Introducing Week 4

Welcome to Week 4!

This week we will focus on one final Asian maths principle. This shows how tasks can be varied and sequenced in such a way that it further supports learning. This is known as Variation theory. In Variation theory, sequences of tasks are created with variation between the different tasks, so that particular features stand out. For example, if I show you four squares and one triangle, it will be immediately clear that the squares have four sides and the triangle three sides. In other words, the variation reinforces both the concept of both a square and a triangle.

To demonstrate more variation we present several (sequences of) tasks in this week, and ask you to complete them. After that, you can think about how you would use these principles in your own classroom practice.