At Langdonpark School we have a strong set of values that drive our actions as educators. These are centered on helping all students access and understand mathematics deeply and meaningfully. We believe that this happens most effectively when students are able to work together to experience and interact with mathematical ideas.
Technology offers exciting opportunities for this to happen. We regularly collaborate with outside expertise including academics and other schools to extend our knowledge and develop units of work that embrace the best of what technology has to offer our students.
There is an overwhelming amount and range of technology tools available to teachers, some which replicate activities possible without technology and some which offer automation and reduced reliance on a teacher. We use such technologies regularly if we believe they offer benefits, but we are most interested in technologies which facilitate new ways of being mathematical. Examples of this are dynamic technologies for geometry and algebra where students are able to manipulate virtual entities and learn from their experience. We believe that this allows more students to access higher level mathematical ideas and is therefore very powerful.
We have been involved in a number of projects recently including Cornerstone Maths and Grid Algebra.
The Cornerstone Maths project, for which we were an original pilot school, consists of three units of work which used dynamic technology to help students learn “hard to teach” areas of the curriculum. Developed by a team at the UCL London Knowledge Lab, this large scale project involved a unique package of research informed technology tools supported by wrap-around student and teacher materials and Professional development. We helped deliver professional development and have now embedded these units of work in our curriculum. Additionally we continue to be involved in helping others learn about its potential by presenting at conferences and we are participating in ongoing research of how the package is used by teachers. Please see the following link to a case study about our participation: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/research/projects/cornerstone-maths/embedding-cornerstone-maths-departments
Grid Algebra is a visual and kinaesthetic way to learn formal mathematical conventions of number and algebra by building on students’ intuition and reasoning skills. Written by Dave Hewitt and supported by the Association of Teachers of Mathematics this is a research driven non-commercial technology that allows students who could be put off by the formal conventions of mathematics to access these important ideas. At Langdon Park School we developed two units of work using the technology which have been shared with and used by other schools and which are now fully embedded in our scheme of work. We believe that the impact of the technology is clear to see in the understanding our students of formal algebraic representations.
Technology offers exciting opportunities for this to happen. We regularly collaborate with outside expertise including academics and other schools to extend our knowledge and develop units of work that embrace the best of what technology has to offer our students.
There is an overwhelming amount and range of technology tools available to teachers, some which replicate activities possible without technology and some which offer automation and reduced reliance on a teacher. We use such technologies regularly if we believe they offer benefits, but we are most interested in technologies which facilitate new ways of being mathematical. Examples of this are dynamic technologies for geometry and algebra where students are able to manipulate virtual entities and learn from their experience. We believe that this allows more students to access higher level mathematical ideas and is therefore very powerful.
We have been involved in a number of projects recently including Cornerstone Maths and Grid Algebra.
The Cornerstone Maths project, for which we were an original pilot school, consists of three units of work which used dynamic technology to help students learn “hard to teach” areas of the curriculum. Developed by a team at the UCL London Knowledge Lab, this large scale project involved a unique package of research informed technology tools supported by wrap-around student and teacher materials and Professional development. We helped deliver professional development and have now embedded these units of work in our curriculum. Additionally we continue to be involved in helping others learn about its potential by presenting at conferences and we are participating in ongoing research of how the package is used by teachers. Please see the following link to a case study about our participation: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/research/projects/cornerstone-maths/embedding-cornerstone-maths-departments
Grid Algebra is a visual and kinaesthetic way to learn formal mathematical conventions of number and algebra by building on students’ intuition and reasoning skills. Written by Dave Hewitt and supported by the Association of Teachers of Mathematics this is a research driven non-commercial technology that allows students who could be put off by the formal conventions of mathematics to access these important ideas. At Langdon Park School we developed two units of work using the technology which have been shared with and used by other schools and which are now fully embedded in our scheme of work. We believe that the impact of the technology is clear to see in the understanding our students of formal algebraic representations.