25 most Recent Topics - ATM Forum

Secondary - Who inspired you?

I'm working on a new site called ThanksTo.com, specifically for thanking the people who do great things and who influence our lives in a positive way.

We are running a campaign to champion the very best teachers, the ones who've made a lasting impact on the lives of those they've taught. We want to make sure they get the recognition they deserve. Tell us about the teachers who inspired you to go into teaching � who would you thank? Do you have any inspirational, funny or unusual stories to share?

By running this campaign on ThanksTo we hope to raise the profile of the teachers who've helped your communities, show the profession in a positive light and ultimately help to encourage a new generation to go into teaching.

If you'd like to read any of the thanks that people have left to their teachers, or leave a message of your own, please do take a look at ThanksTo.com.

FAQs - Getting through hyperspace!

Try the (new) button at the top of the page!

MTinteractive - MTi - the new online interactive ATM Journal

I was very impressed by MTi. I was particularly pleased to see Helen Williams' video on the use of Spring Scales in KS1.

Interestingly Helen had taken her ideas for the scales from a book by Mary Baratta Lorton entitled "Mathematics Their Way". This was an almost forgotten text that had some brilliant ideas that have never dated and were particularly well used by Helen and the teachers who were working with her.

It made me think about long forgotten but still very pertinent books. I have recently discovered (or is it re-discovered) the works of Caleb Gattegno (the Founder of ATM) and have been reading some of his books. I also found out about the work of another almost forgotten inspirational teacher called Lore Rasmussen. It made me think of the reasons that ideas go "out of fashion" and how there is probably a bank of wonderful material from amazing teachers/researchers which lays undiscovered until often, by chance, they are read and appreciated for what they can give to today's education of today's children. I also read about a teacher in Devon who came across an extract from a book called Mathematics and Children. It was among a series of compositions by a class of Canadian children from 1964, who were writing confidently and creatively using addition, subtraction, multiplication, fractions, root and powers to construct their own equations � after only six months in school.

The teacher then read the book and has been able to use the ideas in it (as Helen Williams shows) to bring great mathematical ideas to life in our modern context.

I would like to see ATM continuing to highlight these forgotten or overlooked works as they need to reach a new audience who will no doubt do great things with them to the benefit of our children's future mathematical development.

ATM Resources - embeding maths/numeracy at KS3

What you're asking for is quite broad. I would have thought that a lot of the resources at Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to Login or Register could be really helpful. Or can you be more specific about what you are after?

Colin

General - Maths and poetry

Help, I need some strategy,
Help, not just any National Strategy,
Help, you know I need some strategy, help.
When I was younger, so much younger than today,
I never needed any National Strategy's help in any way.
But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured,
Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors.
Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won't you please, please help me?

MT Journal - embeding numeracy/maths

Hi there

i 'm on my first year of full time teaching maths, i'm looking for ideas and resources (journals, books) on embeding numeracy and fostering mathematical thinking. any suggestion is welcome.
many thanks

General - APP

I am awardng marks for asking questions, collaborating through discussion (I ask any student in the group what has been written on the group collaboratin sheet), responding to my feedback, ....

The aim is to give say 15 marks to solving a problem, with only two going to the correct answer. It is habituating behaviour but its kind of tough to change students habit of being rewarded only for correct answers and nothing else.

MT Journal - MT214 MATHEMAGIC ON THE MOTORWAY

I happen to be in hospital with my son so have more time than usual to actually rise to the challenge...
Not only can I tell you that the sum of the 6 combinations is always double the sum of all the numbers in the squares, but, with help from Excel I can tell you that for a 4 by 4 there are 24 combinations (ie:4! as expected) but the total is 6 times the sum of all the numbers in the squares ie: (n-1)! x total.
x 2 3 8 4
5 10 15 40 20
7 14 21 56 28
12 24 36 96 48
13 26 39 104 52

sums 74 111 296 148 629 in total

gives
sums of different combinations of products
179 177 147 138
178 181 171 130
153 174 169 135
183 142 131 163
154 141 139 145
173 169 137 165

1020 984 894 876 3774 in total

and 3774 is 6 x 629.
I predict a 5 by 5 would have 120 combinations and total would be 24 x sum of squares but even with time on my hands I don't think I will do it! Maybe I will write a computer program to....
EAC

ATM Resources - Art and Science of designing a maths problem

I also bought a copy of the book based after reading this thread - I thought it was excellent! I found it really beneficial to read about See-Experience-Master as a model as I was unsure about what sort of emphasis to place on practice. It sounds obvious that pupils need to practise applying new knowledge they have constructed in order for it to become semi-automatic, but I have never really read much about this in books/articles on maths teaching.

Any thoughts anyone?

ATM Matters - CONFERENCE 2009

Actually - my favourite session is the hardest to describe! It was led by John Mason and was all about a poster of toasters. We were asked to work in pairs and, without using coordinates, to describe a toaster - then our partner had to describe some other element of the toaster to see if we were right.

This was extremely powerful as it focussed our attention on the exact elements necessary for description. I can imagine using it in a wide variety of ways.

The next elements looked at using a similar method for classification.

ATM Resources - Geoboards

Tarquin for cuisenaire rods:

Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to Login or Register

Or ebay:

Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to Login or Register

General - Looking for a creative partner

With apologies to the user who posted a message requesting a creative partner to work with an English teacher - or words to that effect - message was deleted in error due to it having been replied to by a now banned user who was abusing the forum.

If you re-post the message it will not be deleted again. Sorry.

MT Journal - Moved: 'Art and Science of designing a maths problem'

This Topic has been moved to Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to Login or Register by ATM Web Editor

MT Journal - Provocation � a conversation between two old men!

Off-Topic replies have been moved to Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to Login or Register.

ATM Resources - Software

Does anyone know of a PC version of the SLIMWAM soft ware particualrly Counter - and not the dreadful NNS version - preferably as close to the original as possible

ATM Resources - Software

When ATM reissiued "L, a mathemagical adventure" for PC, I had high hopes of a reissue of other software especially the Slimwam discs. The fantastic "Counter" from SW II was "reconstructed" by the NNS and ruined. Does anyone know if there are proper PC versions of SW, or likely is there is likely to be any - preferably as close to the original as possible?

General - Vorderman Conservative Maths Task Force

It's not cynical! It only shows that ATM, MA and other subject associations, institutions of education and other bodies concerned with the teaching and learning of mathematics have failed in their efforts to inform the government what the requirements of effective learning are. This is sad but true. I really feel that only coordinated, concerted, informed and aggressive action by every one of these bodies can have an effect. Above all, if members of these institutions get into bed with the government and support - either verbally or by their silence - these inane, uninformed and potentially destructive projects then any action by ATM and anyone else will be in vain.

Secondary - Head of Maths Interview

So how did you get on then?

Secondary - APP in Secondary schools

Compulsory is going to be an interesting word to look out for.

I suspect there has been rather a panic in the absence of SATs to bring forward something to replace the formal assessment. So some sort of teacher assessment - APP - and associated markgrids & spreadsheets seem quite likely.

West Sussex seem keen - but it looks like a way of reducing 11-16 maths to a large number of very small objectives - and when you've got enough you can cash them in for level 3, then do some more for level 4 and so on. No big thinking, no investigative lessons - all bitesize chunks to move on through the levels.

I don't know where the debate is - nationally or locally - about this?

Anyone heard any more?

Peter

General - ATM SEG Syllabus

Does anyone have any resources (that I could look at online!) from the ATM 100% coursework GCSE? It sounds exciting and I'd like to see what materials were used with it.

Thanks

Chris

Primary - Rose Interim Review of Primary Curriculum - discuss it here

You can read the recommendations in full (and the report in full) here: Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to Login or Register

The Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum: Provisional recommendations [edited for brevity �]

Recommendation 1: A National Curriculum should be retained as an entitlement for all children.

Recommendation 2: The historically re-active response to curriculum review should become a pro-active strategy...

Recommendation 3: The revised primary curriculum should be underpinned by a statement of aims and values which is fit for all stages of statutory education...

Recommendation 5: QCA should work with relevant...subject organisations...to validate essential knowledge, skills, understanding and attitudes...

Recommendation 6: QCA should investigate whether it would help schools if the new primary curriculum were set out in three, two-year phases.

Recommendation 7: Primary schools must continue to give priority to literacy and numeracy... Attention should be given to building the vocabulary which is germane to each subject and area of learning...

Recommendation 8: The QCA, working with BECTA2 should review whether aspects of the Key Stage 3 curriculum for ICT would be more appropriately taught in Key Stage 2...[and that] by the end of Key Stage 2, children are able to select and apply ICT...

Recommendation 9: QCA should build a framework...for the personal skills and attitudes that all children should develop throughout their schooling [and] set out the essential knowledge, skills, understanding and attitudes for PSHE alongside PE...

Recommendation 10: Entry into reception class in the September immediately following a child�s fourth birthday should become the norm...

Recommendation 11: The Review will consider how best to support teachers and practitioners to provide effective play-based learning.

Recommendation 12: The QCA and National Strategies should support schools to implement the principles of personalised learning...so that the benefits of personalised learning...are fully realised.

Recommendation 13: The QCA should make sure that guidance on the revised primary National Curriculum builds on the learning that has taken place in the EYFS...

Recommendation 14: Key Stage 1 teachers should be involved in the moderation of Early Years Foundation Stage Profile...to increase their understanding of...the judgements of reception teachers.

Recommendation 15: When the National Strategies next review their materials they should look to further strengthen curricular continuity between Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3.

Recommendation 16: The knowledge, skills, understanding and attitudes we want children to acquire in languages should be situated within the proposed area of learning entitled �English, communication and languages�...

Recommendation 17: Schools should focus on teaching only one or two languages...

Recommendation 18: Schools should be free to choose the language(s) that they wish to teach...

Recommendation 19: The commendable work that is taking place to support the delivery of language teaching...should continue...

Recommendation 20: A survey...of...the introduction of languages...should take place no later than 2014.

ATM Resources - Questioning

Thinkers has changed my practice! There are few days that pass that I don't ask learners to provide some example or question of their own...particularly asking for an example and then an interesting example. I need to keep looking back to it as I need to make my use of it more subtle...

MT Journal - Best / Worst Advice!

Teaching can be fun.

Be realistic about what they can achieve

General - Functions/machines/circles

Help, is a circle a function (its a 1-2 mapping)? Its an equation for sure. If it is, then the "vertical line test" does not apply.

Email me when you have tried Hewitts 'variability of rules' out using function machines.

Secondary - Scrapping of SATs at KS3

My county are keenly promoting a teacher-recording system where we keep a close record of every objective that each student "can do" - on a marvellous spreadsheet that we can use forever... so that we can track what level they're at.

(Sounds like a technological way of carrying a report card - and leads to the "done triangles" sort of approach)

Perhaps we could just investigate some maths?

Peter