In my last blog I set a task, which was to find out and explain what happens in this situation: Given a set of consecutive natural numbers from 1 to 2n, choose any n of them. Arrange these n numbers in ascending order. Next to them, in one-to-one correspondence, arrange the remaining numbers in descending […]
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I attended both conferences over Easter, ATM and MA. As OUP was sponsoring the MA conference it was well attended by authors and publishing people. A major theme among secondary teachers in informal discussions at both conferences is whether and how the requirements for problem-solving at GCSE will affect teaching throughout secondary. Another major theme […]
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This week’s blog is about my efforts to think through the place of problem-solving in teaching, and in relation to the development of conceptual understanding and knowledge of techniques. When the introductory blurb to the national curriculum was written, the first draft put the aims in this order: Fluency Problem-solving Reasoning To us – the […]
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We all have stories like this: Mick was giving us a quote for laying a patio. Having measured the rectilinear space he almost immediately told us that he would need so many 4x4s, 4x2s, and 2x2s and that would cost us so much, plus labour at so much and VAT at so much. I can’t […]
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Experimentation is the essence of learning science. Learning science without practical work is like learning literature without reading books. This has been the mantra for science teaching, in the UK at least, since universal science education began in the 1980s. But with school and college budgets reducing, practical work is under scrutiny as never before, […]
Read moreOur subject association ALL and the Association for Science Education play a big part in the lives of members of my family. Whilst reading the Education in Science magazine in September (Number 261) the article Learning lessons from Finland and Estonia by Dr Neil McIntyre caught my attention. Neil gained a chemistry PhD at St. Andrews […]
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The new GCSE maths is a genuine attempt to raise standards in Mathematics in secondary schools. The purpose of the new GCSE maths is to develop fluent knowledge and understanding of maths with confidence. Emphasis on problem solving The new curriculum is richer and focuses on exploring mathematics – like in the good old days! […]
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