Sometimes we are unsure how well a topic has been received or understood by the class. We don’t want to wait until they can’t do their homework, which you don’t find out about until they come into your next lesson, to do something about this. Collecting a quick snapshot from every student about their level […]
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Isn’t it amazing how quickly and easily adolescents can learn the words of a song, and yet they struggle to remember mathematical formulae? Memory in mathematics is quite peculiar. In common with learning the words of a song, once you get started, it can be surprising how much comes back, but, as with songs, it […]
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Have you ever said something to a class and felt something like a fog of non-understanding rolling towards you from the class? It has happened to me many times. Sometimes, especially if I am near the end of the session, I acknowledge the fog-of-non-comprehension but keep going; other times I pause and ask people to […]
Read moreLast week I was leading a session at York university entitled native speaker orientation. I was trying to explain to the students from France, Germany and Spain who have just started their teacher training here the differences in the various types of schools in the UK. Of course, this involved looking at how we have […]
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Mathematical thinking can only take place in what I call a conjecturing atmosphere. This means that everything that is said is treated as a conjecture that may require modifying. If you disagree with someone you “invite them to modify their conjecture” or you ask how their conjecture applies to some example (which perhaps you think […]
Read moreI have to admit that I feel overwhelmed, overwhelmed emotionally at the end of this year. I have been to several meetings, conferences and events recently with groups of keen teachers planning for next year. I admire everyone so much. Teachers are busy revamping their KS2 and KS3 schemes of work, exploring the potential of […]
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