Wednesday 1 June 2011

Maths Geniuses in the Making

I may, one day, become the maths genius required by the government, of graduate teachers.  Miss Sunshine has been stressing out about some homework that she was stuck on.  Another bright spot of not having my own study, was that we got to sit down last night and nut out her problem together.  We logged in to Maths Online and off we went.  I now know a whole bunch of stuff about composite shapes and finding the hypotenuse of triangles.  Not only that, but Miss Sunshine had a brilliant moment where the light bulb switched on for her.  We were able to work through the lesson and some exercises together and found that actually, it wasn't even all that difficult.

I love it when kids have that "OOoohhh" moment when the learning clicks for them.  It is so very satisfying, knowing I had something to do with that.

What I also love, is Maths Online.  It's a free resource for secondary students (and teachers, and student-teachers!) to add to their learning.  Whilst it is an Aussie site, anyone can register to use it.  It's set up to cover various mathematical topics.  Each topic is divided into sub-topics, and each of those has a narrated lesson with examples, and then you work through some exercises based on what you've just been learning.  Once you've entered the answers, the program provides you with instant feedback.  This is what I have been and will continue to use in order to learn all I need to pass my numeracy proficiency test.  I'm discovering that I actually quite enjoy maths, once I understand what's going on.  It's the not understanding that impacts on the enjoyment.

1 comment:

Left-Handed Housewife said...

I love the phrase "nut out the problem"! And it is gratifying when someone has a lightbulb moment. I'm only sorry I had so few when it came to math. I wish my brain worked that way!

xofrances