Scratching the Maths Itch

[Jane]

This 2-part workshop begins with an overview of where maths teaching and curricula have come from and the direction they are currently headed. In considering the impact of technology in the maths context, we discuss the influence of programming and gaming. We posit that by constructing on-line games, students will develop new thinking and understanding by working in mathematical environments.

The big question, however, is how do we change the beliefs and values of teachers in order to shift the emphasis from computation to mathematical communication and authentic enquiry. The second part of the workshop walks participants through the professional development model we have developed to facilitate organisational transformation in this area.

[Jane]

Thank you to everyone who participated in yesterday's workshop. i will be uploading the notes during the coming week as well as links to relevant sites.

i'd welcome any feedback and look forward to continuing the discussion.

[Pat Stafford]

Hi Jane,

Thanks for the session on Scratch the other day. It has certainly got me thinking about how else I can use it in Maths lessons.

If it's not too cheeky, could you send me copies of the tasks that you set the students? I think it might help me improve my own Scratch skills, if nothing else.

Is it possible to send documents on this forum? If not, perhaps you could email me on [e-mail].

Thanks!

Pat

[Jane]

hey Pat - how are you? your request is not too cheeky at all - i'm glad that the session impacted! i'll certainly share.

now it's my turn to be cheeky, i'd very much like to see if we could bring a group of middle-school Maths teachers together from our respective schools and CDNIS to begin building a collaborative community with Scratch. John D'Arcy has recently approached me about this so the opportunity is there.

i am in Taipei being PDd just now but will be back in HKG at the beginning of next week so i'll be in touch again then.

[Jane]

hey Pat - please find attached the planning and rubrics for the Scratch investigation we developed to replace the "traditional" Geometry strand in Year 6.

the Scratch initiative seems to have generated interest and i have a group of teachers from CDNIS, Kellett and CIS who are interested in developing a professional learning network. if any of your faculty would like to join us we'd be more than happy.

let me know what you think and we'll organise a face-to-face meeting where we can then set ourselves up virtually.

looking forward to it!

[Pat Stafford]

Thanks, Jane.

And yep, I'm interested in joining the Scratch network. When were you thinking of meeting up? There's another guy in our faculty who might be interested (I think I mentioned him to you before - he was the one who introduced me to Scratch).

See you soon!

Pat