October 18, 2017
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Comments Off on Scotland in Spain
Highland Fling Through my MA2 Placement I was able to travel to Almeria to teach in a local school over there. What amazed me most was the focus and importance on the English language. However, most of the children were not as aware of Scotland as they were of England. I spoke with my class […] Continue reading
October 17, 2017
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Comments Off on Win with maths?
Chance and probability link to the basic ideas or concepts of mathematics (Ma, 2010, p. 104). The basic understanding of probability is that it is the “[L]ikelihood or chance that something will happen.” (Tuner, no date, p.5). The “Probability of an event happening = Number of ways it can happen over the total number of […] Continue reading
October 10, 2017
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Comments Off on Abacus- Important or Not?
An Abacus is one of the first counting devices invented and I was intrigued why it was used? It is a simple wooden/ plastic framed tools with beads used to show a visual representative of place value and assist addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. It can be used as a calculator by sliding the beads […] 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 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 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 Uniform Controversy
What is more important, education or outward presentation? I’m sure that at the age of thirty-two the twenty Margate pupils sent away from Hartsdown School will look back with embarrassment at the row created regarding their uniform. On the 5th of September, however, their young teenage selves were outraged to be sent home because they […] 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 2, 2017
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Comments Off on Understanding Ourselves – Race, Ethnicity and Discrimination
Thoughts from the Values lecture on Tuesday 26th September 2017. When asked about my knowledge and understanding of race, ethnicity and discrimination before the lecture began, I had a good understanding of these topics already after having looked into them, while covering topics in History at school. However, I found it extremely useful to refresh […] Continue reading
October 1, 2017
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Comments Off on Resource Allocation Seminar
Our first seminar this semester consisted of us being split into five groups within the room, each group containing five or six students. Each group was given a large brown envelope and we were instructed to make a resource, only out of the things we were given, that would benefit a student starting at the University […] Continue reading
October 1, 2017
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Comments Off on Resource Allocation Workshop
During our first values workshop the group was split into five tables and each assigned an envelope of resources. The groups were instructed to design something that would help a new student starting at the University of Dundee. Each group pitched their ideas to the remainder of the class and the lecturer. During this our […] Continue reading
October 1, 2017
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Comments Off on Maths in art? Art in maths?
Previously, I’ve heard people say, “I cannot do art” or “Art is something that I just wasn’t gifted in”. This is why one particular maths workshop came as surprise to me as it demonstrated that you can do art using maths. In class we created tessellations. Little did I know that this type of art […] Continue reading
September 30, 2017
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Comments Off on Uniform Conundrum
“Twenty Margate pupils sent home in Hartsdown uniform row” According to an article in the BBC news, pupils in Hartsdown, Kent have been sent home from school and asked to leave classes for not adhering to the strict uniform policy. The reason for this excessive regime was explained by the head teacher, Mr Tate who said, “adhering […] Continue reading
September 30, 2017
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Comments Off on Racism Input
Racism Input In approaching this week’s topic of “Understanding ourselves – values as embodied and culturally specific”, my initial definitions and thoughts were as follows: Race – A group of humans who all share physical traits such as skin colour or facial characteristics. Ethnicity – A subdivision within race which centres around cultural traditions and […] Continue reading
September 30, 2017
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Comments Off on Maths Anxiety
Mark H. Ashcraft describes maths anxiety as “a feeling of tension, apprehension, or fear that interferes with math performance” (2002, p. 181). Math anxiety is a recognized stress disorder which, according to research shown in the attached video, 20% of our population suffer from (Turner & Carroll, 1985). It ranges from feelings of mild tension […] Continue reading
September 29, 2017
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Comments Off on How global racism shocked me
What is Race? When asked in our Values lecture “What is your understanding of Race, Ethnicity and Discrimination”? At a first glance I thought that I would know exactly what these terms meant but I found it extremely difficult to come up with a set answer. I had noted that Ethnicity represented an individual or …
September 29, 2017
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Comments Off on Can I blame it on the novels…?
When I was younger, my knowledge of racism and discrimination stemmed mainly from my novel reading. I found it disturbing but still exciting to read books like A Light to my Path by Lynn Austin. It was shocking to hear of the discrimination against African-American slaves. It was thrilling to read of their eventual victory […] Continue reading
September 29, 2017
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Comments Off on Social Media Input on Racism and Patriarchy
Prior to the input I had a base understanding of the terms race and patriarchy, and would have grouped them alongside prejudice and discrimination. Race refers to the biological similarities and differences between people that differ to those deemed as the norm by society, and prejudice and discrimination refers to a person or group of … Continue reading Social Media Input on Racism and Patriarchy → Continue reading
September 29, 2017
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Comments Off on Resources Seminar
The Resources Seminar – The Set Task The resources seminar explored the idea of meritocracy through a group task where each group was given the same activity but with different materials and treatment. The task was to design a starter pack for new university students using the contents of an envelope provided to each group. Whilst […] Continue reading
