New Zealand Association of Mathematics Teachers

Biennial Conference 2003

"Proud sponsors of Maths Education in New Zealand"

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Workshop Six

Thursday 10th July

4:00 pm

Updated on the 24th June

The programme is now final.

 6.01    

Open-ended investigative approaches to Maths learning

Charles Lovitt

This area is one of the big growth areas in maths education - the session will investigate several practical illustrations from classrooms and also address three key areas:

1.  How do teachers find or generate open-ended investigative tasks?

2.  How do we build them into balanced courses?

3.  Will the students learning be improved?

Venue   Senior Common Room      

CL      All     

Repeated        Fri 9.45 am  7.01  

6.02    

Lateral thinking

John Edwards

Most students leave school with a very limited conscious repertoire of thinking strategies. For over twenty years I researched what happens when you teach students how to think directly, rather than as a by-product of learning academic disciplines. The research results were powerful and positive, and they have had absolutely no impact on Australian education. In this workshop I will demonstrate some lateral thinking tools and we will try them out on your life.

Venue   Hamilton House  

CL      All     

Repeated        Fri 9.45am 7.02  

6.03    

NZAMT Forum

Alan Parris (Linwood High School) and Shaun Harnett (Mairehau High School)

An open discussion on NZAMT issues and a walk through the NZAMT website.  We will look at the online competition for students in Year 11 and below, enrichment activities, Unit Standard assessments, “I can do” sheets, Year 9 and 10 assessments in the style of Achievement Standards and the NZAMT Maths Week website.

Venue   Chapel  

CL      3 – 6   

Repeated        No      

6.04    

Activities to Support Lower Ability Students with Numeracy

Jan Wallace (Auckland College of Education)

This workshop will examines activities to support students who are struggling with the basic operations and their understanding of fractions

Venue   School House    

CL      3 – 4   

Repeated        No      

6.05    

Put Sunshine into your Maths Programme

Fred Biddulph and Jillian Cutting (Wendy Pye Ltd)

A description and demonstration of Galaxy Kids Maths, a programme based on books and CD-ROMs, that has been specifically developed for Year 1 and 2 students.  This is a great opportunity to learn about this new, innovative programme and how it fits into the New Zealand Curriculum.  

Venue   34      

CL      1 – 2   

Repeated        No      

6.06    

Teach them Maths? They can’t speak English!  ESOL Issues for Secondary Teachers

Frances Edwards (University of Waikato)

An examination of the needs of secondary students from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB) including:

cultural differences in NZ classrooms; language acquisition – how to help students talk about maths; teaching activities that work for students; assessments – how to assess the maths without letting the language get in the way

Venue   36      

CL      5 – 8   

Repeated        No      

6.07   

 Mathematics: Intervention versus Inclusion

Marguerite Maher (Auckland University of Technology)

Questions to be considered include; Is the numeracy project and inclusion sufficient for all students?  Is there a place for mathematics intervention in the Junior Primary years?  Reference will be made to the findings of research undertaken in completion of a Masters degree in Education.  Adaptations for children with special learning needs will also be considered.

Venue   38      

CL      Primary 

Repeated        No      

6.08    

Vedic methods of multiplication and the transition from Arithmetic to Algebra (A Royal Society fellowship)

Mala Saraswathy Nataraj (Selwyn College)

Vedic Mathematics (ancient Indian mathematics) is an interesting and intuitive way to teach and learn mathematics and it provides a fresh insight into our number system. In this workshop, a few multiplication strategies and their algebraic explanations will be discussed as also the use of the methods in the classroom. This workshop will be useful for both primary and secondary teachers.

Venue   28      

CL      All     

Repeated        No      

6.09   

 Mathematics Resources with a Pacific Nations Theme

Kay Phillips (Wellington College of Education) and Steve French (Christchurch College of Education)

Participants will have an opportunity to use some mathematics resources that include information, knowledge and skills from the Pacific.  The resources support Mathematics in the New Zealand Curriculum at levels 3 and 4.

Venue   35      

CL      3 – 4   

Repeated        No      

6.10    

So what is easy and what is hard?  Difficulties in the Assessment Resource Bank

Alex Neill (New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER))

This workshop will look at the Number strand of mathematics and indicate areas where students perform well and areas where they perform less well.  It will also give feedback on the common misconceptions of students. The results are based on the Assessment Resource Bank data and relate to Levels 2 to 5 of the curriculum statement. It is aimed at middle school, intermediate and junior secondary school performance.

Venue   41      

CL      2 – 5   

Repeated        No      

6.11    

Using the Symbolic Algebraic Manipulator (SAM) as a Teaching Tool

Derek Smith (Hutt International Boys’ School)

The CASIO Algebra 2.0 calculator will be used to show how the SAM can be used for tasks as varied as demonstrating algebraic techniques and helping with remedial students.  Participants will have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with this powerful teaching tool.    

Venue   37      

CL      4 – 6   

Repeated        No      

6.12    

First Lessons

Laurinda Brown

It's the start of the year and you've got a class of students that you haven't taught before. What are you trying to do with them? What's your image of what's possible and the local mathematical classroom culture that you can establish? What teaching strategies do you use to make it happen? Beginning by working with a transcript of one teacher's first lesson and identifying what strategies they are using we will share our experiences of our own practice through reflecting on what's the same or different in what we do.

Venue   Day

House   

CL      All     

Repeated        No      

6.13    

 Science, Mathematics & Technology Teacher Fellowships for Primary and Secondary teachers

Gill Robinson (Gill is a Royal Society of New Zealand Teacher Fellow for 2003.  She is on leave from Wellington Girls’ College)

Teacher Fellowships:  An outline of what the Fellowships are; who they are for; how to go about setting up a project; and how to apply.

A Teacher Fellow’s Story:  What Gill’s year is involving, including a power point / video presentation showing her work on “Weeds and their Impact on our Environment” for the Department of Conservation.  The workshop includes brief anecdotes on mathematics as used “out there” and the non-school view of pie graphs.

Venue   28      

CL      All     

Repeated        No      

6.14    

Use of Interactive Software in the Classroom (with reference to NZ Mathematics Series for Years 7-11)

Richard Ramsay (Geraldine HS), Michael Meadowcroft (Geraldine HS) and Ray O’Farrell (Haese & Harris Publications)

Interactive software can ease the pressure on teachers. Video clips, demonstrations, simulations and investigative activities can guide and stimulate interest in Mathematics.  In the hands of able students, an interactive CD can be a supportive ‘teacher’.  With mathematically challenged students, they are infinitely patient.  We will look at the NZ Mathematics textbooks and the links to the accompanying interactive student CDs.  We show how they can be used to better manage the different ability levels in our classrooms.  These CDs take away the concern that less computer literate teachers may have about using software. They require little or no knowledge of computer programs and are very user friendly.  There will be every opportunity to ask questions and participate as much as you wish.

Venue   ICT1    

CL      4 – 6   

Repeated  Tues 4 pm 1.12  

6.15    

Using On-Line and Computer Based Resources in Teaching Programmes

Ro Bairstow (Kings College)

A look at the ways in which resources such as websites, spreadsheets and powerpoint presentations can be incorporated into lessons and schemes.  

Venue   ICT2    

CL      All     

Repeated  Thurs 10.30 am 4.16     

6.16    

How to Use Mathcad in the Classroom

Mark Brienne (Hoare Research Software)

Hoare Research Software (HRS) has been supplying a range of mathematics based technical software products and support to many professionals such as engineers, scientists and business analysts for more than ten years.  HRS supply a product called Mathcad, used by engineers, scientists and mathematicians, for undertaking a range of calculation tasks and documentation.  This product will be very useful for exposing students to the type of products used by professionals on an everyday basis.  Teachers will also benefit from the use of Mathcad as a teaching aid in demonstrating mathematical theory.  This is your chance to see the many ways in which this product could be used in the classroom.

Venue   Library Suite   

CL      All     

Repeated  Thurs 10.30 am 4.17, Friday 9.45 am 7.14     

 Other Workshops

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copyright NZAMT8 Committee 2002, 2003