October 9, 2017
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Comments Off on Art in Maths and Maths in Art
Art and artistic expression both have connotations of creativity, freedom and exploration for those that are deemed artistically imaginative to delve deep into their own vivid minds. One must be capable of thinking outside of the box of convention when viewing artwork, for example, to be appreciative of the emotions or message an artist is […] Continue reading
October 9, 2017
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Comments Off on Conquering Maths Anxiety
Many of us will be familiar with the shear panic, the sweaty palms, the headaches and the confusion that comes alongside attempting mathematical problems but not many will be aware that this is a diagnosable condition and is extremely prevalent among the population. Maths anxiety has been defined as “a feeling of tension, apprehension, or […] Continue reading
October 8, 2017
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Comments Off on Dancing – A Cultural Take
So this post hasn’t worked out exactly as planned – as Glow is insisting to view the video from the post you have to download it – but don’t worry, I promise it’s worth it! IMG_4429 I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to share a bit of Scottish Culture – Highland Dancing! Albeit […] Continue reading
October 8, 2017
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Comments Off on An Apple for the Teacher
Recently, in RME sessions, we have been thinking about morals, and the idea of right and wrong – both from religious and non-religious perspectives. While discussing this, I couldn’t help but think of a wonderful lesson that I came across on the internet a while back. In this lesson, a teacher used 2 simple apples … Continue reading An Apple for the Teacher → Continue reading
October 7, 2017
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Comments Off on Can animals count?
Can animals count? This question I posed to my friend. She responded with, “Yes! No! Wait… maybe?” I had the same reaction to this question. In this blog post I will share my thoughts and findings with you and maybe you too might wonder, can animals actually count? Horses? In the 1900’s, there was supposedly […] Continue reading
October 7, 2017
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Comments Off on Can you be-leave it?
This week in discovering mathematics we looked at number systems and place value. When I was in primary school I found it very difficult wrapping my head around place value I just kind of accepted that when you move up the number system you just add a zero instead of actually thinking about how you’re actually […] Continue reading
October 7, 2017
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Comments Off on Discovering Mathematics – Counting Animals and Number Systems
On Monday we had an input with Richard about the origin of number systems. The first question we got asked was whether or not we believed animals could count or not. My initial reaction was “no? obviously not.”, but when we discussed the possibilities of it it did not seem as ridiculous as I had […] Continue reading
October 6, 2017
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Comments Off on “Maths is hard”
Why is Maths Hard? What is it that makes maths appear to be a hard subject? Is it all the rules you must follow or all the formulas you need to remember? Is it the focus on accuracy or all the strange unfamiliar symbols? Most people you ask will tell you they found maths difficult […] Continue reading
October 6, 2017
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Comments Off on Can animals count?
I must admit, I have never properly thought about whether animals can count or not. I always knew animals like chimpanzees and apes were particularly clever, but I never focused on the mathematical aspect of their intelligence. This is mostly likely because when I think of maths I always think of equations and algebra. I […] Continue reading
October 6, 2017
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Comments Off on Place Value, Number Systems and Their Complexities
Following a workshop this week on the concept of place value, I was inspired to write a blog post on the difficulties and complexities found in these seemingly simple, basic concepts of maths. As someone who learned mathematics in a procedural fashion, it is very difficult for me to wrap my head around the concepts […] Continue reading
October 6, 2017
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Comments Off on Prehistoric Mathematics
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 is almost everyone’s first memory of maths, the enjoyment of being able to count. However, I have been very naive in my thinking and believed that number systems and counting have been around forever. I have recently discovered that this is not the case. Some of the earliest evidence of […] Continue reading
October 4, 2017
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Comments Off on Reading, Writing and Listening in the Early Years
In my previous post (Early Years and Language), I spoke about how children recognise speech from birth, and how complicated the English language is. In a sort of ‘part 2’ of Early Years and Language, I thought I would speak about how I have struggled with speech myself and the struggles I am having personally …
Continue reading “Reading, Writing and Listening in the Early Years”
October 4, 2017
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Comments Off on Maths Anxiety
I always enjoyed mathematics all the way through Primary, and never once felt anxious about participating in it. Even during the early years of High School, I still had no worries about maths and liked going to classes. This all began to change around about 3rd/4th year, when the maths became harder and more stressful. […] Continue reading
October 4, 2017
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Comments Off on Fibromyalgia and Me
Not many people know, but in the past few months, I was diagnosed with a condition called “Fibromyalgia”. The NHS describes fibromyalgia as “a long-term condition that causes pain all over the body”. Although this is the basis of the condition, it does not quite capture all that I need to live with. I thought […] Continue reading
October 4, 2017
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Comments Off on Who Am I?
This weeks social studies TDT looks at identity and asks us to read a chapter of Woodward (2004) and look at the role it plays in our world today. So reading this, you might wonder who I am? Well I’m a university student, a Girlguide leader, a Manchester City fan, a blogger, British, a lover […] Continue reading
October 4, 2017
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Comments Off on Using the TASC wheel in planning
TASC stands for ‘Thinking Actively in a Social Context’. This is an approach which can be used when planning, to create experiences that will challenge and engage students – making links with social learning theories such as Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development. In RME, we were asked to have a go at using the … Continue reading Using the TASC wheel in planning → Continue reading
October 3, 2017
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Comments Off on Maths? Creative?
To me, maths was always equations, algebra, volume etc. It was a class which I dreaded going to in school. In the first half of the lesson, we would be taught something new and then in the second half we would be putting what we have just learnt into practice by doing textbook work. If […] Continue reading
October 3, 2017
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Comments Off on Making Maths Fun
Last week in an input with Eddie we explored how to make maths fun in our classrooms. The activity we did involved looking at tessellation – fitting shapes together to make a pattern with no gaps. We had to cut out the shapes we wanted – from a choice of triangles, squares and pentagons – […] Continue reading
October 3, 2017
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Comments Off on What is Mathematics? Why teach it?
According to Galileo (1564-1642), “the language with which God has written the universe”. A fact that I loved learning in today’s class is that Mathematics is a universal language. Knowing that it’s the same in every country across the world fascinates me. Something which I didn’t realise was that maths isn’t just in the classroom, […] Continue reading
October 3, 2017
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Comments Off on Maths, creative? No way!
Today’s class was all about mathematical shape involvement in visual illusions, symmetry and the importance of active learning. I learnt how to make and augment regular polygons in order to create an Escher-inspired tessellation or Islamic art-inspired tiling. We explored the relationship between art and mathematics and how throughout history, artists have used the properties […] Continue reading
