November 3, 2017
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Comments Off on Do animals understand numbers or numerosity?
CLEVER HANS Today in class I was proposed to the question, “Can animals count?”. If I’m honest, this is something I have never really thought about. I’ve never had a pet before so have never been heavily interested in animals, so this is something which had never crossed my mind. At first, I was 100% […] Continue reading
November 2, 2017
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Comments Off on Yan, Tan, Tethera
Number systems and place value was not something which I had thought about or realised to be so complex until now. When I was in school and learning how to count or about place value and systems, I understood it straight away and that was it. I never questioned the mathematics behind it or considered […] Continue reading
November 2, 2017
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Comments Off on Horology – Importance of Time 🕑
Horology is defined by the art or science of measuring time, such as watchmaking. Horology is a complex process which is full of mathematical processes in order to succeed in creating an accurate watch. Ilan Vardi describes mathematics as language with the use of equations and formulas however what distinguishes it from other subjects is the […] Continue reading
November 1, 2017
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Comments Off on Maths, Play and Stories
How could maths, play and stories intertwine? How could a child possibly be learning maths whilst playing with their friends, or getting read their bed time story? Maths is all around us, even where we least expect it. Parents as Teachers Parents may think the only way they can engage their children at home with […] Continue reading
November 1, 2017
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Comments Off on Perspectives
Liping Ma defines the Key principles of mathematics as: • Interconnectedness • Multiple perspectives • Basic ideas • Longitudinal coherence The principle I will be focusing on in this post is the idea of multiple perspectives in mathematics. Looking into this topic I found a talk by Roger Antonsen who believes mathematics is made up […] Continue reading
October 31, 2017
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Comments Off on The Nature of Mathematics
It is a common belief that nature can be understood using mathematics. Many scientists have discovered mathematical concepts and patterns in nature for example from sunflowers to snowflakes to hurricanes and galaxies. Symmetry A great example of mathematical concepts in nature is symmetry which is found in abundance in the natural world. A snowflake exhibits a […] Continue reading
October 30, 2017
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Comments Off on When in doubt, change your answer?
Have you ever taken a test and put one answer down but the more you think about it, the more you think you should change your answer? Should I stick with what I originally thought or should I change it? What if I change it and my first answer is the right one, that would […] Continue reading
October 30, 2017
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Comments Off on Curious Minds
We all like to question our surroundings especially if young and things don’t make much sense to you. It is fascinating to see how children approach situations and the different ways they explain it. Having my nephews around me really gets me thinking about so many different things and how they work. Children have such intuitive […] Continue reading
October 30, 2017
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Comments Off on The System
Following a workshop on the idea of counter-intuitive mathematics, I was intrigued to find out more about how we can look past our intuition or gut feelings to understand mathematical concepts such as probability. I am someone who struggles to grasp this mathematical concept, as I cannot see past the black and white picture: that […] Continue reading
October 29, 2017
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Comments Off on Should schools promote Scottish tradition and culture?
Having been in different primary schools, I believe that although Scottish history is taught in primary school often Scottish tradition is not thoroughly explored. Scottish Culture lies at the centre of life in Scotland (Scottish Government, p.3). Scottish culture is very well known about and respected in other countries and is why Scotland is an […] Continue reading
October 29, 2017
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Comments Off on Science Vlogging
This is my first ever attempt at vlogging for the MA3 Science Module. This short video explores a variety of substances and the impact on them when they are added to water. Although the production may not be of the highest quality, the most important thing to me when I was creating this video was […] Continue reading
October 28, 2017
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Comments Off on Mathematics- A Subject of Worry or Comfort?
Mathematics. One word with so much importance and relevance. One word which can either bring extreme fear or excitement. One word which is needed in society everyday yet so many people are overwhelmed when they hear it. What feeling fills you when you hear someone say “mathematics”? Does your mind fill with random equations you […] Continue reading
October 25, 2017
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Comments Off on Maths anxiety in children
Maths anxiety Heart beats faster and faster. Sweaty palms. Puzzled and confused. Everyone has some type of fear or anxiety. Imagine how you would feel when being faced with a maths question that leaves you in this state, the cause? Maths anxiety. What is maths anxiety? Maths anxiety is defined by Mark H. Ashcraft (2002) as […] Continue reading
October 25, 2017
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Comments Off on 99p – Maths Behind Consumerism
During my first year placement, a key topic that I was regularly given the responsibility of planning lessons for within mathematics was budgeting. Now, within the Experiences and Outcomes documents there are various outcomes that cover this topic: MNU 2-09a – “I can manage money, compare costs from different retailers, and determine what I can […] Continue reading
October 25, 2017
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Comments Off on Cornelia Clark Fort
STORIES FROM DRAMA: Writing in Role (2 hours) Choose a character from the past (it doesn’t have to be a famous person). Research that character and the time that they lived. Use the drama convention visualisation to explore what it would be like to be that character. What would they hear? What would they see? Smell? Experience? […] Continue reading
October 24, 2017
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Comments Off on Probability in Mathematics – to gamble or not to gamble…
Personal opinion Having never been a gambler myself I felt this was an interesting topic to cover in the Maths elective as I have always thought that the bandit/casino/dealer always wins. I have always said that I would only gamble if I had money to throw away and up to this time in my […] Continue reading
October 24, 2017
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Comments Off on Maths is Fun?
For me, even the word “maths” has connotations of dread, boredom and simply just not enjoyable. Traditionally, maths is taught on a blackboard, followed by textbook work to consolidate the learning. What if, however, you simply don’t understand the explanation, switch off halfway through because you aren’t engaged and then have no idea how to […] Continue reading
October 23, 2017
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Comments Off on Maths Anxiety
What is maths anxiety? According to Mark H Ashcraft, chair of the department of psychology at the University of Nevada, maths anxiety is “a feeling of tension, apprehension, or fear that interferes with math performance” (Guardian, 2015). These feelings of fear are something that I can relate to, as I have experienced them myself. This was one of […] Continue reading
October 23, 2017
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Comments Off on Is Maths a Language?
“Is maths a language?” There are thousands of languages across the world – English, Spanish, German, French… all taught across schools and reinforced as being important to succeed in later life with jobs. So why is this attitude not portrayed with maths? Math is a language that has been used thousands of years. It is […] Continue reading
October 23, 2017
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Comments Off on Maths Anxiety: What We Should All Fear…
The subject of Maths is divisive, even beyond the system of education, and it has the potential to greatly impact people’s everyday life (both for good and for bad, depending on someone’s experience with it during their school years) (Bellos, 2010). It has been argued that it has the potential to separate humans into two […] Continue reading
