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PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

WHEN: Wednesday 25 January 2006, 10.30am

WHERE: Manor Hall, Sandy Lane, Leamington

WHAT: Workshops to help learning maths be more fun

 

For more information please contact Adele Clarkson on 01926 413738

 

23 January 2006  

Maths is fun – homework is exciting!

 

Pupils at a Nuneaton school are enjoying maths homework – and the secret of how that happened is being shared with teachers around Warwickshire.

 

Maths is exciting at Higham Lane School, using a range of fun puzzles, games and practical   projects to bring lessons and homework to life.

 

Pupils in Years 7 and 8 at the school have a homework box that is passed round the class on a rota basis for each child to take home.

 

The box contains 45 different mathematical games and puzzles which the child keeps for four or five days.   Pupils are encouraged to play with the games and puzzles with their families and then asked to comment on how they got on.

 

There is also a video library containing different 15 minute videos on mathematical topics and again for a homework, the child takes home a video.

 

Head of Maths, Jayne Ward, who will be explaining the project at a mathematics conference run by Warwickshire County Council’s Educational Development Service, said: “This project has been extremely successful with favourable comments from children and parents alike.   It is likely that a homework box will be created for year 9.”

 

Older pupils are also given tasks. For year 10, there is a financial literacy homework based on household budgeting. Pupils are asked to work in pairs to act as parents, making household financial decisions.

 

Over a 12 week period, the pupils will receive bulletins, for example “Boiler needs repair!” The pupils are required to make financial decisions as to how the budget should be spent.  

 

Jayne said: “This has received excellent feedback from pupils as a really enjoyable piece of homework. It brings to life the realities of household budgetting: pupils can see for themselves how easy it is to fall into debt through poor financial management.”

 

Educational Development Service’s Maths Conference includes a number of other workshops aimed at head of Maths departments in secondary schools to explain how to bring the subject to life, and will also feature a talk from the Government’s Chief Mathematics Advisor, Professor Celia Hoyle.

 

Barbara Brown, Head of Educational Development Service said: “It isn’t always easy to engage pupils in mathematics but it is a crucial subject and it is vital that students learn as much as they can. This conference will show secondary heads of mathematics that the subject can come to life and that pupils can enjoy it.”

 

Last updated: 25th January 2006