September 30, 2018
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Comments Off on Do I have maths anxiety?
Maths anxiety as described by Sheffield University (2018) is “an emotion that blocks a person’s reasoning ability when confronted with a mathematical situation”. This, however, does not mean that those suffering with said anxiety are poor performers within the subject. Where the anxiety comes from is undetermined, I believe it stems from a mixture of […] Continue reading
September 29, 2018
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Comments Off on Was the Criticism the 2015 higher maths paper faced justifiable
When I was in fifth year at High School in 2016 I studied higher mathematics and the legacy left behind by the terrifying 2015 Higher Mathematics paper still lingered throughout the school and to a vast extent the entire country. With all the stigma circulating around the paper I decided to look at it, […] Continue reading
September 29, 2018
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Comments Off on the maths and creativity sandwich.
Never would I have imagined that myself or anyone could sandwich together maths and creativity. Yet what a wonderful sandwich it is! Realistically, the majority of people would strongly argue against this opening statement, my self being one of them, however let me tell you that it is more than possible. Like most sandwiches it …
September 29, 2018
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Comments Off on Discovering Creativity in Maths
If you had said to me this time last year that today I would be sat in lectures genuinely interested in the small parts that make up mathematical concepts, I would probably have laughed. When I was taught maths, it was just maths. You learnt a concept, did some examples and then were assessed on […] Continue reading
September 28, 2018
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Comments Off on Maths Ability Groups: Good, Bad or Ugly?
After learning about the cognitive and affective domains with regards to learning in an input in my Discovering Maths module, I have been thinking about how maths groups based on ability and their seemingly neutral names may be affecting the way children feel about mathematics. Do ability groups still have a place in a modern classroom? Are there other options? We should have ability groups because… It is almost […] Continue reading
September 28, 2018
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Comments Off on The Power of Yet
Recently, through an input on math anxiety, I discovered the saying, “the power of yet.” Since this input this saying has really stuck with me. During my first year placement whilst teaching mathematics, specially time, one boy – who was more intelligent than he let on – decided through frustration and panic gave up on … Continue reading The Power of Yet → Continue reading
September 27, 2018
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Comments Off on The Art of Tessellation
When Jonathan first said the word “tessellation”, I immediately thought what on earth is he on about?! Yet, following this lecture I now understand that tessellation is something that surrounds us. Tessellation is the arrangement of identical shapes that fit together perfectly to create a pattern. These shapes have to fit precisely beside one another, […] Continue reading
September 26, 2018
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Comments Off on A Different Way to Learn
I love maths. I find the subject to be so challenging yet so satisfying that I was able to enjoy my experiences of maths throughout my education. My love of maths began in my Primary 5 class when my teacher provided myself and my classmates an opportunity to learn maths in a different way, through […] Continue reading
September 26, 2018
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Comments Off on Maths can be… creative?
Creativity and mathematics are words which I did not associate with one another until recently. I believed that there was no room for creativity in mathematics as, after all, how can it be creative when it involves answering questions and problems which all have a ‘right’ answer? Oh how wrong I was. Maths is all […] Continue reading
September 26, 2018
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Comments Off on Learning Maths Through Play
Discovering Maths To many individuals, maths and play are not connected at all. When it comes to maths many people describe it as ‘boring’, ‘torture’ or ‘something which was compulsory’. This is a devastating matter as, in reality, this should not be the case. The Curriculum For Excellence has a huge focus on using active […] Continue reading
September 25, 2018
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Comments Off on Why Discovering Maths?
Throughout my school life, I’ve had a very mixed experience with mathematics. My earliest memories of maths are from primary school. They consist of the class teacher sitting us down on the carpet, teaching us a concept, and being told to complete the coinciding pages in our TeeJay Maths textbooks. Although this was a repetitive […] Continue reading
September 24, 2018
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Comments Off on Profound Understanding of Fundamental Mathematics (PUFM)
When I was first asked to describe what profound understanding of fundamental mathematics (PUFM) meant, I immediately thought it meant being a maths genius. It sounded very complicated. However it soon become clear that this was not true. Liping Ma created four universal principles that would enable a teacher to have a profound understanding of […] Continue reading
September 24, 2018
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Comments Off on I Don’t Understand
Mathematics. It is a subject that fills most people with fear, dread and overwhelming anxiety. A subject that most will claim is too difficult to comprehend and only for those who are very smart. I have been in this mind-set for a long time, seeing a maths question and feeling that it was impossible to […] Continue reading
September 23, 2018
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Comments Off on I have maths anxiety. Do you?
Do I like maths? I have to answer that from my own experience with a resounding no. Actually, in school I hated maths. This got me thinking, is that not a worryingly common phrase, which is not quietly muttered by pupils but instead shouted with pride and worn as a badge of honour? Too often, […] Continue reading
September 20, 2018
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Comments Off on Why I Chose Discovering Maths
When it came to choosing an elective for my second year, Discovering Mathematics was one of the options that I automatically avoided. All I could think about was my previous experiences of Maths and ‘why would I want to put myself through that again?’. However, after discussing the elective with someone from third year, […] Continue reading
September 19, 2018
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Comments Off on Do you know what an angle really is?
Most recently I have began the studies of my elective module Discovering Maths at University. Although we are only breaking into the second week of this module, I have immediately found it abundantly clear that this module will serve more than just knowledge of the Primary School mathematics curriculum; it will indefinitely open my eyes …
September 19, 2018
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Comments Off on Maths Anxiety
When the word “Maths” is mentioned my automatic response and thoughts are the words of “fear’, “dread” and “complete horror”. It is a subject I can’t remember being taught in primary school but however in secondary, it was an unpleasant subject. I have always had negative vibes about maths and always stuck by “if you … Continue reading Maths Anxiety → Continue reading
September 19, 2018
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Comments Off on Time + Commitment + Understanding = Success
Let me start off my saying the word ‘yes’. Yes, I am aware that we use maths everyday, whether that be in telling the time so you are not to miss your train, or working out the change you are due when paying for your bus early on a Monday morning. Whilst I am not […] Continue reading
September 19, 2018
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Comments Off on A Fear of Mathematics
When it came to picking my elective for second year I was extremely hesitant to choose Maths. I thought it would be so interesting, however a part of me could not get over my original fear of maths itself – a fear most people share and have had from a very early age. As a […] Continue reading
September 19, 2018
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Comments Off on Discovering Maths in Me
When choosing my elective, I had to think rationally about what would have the most influence on my future career. Maths was the one subject that leapt out at me on the elective list. But not in a good way. I, like many other people, associate the word ‘maths’ with fear, horror, failure and disappoint. […] Continue reading
