Michael Anderson

Michael Anderson

Mathematics Subject Specialist at the National STEM Learning Centre, York.

Activity

  • Also fixed now. Thanks all!

  • I believe we've now fixed it. Apologies and thanks all for spotting!

  • Thanks Sally!

  • You'll need to register on the stem site- completely free and shouldn't take too long!

  • "x is a-cross" ;-)

  • Not neccessarily, students don't need to know the quadrant name, just to be confortable redaing/plotting points in all four.

  • Very true! We also had to use pen when drawing graphs so that the lines/points can be seen clearly, going very much against what I tell students about using pencil!

  • Welcome back @WilliamHarris

  • You can see why these signs are confusing!

    40:100, or 2:5 would mean that for every 5 units we move along the road, we move 2 units up (or down), i.e. a ratio of 0.4 : 1 or (2/5) : 1. THe vertical distance travelled is two-fifths of the horizontal distance trvelled.

    BUT in maths classrooms students are taught (correctly) that the ratio 2:5 gives...

  • Great to have you with us!

  • Welcome!

  • To avoid the graphing element, I've asked students to draw a table with "C", "d" and "C/d" columns. Although I think the graph/gradient aspect is a nice addition to the learning!

  • It's a nice gentle introduction to (or foreshadowing of) graphical transformations!

  • Using Desmos during lockdown has been a game-changer!

  • Hi @JulieFairless- sorry for not getting back to you sooner.

    Sudoku is a good comparision- you need that kind of logic! As we are dealing with multiplication, the key is to look at the numbers already filled in and think about what could have been multiplied together to make them. A bit of guess work might be needed- so use a pencil!

    For the 24, it...

  • Werlcome back @RobertDrury. And don't worry about the "cheating"!

  • See you there Sarah!

  • Sounds exactly what I did when first presented with this problem!

    P.S. I agree with you!

  • Thanks for this @SukhdevSingh

  • Great to hear!

  • Very kind Louisa! Glad you enjoyed it!

  • Thanks Helen!

  • Hi @KarenaCS- the answer sheest are on the last step of each week!

  • It should be right at the end of the week, the last step, in the downloads section...

  • Thanks all!

  • It's good that we are talking about methods, not just answers!

  • Great to have to have you on the course!

  • Great to hear Kerry!

  • @JudithL why did you doubt yourself?

  • Isn't maths great?!

  • Sounds like a great idea to me!

  • See you there!

  • Thanks both- I'll look into it...

  • Perhaps thinking of 33 1/3% as a fraction will help?

    1/3 of 12 then gives 4...

  • Our pleasure!

  • Glad you stuck with it!

  • Thank you @MadeleineBrooks-Kenney, that is very kind!

  • That's great to hear @LindaHooper!

  • Sorry to hear that our conversation came across that way! :-/

    We try to have one person asking and one person answering in each video (swapping each time...)

  • Hi @FatimaMughni- the worksheet is for your own learning and reflection. Please add comments here based on the worksheet questions if you like!

  • It is in the downloads section in step 1.1

  • Now there's an investiagetion!

    "What value less then 100 uses the most digits when written in Roman numerals..?"

  • Hi Claire- the larger numbers certianly are tricky. That's once of the reasons that they have become obsolete! I recommend trying out a few "easy" large numbers first, then building up to trickier ones.

    You can always post a number that you are struggling with here- and hopefuly another learner will have an answer!

  • I've pinned Beate's comment to the top of the page as these documentaries are great. HIGHLY recommended!

  • Welcome to the course. It is great to see people from many different backgrounds, with a whole range of experiences, come together to learn about numbers. It's great to have you here!

  • Kia Ora Julie!

  • Hi Jana- I beleive the FutureLearn platform requires you to upgrade to get this. Details can be found here: https://www.futurelearn.com/proof-of-learning/certificate-of-achievement

  • Welcome again Joray!

  • Not to worry Janet. We will go through this later in the course. You can always pick and chose which bits are right for you!

  • Hi there!

    Great to hear that you have completed the worksheet. The solutions for each weekly worksheet appear at the end of each week- enabling you to check your own working and to see model solutions.

    If you have any questions, or would like to discuss any matters arising from the worksheet then please post a comment under the relevant step.

  • Hi @SarbjitBaines! Just under the pink "complete" circle, halfway down the page: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/maths-subject-knowledge-number/2/steps/678673

  • Thanks Sam!

  • Hi Amanda- the course repeats every three months or so. I imaigne your comments were on the previous run of the course. Happy to have you back!

  • Fingers crossed!

  • Welcome to the week! Share your thoughts below and check out other learners' comments- do you agree?

  • Hopefully you found it @CatherineIhediwa!

  • Welcome everyone! Great to hear your motivation for joining the course! Lets get started...

  • We have three and are looking to add more Peter! https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/collections/maths-for-teachers

  • Good spot @StephanieWaldron- we'll look into it!!!

  • Stick with it- maybe try again now after a few days have passed?

  • Apart from 5, or 25, or maybe 125?

  • Kelly that is perfect- if you can't change the denomitor to 10, 100, 1000 etc. then it will be a recurring decimal!

  • Haha! They certainly divide opinions!

  • What did you try first?

  • Thanks!

  • If it was easy you wouldn't be learning..!

  • Correct!

  • It is interesting to ask students what is larger: 3/10 or 3/8?

  • You can just pop a comment on here if you like!

  • I'm afraid I don't have access to it at the moment. To replicate it, I'd recommend either inserting tables with just one column in a word processing software, or using a spreadsheet...

  • Shock!!!! ;-)

  • I think you are correct! Students find fractions hard as a rule. The idea is simple, but as you suggest there are lots of levels of complexity once we start looking into it. Language also is important!

  • And it always works! The next thing to ask is why..?

  • 100 works- that's what percentages are!

    Although the numbers might not "fit" nicely into 100...

  • Hi @SarbjitBaines! The worksheets are available in the "downloads" section in the first step each week (you jave to scroll down a little bit on the page...)

  • I like the idea of equivalent subtractions...

    (-4) - (-6) is the same as (-2) - (-4) which is the same as (0) - (-2) which is the same as (2) - (0)...

    I'd like to show these on a number line to students!

  • They are on the first step each week- in the downloads section (just below the "mark complete" button): https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/maths-subject-knowledge-fractions-decimals-and-percentages/3/steps/732226

  • It will always be true. Which is why it is a good extension Q for a class!

    For the fractions (a/b) and (c/d), try multiplying the first by (b*c) and the second by (a*d)... Hey presto!

  • I think either would be fine with me- but as Rita says, best to use originals to be sure!

  • What were your intial thoughts with that one @VickiBrown?

  • Thanks Alex- I've amended it now!

  • Sorry if you are having trouble with the Padlet... it may take a long time for the posts to show up. Please be patient!

    Alternatively, please feel free to share your thoughts/suggestions in the comments below

  • "Could you find an example of two fractions that could NEVER be equal?!"

  • I think you might like this for further reading (page 8): https://www.m-a.org.uk/resources/Equals-23-2.pdf

  • Thank you for all of your comments.

    Really interesting to see lots of different methods being used/discussed! Worth reading to see if others agree or disagree with your method...

  • I mis-read that you'd baked two cakes, and admired your commitment!

  • "7 is greater than 3" is the same as "7 > 3"

    "5 is less than 10" is the same as "5 < 10"

  • Blaming your child?! Tut-tut @SallyMeanley! ;-)

  • Hi all!

    A few people have mentioned that they are supporting the home learning of maths at the moment. Just to note we have a free activity calendar that might be helpful, it is full of great activities that can be done to support learning maths outside of school:

    https://www.stem.org.uk/sites/default/files/pages/downloads/Maths-activity-calendar.pdf

  • The self audit can be found by clicking on it (in pink) above.

    The worksheet for this week is on the previous step (I believe!)

  • That's OK! The benefits of an online course is that you can pick and choose which bits are best for you!

  • Great to see so many people joining us- with a range of backgrounds and roles- to talk about maths! Welcome to the course

  • Nicely argued!

  • We have a fractions course by the way, just in case anyone is interested! https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/maths-subject-knowledge-fractions-decimals-and-percentages

  • Good spot! Hope it doesn't cause too much confusion!

  • Lots of comments about the "size" of the image- are we talking about the lengths? Area? Or both?