Cameron Devall
I am a Primary school teacher from England working in Bangkok, Thailand. I am always looking for ways to development my knowledge and skills in as many ways and topics as possible.
Location Bangkok, Thailand
Achievements
Activity
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Cameron Devall made a comment
I agree with the dos and don'ts presented by Juliet Koprowska and also with the range of ideas presented by fellow course-takers. Another point that I would emphasise is to really listen to the responses of the child. Often, I see adults think that they are doing a very good job in communicating their ideas but are at the same time not paying attention to what...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
I think it is crucial to reflect on our prejudices and biases in any position and especially when we work with children. As many of the other people on the course have pointed out, there are a great number of stereotypes surrounding various groups. One thought that I think about is that these groups have an especially difficult situation and this would cause...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
At home, Billy does not live in a containing environment. He does have a good relationship with his mother when she is not in periods of depression and anxiety but these are not consistent and therefore he cannot rely on this relationship. The same is true of his relationship with his father who is inconsistent and often cancels. He does have a form of...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Billy has a degree of absence from both parents. His father does not live with the family and his mother works long hours away from home. This means that Billy has had to take care of his own needs (both physical and emotional). There have also been cases where Billy has had to look after his mother when her issues with mental health become too much for her to...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
A baby or young child will usually cry or show outward signals of distress to elicit a caregiving response.
It is required that a care giver gives a consistent response that takes on the distress of the child and provides a manageable containment for that distress.
A range of factors might impede the development of secure attachments. These factors...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
This was a really interesting interview to listen to and there are a huge range of issues and points that I am going to explore further. My main takeaway from this interview is that early poor attachment formation can have wide-ranging and long-lasting effects. This is alarming but it isn't hopeless as Dr. Minnis highlights that with the plasticity of the...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
I am still unsure which is the most important in child development. I suspect that it changes depending on what aspect of development we are looking at and this is why it is a complex issue.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
The example of Billy changed my thinking about vulnerable children as I was too focussed on the child being the victim of abusive individuals around them. I hadn't thought too much about a situation like Karen and Billy's where the mum is in need of support. Karen's financial situation and her issues with her mental health, mean she cannot provide Billy the...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
These are really interesting questions and I have enjoyed reading the responses of others on the course. I think it is easy to see the importance of the role of state and social work services when looking at vulnerable children from the outside. It was the word "interference" that struck me and made me think what it might feel like from the point of view of...
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It was very difficult to choose only three situations that had the greatest vulnerability. In the end, I focused on those that had more than one instance of risk. I also used the developmental stage of the child as a factor. Once again, it was not easily at all.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
The differences between my home culture and the one that I am currently living in are huge when it comes to vulnerability and risk. While, it should be noted that it isn't representative of the country but of a certain economic level. There is a very low tolerance for any kind of risk for children. Care is also largely classified as trying to remove as much...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
While the list makes sense, I was initially surprised by the almost equal focus on issues caused by the child as well as outside forces. This was a lack of reflection on my part before taking the course. I was thinking of vulnerabilities in terms of damage being done to a child but not a child creating these risks themselves.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
I think that vulnerability applies most to children who might not have a support system around them to deal with various difficulties, problems, or damaging habits. I think that risk relates to vulnerability, but I think it also includes being in an environment that has a larger number of potentially damaging aspects. This can be in the community at large or...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Hello, I am a primary school teacher based in Bangkok, Thailand. I have signed up for this course to further my understanding of safeguarding children and to continue my own education.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Having listened to Professor Eamon McCrory and read the comments below, I agree with many of the ideas. I think of neuroscience as a powerful tool (in a toolbox of many) that helps us to understand the effects of maltreatment. One that should be used in conjunction with various other disciplines.
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It focuses on the mechanisms of the brain and not necessarily on the causes. These would need to be looked at more from a social or psychological angle.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Neuroscience would provide greater understanding of the physical effects that maltreatment can have on the individuals brain and also add to the understanding of how the brain develops with these effects.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Alex's Grandmother
1. She might be feeling like he has broken a rule that she clearly set. She might be annoyed at Alex for not asking permission.
2. She could vocalise and explain her feelings and why she might be reacting to this in a certain way.Alex
1. Alex did not see positive or productive ways of managing emotions, especially strong ones. This... -
Cameron Devall made a comment
It might be something that the carer has never done about themselves before and it can potentially be difficult to be able to fully be aware of what you are thinking and feeling. Then once they have practiced this process, they will be more able to mentalise the state of mind of the child in their care.
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1. Psychoeducation could help Alex by making his teachers and peers more aware of conditions and therefore there would be a boost in acceptance and understanding.
2. The role of trust and the core importance of the relationship with the care-giver.
3. Psychoeducation is incredibly important because without it even the most well-meaning educator would...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
1. Each of these responses prevents further communication and connections to be made.
2. Alex might remove himself from social situations due to a lack of trust and have a flight response to anyone becoming close to him.
3. There would be intense emotion, rigidness and stress.
4. This would prevent the relationship from developing and (if the parent,... -
Cameron Devall made a comment
1. Provide clear individuals that they can talk to and safe spaces to do this in. This could also be done in support groups with other young people.
2. The first word that came to mind is time. Trust needs a lot of opportunities to be tested and tried.
3. The child might take certain behaviors that are often seen as trustful as negative ones. It will...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
The first word that came to mind is trust. I think trust is crucial in building any relationship and I would imagine a young person who has experienced maltreatment would struggle with trusting someone. I also think that a lot of young people would avoid building connections or allowing people in at all. They might also have issues in relating to others who...
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This was a really interesting interview to watch with Dr. Sheila Redfern. I particularly noted the reference to a stable and secure caregiver and how the relationship with this individual can promote a healthy and successful life for a child.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
1. The first thought that came to mind was "diverse". It can be very different between individuals, even those in similar situations. There are a huge number of factors that can change the impact of the adversity.
2. By looking at childhood adversity from many different angles and from varying perspectives, we can seek a greater understanding of the large...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
I have read the Code of Conduct and agree.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
S(1) = 1
S (n+1) = Sn + (n+1) -
Cameron Devall made a comment
The one that immediately came to mind was the Fibonacci sequence. As I thought about it for longer, I realised there are a whole range of sequences that we use. Things like odd and even numbers, skip counting, and multiples.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Enjoying the 4s challenge, I'm working my way through each number.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
One of the main influences is whether you are trying to express the specific value of the number or if you are trying to show something else through the number.
For example, the atoms in a human body. We need to have a level of estimation here rather than getting caught up in accuracy. This is because the idea being expressed is that there are a huge...
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Really useful to look at a number line and to work along it. It helps a lot when trying to explain to students to be able to provide visuals for the process.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
This is a really good strategy. It is an excellent visual check for a calculation.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
I think that I am more enthusiastic than confident. I think I would like to try out a range of projects to further my understanding of what works and what doesn't. While I do have some experience in problem-based projects, I really like the emphasis on entrepreneurial thinking and the various types of entrepreneurship that can be explored in these lessons.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
These projects can be connected to a whole range of curriculum elements. They not only connect to problem solving, but also a range of practical skills in mathematics. These projects can also be connected to citizenship, interpersonal skills, and planning.
The main strategy to promote free innovation is to allow for the opportunities to solve problems. In...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
The use of a number line would be good to correct this misconception. By showing that -5 is further down the line from -3, it can be shown that the number is smaller (even though 5 is bigger than 3).
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Not only should we be proactively teaching innovation but also providing the opportunities and freedom to explore problems and find solutions. Often, the curriculum is fixed and doesn't allow for innovation and I would imagine a great deal of potential is lost.
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Right now, without having tried it out fully, I would focus mainly on the second method. Even with smaller numbers, this shows a more efficient way to generate the LCM and HCF. I think it would be good practice with smaller numbers and then the same process can be applied to bigger numbers.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Using 2 larger primes can create a larger number that has a small number of factors.
151 x 179 = 27,029
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Cameron Devall made a comment
1. My first reaction to this question would be to simply match the system but "backwards" but having thought about what -1 actually is, I started to think that actually negative numbers cannot be prime. Having read other comments and doing some research, I see this is true. The definition could be adjusted to "Prime numbers are integers higher than 1 that have...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
1. I am going to continue practicing using fractions, percentages and decimals to further build my confidence. I will also try to integrate these concepts more into all subjects (not only maths). This will be especially useful in a range of real-world scenarios.
2. I want to look closer at various teaching strategies to better develop this concept with...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Examples of percentage increases and decreases:
- Property value
- Student grading projections
- Salary increases
- Measurement of properties in materials. -
Cameron Devall made a comment
A multiplier of 2 would mean an increase of 100%. A multiplier of 2.5 would mean an increase of 150%.
For example, if the original number is 100. 100 x 2 = 200 (which is an increase of 100 or 100%.)
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Cameron Devall made a comment
I hadn't previously thought about the differences between lean startups and social enterprises. It is certainly something to explore with differing projects with students. While there is some overlap, there are different focuses and skills required in each type of entrepreneurship.
I am still exploring the structure of the models more independently of the...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Our school has an event called International Day. This event has each class assigned a country and then the students will have a stall to raise money for charity on the day. The children are given the freedom to explore options for raising this money through selling items, selling food, or running sideshow games.
The process brought up a lot of...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Yesterday, 60 people came to watch a movie. Today, there were 5 1/3% more people going to see the movie than yesterday. How many people came to see the movie today? - Being able to understand how a 1/3 converts into a decimal and remembering to keep the whole number on the correct side of the decimal point.
Harry had Pokemon cards valued at $12 and he...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
I think that 0 is even because when divided by 2 it gives a whole number as an answer (0)
I think that 1.6 and 2.3 are both odd because they do not give whole numbers when divided by 2.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Groups:
- Odd
- Even
- Multiples of 3
- Multiples of 5
- Containing Units
- Containing Units and Tens
- Containing Units, Tens and Hundreds
- Prime Numbers -
Cameron Devall made a comment
In 108, you need the number 0 as a placeholder for the tens column. If there was no 0 there, we might become confused and read the number as 18. Whereas with 065 and 32.0, the zeros in these numbers are not acting as placeholders. If we removed the zeros, there would be no confusion when reading the rest of the digits.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
While I am not an Australian teacher, I work in an international school that follows the National Curriculum of England. This curriculum also contains many objectives and focuses that align with entrepreneurial thinking. It also links to a great deal of 21st century skills. We use a problem-based approach in our teaching and entrepreneurial thinking is crucial...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Hello, I am a primary school teacher based in Bangkok, Thailand. We use problem-based tasks and project-based approaches in our school. I think teaching entrepreneurial thinking is crucial to success in education and that this should start at a young age.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
When coming back to school, it is very important for us to wash our hands with soap. On Monday, the teacher had 1 and 1/2 bottles of soap in the classroom. On Tuesday, the teacher found 3/4 of a bottle of soap. By the end of the week, the children had used 1/6 of the soap. How much soap was left?
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Cameron Devall made a comment
332 - CCCXXXII
112 - CXII
4444 - MMMMCDXLIV -
Cameron Devall made a comment
My initial response to the question was yes, that dividing will always give you a smaller number. When I stopped to think about it, especially in the context of decimals, I saw that it isn't always the case. I thought immediately of 1 divided by 0.5 would equal 2.
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My goal is to develop a better teaching practice to unlock the deeper meaning behind maths and to look for ways to make the content relevant and connected to other parts of the children's education.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Hello! I am a primary school teacher based in Bangkok, Thailand. I am looking to increase my background knowledge of maths and develop my teaching skills in the process.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
1) Counting Up
- Advantages - Gives access to difficult questions to children not confident in their division abilities. Gives an opportunity to practice multiplication.
- Disadvantage - Takes a long time.2) Fraction
- Advantage - Can simplify and save time in the Counting Up method.
- Disadvantage - Might feel like an unnecessary extra step3)...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
In 2019, it rained in Wetville on 70% of the days of the year. In January, February, and March it rained 20 days of each month. Between April and June it rained on a 1/3 of the days. How many rainy days were there between July and December?
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Students might have a problem identifying and keeping the recorded programme space separate for the two people in the question.
General Advice
- Read carefully and then read again
- Make a visual representation of the question
- Extract the numbers and then reread to see if they make sense with the question. -
Cameron Devall made a comment
Converting to equal numerators can be a problem because the students would need to be able to understand that a larger number denominator would signify the smaller fraction (because the object has been split into more smaller parts).
Converting the fractions into decimals would be great for more advanced students and would let them connect comparing...
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Right now, I haven't worked with students enough in adding/subtracting fractions, decimals and percentages to highlight some key areas that they struggle with. I have, however, read the other comments of my colleagues and made note of some of the common problems.
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I think it will be 144 seconds because the volume of water will be multiplied by 4 (if the 2nd dispenser is twice the size of the 1st one).
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Cameron Devall made a comment
This is much clearer now. Things like baking have a lot of non-proportional examples because there can be amounts which are between set timing amounts.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
I initially voted for A as it seemed to me that the higher number of slices would take more time to toast. After having read other comments, I can see a good argument for D as there are a lot of different factors.
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It doesn't matter as they both add up to 60% off the original price and it doesn't matter which way round these discounts are applied.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
I notice that percentages work both ways.
36% of 50 seems difficult to work out without a calculator but it is the same as 50% of 36 (which is a lot easier). Each of the questions can be worked out easily with this reversal method.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Pictorial representation might not work when the decimals are close to each other and also if the decimal is alongside a whole number.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
1) 62 x 31 -> 1 x 62 = 62 -> 30 x 2 = 60 -> 30 x 60 = 1800 -> 62+60+1800=1922
2) 62 x 3 = 186 x 10 = 1860 + 62 = 1922For the first example, I used a column multiplication method. The second one, is splitting the numbers up into more manageable multiplications.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
3/7 - 3 divided by 7 = 0.4285 x 100 = 42.85%
Students might find it difficult:
- To know how many decimal places to include in their calculations.
- Seeing the relation between the percentage and the original fraction.
- To divide 3 into 7 parts. -
Cameron Devall made a comment
- Nutritional information
- Battery charge
- Kindle amount of the book that has been read
- Progress on this course
- Discounts -
Cameron Devall made a comment
Before watching the video, I honestly do not know whether these decimals can be expressed as fractions or if the way they recur will make a difference.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Very straightforward explanations but at the same time helping me a lot to think about complex problems. This course is going to help me make my own teaching much clearer and this is especially true with the range of methods that we've been introduced to.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
It is easier to see that the drink made on Saturday tastes stronger of orange because the number of parts is higher at 16:20 instead of 15:20 on Friday.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
1) I added together the hours that Jane and Sharon did - 8 hours. Then I divided the total money by 8 to get how much they were paid per hour. Then multiplied each number of hours by 4. To get Jane = 12 pounds and Sharon = 20 pounds
2) I made fractions from the ratio. Jane = 3/8 and Sharon = 5/8. I then took the total money paid and divided by the...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
My students usually like to use the proportionality grid to work through the problem and then check their thinking through the bar modeling method.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Maps, recipes and drawing plans.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
As an educator, my thoughts are usually with changes in educational policy and how politics effects this in every way. I would like to see the government work on equity in the education system. I would like to see a greater emphasis on the celebration of our differences, the continued coming together of differing groups, and the equality of individuals...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
I think that there is still a trend of social inequality in classical education routes and careers. I do, however, think that the world around these systems is changing. Now, there is a huge range of opportunities for greater success through less traditional educational routes.
That being said, there are still (as always) more opportunities and better...
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It was very interesting to think about the balance that girls are trying to find between being "girl-like" and their academic achievement. It is also fascinating to include the pressures of social groups, socio-economical backgrounds, and the being perceived as "beautiful". It is a complex issue and one that certainly needs to be researched further. This is...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Overall, I think the views that have been expressed are convincing. They are largely describing the problems in social gender constructs and how these ideas seep into education. Some of these things I have seen personally but I can essentially believe that they exist in some places throughout all education systems.
It is the generalizations of the findings...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
I think that if a denominator is divisible by 10s then it will be finite. Otherwise, it will be recurring.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
I think the importance of the visual representations is the combination of all three. It lets children check their thinking in three different ways and allows them to confirm or change their thinking accordingly.
Often, I will give children the freedom to think of their own representation in addition to the ones I provide. This is optional but it often...
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Cameron Devall replied to Amy Coote
I agree that there are many schools fighting to move towards equity. It can be disheartening to read reports of how many issues the system is still facing but, as you said, there are schools out there doing their best and I think this is important to keep in mind.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
My initial thoughts are that these are sad but also clearly observed issues in the British education system. This is especially true when considering the differences in gender equality.
I currently teach in Thailand. There has been some review of the education systems in Thailand, especially by UNESCO and the Global Education Monitoring Report. There are...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
I voted for Saturday. My reasoning is that if you compare 3:4 and 4:5 and then use a common multiplier. 15:20 and 16:20 - this means that Saturday has a stronger taste of orange.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Interfaith is particularly relevant in issues surrounding migration and identity. It gives young people opportunities to reflect on their own position within a more diverse idea of Europe and their home country. Interfaith would have a good impact on tackling prejudice and a lack of knowledge of other communities. It would also help to create connections...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Here is a collection of news articles that are in my Pocket collection relating to equality in education around the...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Examples of Fractions in Real Life:
- Telling the time
- Cooking
- Sports Stats
- Progress Checks
- Games
- Eating Out (paying the bill) -
Cameron Devall made a comment
While working out the lowest common multiplier might be quicker, it does then contain more difficult calculations and this might not be accessible for all children. The unitary method provides a slower but more straightforward approach. I can see some children becoming frustrated with the speed of this method. In addition, there will be several children that...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
I largely agree with many of the comments posted below. I think that accountability is extremely important in the education system. I also think that there isn't anything inherently wrong with competition.
The problem is with what is being measured as "success" and the over-simplification of the measuring tools. It seems that the ideas of trying to raise...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
I think using the diagram to go through the steps of the unitary process really helps to focus on the process rather than on a specific answer. It is a natural way to get children to show their working.
It would also be good practice to let the child chose the process that they think works best and to be given the chance to explain their decision.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
I really liked that there was an openness to various religious practices and secularism. There were varied individuals in the group that came from a range of backgrounds relating to faith. They were given the opportunity to experience, question, and appreciate. The reflections on aspects other than beliefs were encouraging, such as the beauty of the mosque in...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Next Week: I am currently continuing with a range of courses for my professional development while schools are closed. I will use the information that I have learned on this course to help me to consolidate the information and learning from these other courses.
Next Three Months: I will be starting a new school in September. I will be using the information...
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The course developed my understanding of learning greatly. I am now able to look at teaching practices through the lens of increasing learning. I have now seen the importance of structuring the revisiting of content and also showing children how they can apply this knowledge to new contexts or problems. It has also been very useful for me to think about how...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
My definition of learning before was more simplistic than it is now. I have added a lot of ideas into my concept of learning and I think it will take some more reflection to generate a clear definition that encompasses all of these thoughts.
A working definition might be: learning is the combination of engaging with new content, building new knowledge, and...
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Cameron Devall made a comment
I think that a successful interfaith project needs to have all of the aspects of any successful project. The issue is that interfaith projects are conducted in a much more sensitive context and this means that the achievement criteria is more difficult to achieve.
I believe that a successful interfaith project must have:
- Dedicated and passionate people... -
Cameron Devall made a comment
It was definitely difficult to respond with a simple yes or no. In the end, I chose no because I do not believe that this should be the prime reason that we look to educate children. There should be a nobler cause underlying the goal of education.
At the same time, this does not mean that international economic competitiveness is not also important. The...
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I like this idea a lot. I am only concerned with how you could measure an increase in positivity in the attitudes of the adults towards mathematics. This seems like a difficult task but it would be great to see the effect it had on the children.
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It might be helpful to make the definition of performance more narrow in this statement. Otherwise, it might be difficult to collect the data.
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Cameron Devall made a comment
Action Research Question:
- Do weekly real-world problem-based maths tasks improve the consolidation of the week's content for a Year 2 class? -
Cameron Devall made a comment
I have just been looking at Boolean logic in another course and I realized that the vinculum can be used as the Not Function.
