that I break down the front I put up in relation to maths as a subject.

As a student in school I was always told that maths was not my strong point and to stick to other subject such as English an expressive arts. This I feel, created my views and attitudes towards maths and ultimately affected my ability to do well in the subject. I was always doubted as a “mathematician” therefore I doubted myself.

When applying to do teaching at university I hesitated. How could I possibly ever teach someone how to do maths? I was encouraged by my teachers and family that this attitude I have will change throughout my studies and that I would soon learn to love maths as a subject.

Coming out of first year at university, I would not say my views on the subject have changed greatly. However it has been so encouraging for me as an individual to see that I am not the only one with these views and worries.

After having learnt about the discovering maths module, I was certain that this module was for me. Throughout this module I hope to break down the barriers that are stopping me from enjoying maths, and perhaps fine a true love for the subject.