Friday, 3 April 2015

Kindergarten Math Gaming systems - Serving Children Using Math Nervousness

Math is vital in growing a son's or daughter's education. Interactive video gaming present instructors and mom or dad the assist they desire. It enhances mathematical growing and fascination. Teachers use not the same supplies and even references with planning certainly activities meant for classrooms. This is certainly to come up with math supplemental interesting like kindergarten maths

Follow the link to Your Anxiety-Free Boy or girl Program Analyze
Since youngster's principles are firmly depending on their on a regular basis activities together with experiences, it finest to help you adapt having fun with while achieving knowledge. Listed here are some tips to think about:
Video activities were initial introduced within the 1970s and possess now develop into an invariable strategy to obtain fun as well as entertainment to get children. This devoted world has become a place connected with fantasy, where they are really rewarded with regard to game some people win. Presently, video games are visible in the majority of homes, with young children having their own personal individual cd consoles along with play programs. There happen to be basically five forms of video game titles including athletic, general enjoyment, fantasy violence, educational games and our violence. Extensive research was conducted since the time connected with its inception to review the effects of games on little children. The link between these studies demonstrated there exists both good and also bad benefits or effects on babies playing gaming systems, according to the game these play not to mention their amount of exposure. Let us go through the possible benefits and drawbacks of game playing on children.
http://eimaths.com/tag/kindergarten-maths-2/

Video games that have educational material are proved to undertake a positive impact on children. These games get learning wonderful and amusing. Even instructive institutions encourage these types of games the place children gain knowledge of problem dealing with skills when playing. Research provides found that each video video games, including those that have violence need the kids to take into account ways and processes to reach the goals. This offers them enable you to plan and handle sophisticated situations.
You can also make money by winning contests! You notice, if you discover how to pull it again off, you are able to some serious cash out of this industry. You heard that right. As the matter from fact, you may also keep the action after you done the software. Therefore, if you think yourself being dedicated gamer and possess serious passion with what you're accomplishing, then let's take who dedication together with passion in to monthly payroll check?
Like some other type associated with job, this specific fun succeed also will need few tough conditions. You simply can't just walk in along with shoot them like with Counter Strike. Like the application or not, this is often a multimillion $ industry, and you can find some huge cash involved with this. However, do not need worry. Essentially, there usually are three most significant stages that you'll complete. 
http://eimaths.com/tag/kindergarten-maths-2/


It's not at all an uncommon sight to all households if the child/ young spends above 2-3 numerous hours everyday playing the video call of need or Kitchen counter strike. Video games are typically the market since many decades and get been popular since that time due to the entertainment construct y offer. Most of the video activities are founded on violence based topics which increases the question on which is this violent video games effect about children? Violent video games definitely own negative result on children to boot mas adults users. Here we will see more in the psychological together with health benefits of game titles on small children.

One with the major variance between paying attention to a chaotic movie not to mention playing the violence based cd is that as you're watching the dvd movie, we quickly watch that as passive viewers. Nevertheless, in condition of video games, we tend to be actual participants within the game that produces us more interested in it. Hence, the outcome of video game titles is significantly severe when compared to that associated with movies. And so, what stands out as the actual violent online games effect concerning children? Psychological studies and findings have observed any time children have confronted violence connected with any form, they too usually tend to get impressive. Although that is a short expression aggression, it certainly affects a child's qualities and may bring about short outburst and irritability. The child could perhaps sometimes show the exact same violence and aggression in actual situations, which is often dangerous.

Saturday, 28 March 2015

Changing Attitudes Toward Math Instruction

For some time now, it seems that when American education is addressed in the media, it is reported in a less than flattering light. Compared with other countries, schools in the United States are supposedly lagging behind in performance, test scores and so on. While the accuracy and relevance of such comparisons can and should be debated, there is one thing that I personally have found during my pursuit of an education degree: many people struggle with the subject of mathematics. I have witnessed college students – potential teachers – who are unable to perform basic math functions. I have also spoken with quite a few students that have problems with the subject and have formed some strong conclusions based on my observations.

I believe that schools in our country have perpetuated a cycle of sub-par math instruction that has resulted in poor math performance and a general acceptance of the fact that some people simply “can’t do math.” This unfortunate statement becomes alarming when individuals that struggle with math become elementary teachers; what quality of math instruction can be expected from teachers that have a shaky understanding of the subject themselves? However, teachers that lack a strong mathematical background are not the only problem. Some math teachers that greatly excel at the subject can be equally ineffective. If the teacher is unwilling or unable to teach the subject in a variety of ways, fails to properly assess student understanding, and does not attempt to get to know their students, the results can be as unfortunate as those from a teacher with weak math skills.

My observations were reinforced in print in the August, 2005 issue of Middle Ground: The Magazine of Middle Level Education. In that journal, University of Virginia education professor Carol Ann Tomlinson describes two classes from her middle school years that shaped not only her philosophy of education, but her overall attitude toward two subjects and more importantly, her self-esteem. Her article “Differentiating Instruction: Why Bother?” describes her seventh grade math teacher:

She was a serious math teacher. She covered math with a single-mindedness that was evident even to seventh graders. She explained the math in one way and one way only. She taught each topic one time and one time only. She used one form of assessment and one form only. She knew math, but she didn’t know about me at all.

Ms. Tomlinson goes on to describe how her suddenly found inability to “do math” damaged her self-confidence as an individual during the already difficult stage of adolescence. She also developed a profound dislike for math that has persisted into adulthood.

Thankfully, she simultaneously had an English teacher that had a completely opposite view of his students. While she acknowledges his shortcomings as a teacher, the lasting effect from her time in his class was the manner in which he got to know each student, adapting his instruction to fit their interests and abilities. Doing so kindled a great interest in literature and writing for Ms. Tomlinson, and made her realize the importance of differentiating instruction (a term that she says that she doubts anybody used at that time). By finding her talents, her English teacher showed that he wanted his students to learn and excel, while her math teacher displayed a differing attitude: “That I understood virtually nothing she was talking about was either off her radar or beyond the parameters of her interest.” This attitude was more damaging because while she felt validated in English, it could not offset the negative effects of the math class. Reading the article, it is a wonder that Ms. Tomlinson was not turned off of education completely. Instead, she discovered the reason for differentiated instruction: “Our success as teachers in helping students see themselves as competent in the subjects we teach will affect the rest of their lives.”

In addition to less than ideal instruction, much of the problem with United States math performance can be attributed to the attitudes we have toward the subject. Unlike subjects such as science, English, art and so on, answers to math problems are not open to interpretation; answers are correct or they are not. The problem with considering math in this light is that the focus has been almost completely on finding the right answer. Over the years, it seems that we have found one primary method for finding ‘the correct answer’ and that method is taught in exercises, over and over again.

American students learn how to add complex numbers in the same way, learn to multiply the same way, multiply fractions the same way and so on. Students perform these steps, in this order, get the correct answer, and repeat. The issue in teaching this way is that the focus shifts away from the thought processes needed to solve math problems. The end result becomes teachers like the woman described in Ms. Tomlinson’s article. Such a narrow view of math perpetuates attitudes like this one from a Florida school board candidate (and retired assistant principal): “one plus one still equals two.” (Solochek) Opinions like this one provide a major roadblock to the improvement of math instruction, especially when it comes from potential school board members.

The ultimate question becomes ‘what can we do to improve mathematics instruction in our schools?’ On a positive note, researchers and schools of education have the right idea. The mathematics education curriculum at Ivy Tech and the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville place a focus on answering the question ‘why?’ For example, instead of blindly multiplying fractions by multiplying the numerators and denominators, why does it work? Also of major importance is discussing the thought processes used in problem solving maths. Marking a problem wrong when the incorrect answer is not achieved does not teach a student anything; determining how the student arrived at the answer lets them know where they got off track, and allows the teacher to adjust the level of instruction that is necessary for the student to understand the concept.

As Carol Ann Tomlinson writes, differentiating instruction is also a major factor in improving school performance, and math classes are no exception. Like teachers of any subject, it is imperative that math teachers get to know their students and understand how they learn best. Creativity can exist in math classrooms just as it does in English, science, social studies or art classes. A creative maths teacher can use experiments that show how new math concepts work. Using drawings such as strip diagrams can help students visualize story problems, helping them to determine the proper method of solution. Teachers can often relate items of student interest to particular concept maths. Even small things such as using humor or inserting student names into story problems can make math more enjoyable and less of a ‘stuffy’ subject.

Reforming education is a difficult task. Much of this difficulty stems from getting people to agree on the most effective methods of reform. If the fact that American students are struggling in their mathematical abilities is believed to be true, it must be concluded that our typical methods of instruction – following specific steps repeatedly through daily homework practice – are ineffective. If we want to improve the ability of our students to solve problems and perform well in math, we must change the way that we teach the subject. Understanding the needs of each student - like we often do in reading instruction - can be done in math as well. Teaching concepts in multiple ways can accommodate the wider variety of learners that enter our classrooms. Teachers today have access to a wealth of resources; using these resources along with some creativity can go a long way in achieving the kind of math improvement that all of us can agree upon.

WORKS CITED
Solochek, Jeffrey S. “Pasco County schools switch to new math program.” St. Petersburg Times, August 22, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/pasco-county-schools-switch-to-new-math-program/1116669
Tomlinson, Carol Ann. “Differentiating Instruction: Why Bother?” Middle Ground: The Magazine of Middle Level Education, August, 2005.

Friday, 20 March 2015

LAUNCH OF NUMSKILLS TRAINING



Details of the course:
Are there children struggling with mental maths in your school? Is this stopping them from feeling confident and comfortable with numeracy in the classroom? Education charity, Reading Quest incorporating Numeracy Quest, has specifically designed Numskills for these pupils in collaboration with Oxford Brookes University.

We are delighted to launch our Numskills training in your area. Numskills involves using set activities to boost children’s confidence in the mental maths areas of the curriculum that they are finding it hard to access. These activities involve using everyday items, such as playing cards, dice and counters.
The aim is to train school staff (either TAs or teachers or even trained volunteers) to be able to deliver the activities in groups with those children who are most struggling and get little or no support at home. They are designed for children aged from Year 1 to Year 4 but could also be played with pupils who are very weak in Years 5 and 6.
Our specialised tutors have been piloting Numskills teaching with pupils in schools in Oxford and we are thrilled by the positive changes we can see in the children that we are working with. Please see the ‘Further information sheet for schools’ attachment for further details.
This training session will:
·      Give an insight and understanding of the Numskills materials and the rationale behind them
·      Enable familiarisation with the games and activities which rehearse and develop key mathematical skills, knowledge and understanding so delegates will be prepared to support children through the programme
·      Give delegates confidence in the subject knowledge required to support children
·      Show delegates that maths is fun and that everyone can do maths  (be a mathematician)

How to attend
Please fill out the booking form and e-mail it to us. The cost is a special pilot price of £250 per delegate which includes the training and a copy of the materials.
Details of the trainer:
Katherine Milner is an effective mathematics teacher, having taught across Key Stages 1 to 3 and is an experienced trainer delivering to teachers, subject leaders, teaching assistants, parents and governors. As a primary mathematics consultant, previously with Northamptonshire County Council and now working independently, Katherine has a proven ability to bring about improvements in the teaching and learning of mathematics. She is an Associate Academic in ITT at The University of Northampton supporting students on BA and PGCE courses and is also a tutor on the Mathematics Specialist Programme. She is passionate about mathematics despite not always having found it an easy subject herself, and strives to foster this enthusiasm in others – adults and children.

Math Games and Activities

Add fun and variety to your class by playing a game. Games break the monotony of taking notes and solving problems, taking notes and solving problems. Different students will take interest and excel at different types of activities. Games are also fun for the teacher.



The ideas below can be used with or without our software and can be adapted for any class from Pre-Algebra to Algebra 2 and beyond.

Worksheet Races
Group activity  /  Groups of 4-6 students  /  Suitable for single topics, units, or whole course reviews  /  15-30 min

Overview - Groups of five students will race to see which can first correctly answer all of the questions on their worksheet.

Planning - Create a worksheet that has six questions on it. Print 30 different versions, each with an answer sheet and with a version ID number. Separate the answer keys and the worksheets.

Classroom Setup - Divide the class into groups of five. Have them move their desks together. Ask each group to choose a name for itself. Write these names on the board and use them to keep score. Ask each group to choose a runner. The runner is the student who will bring the group's answers to you.

Play - Give each group a worksheet. They must correctly answer each question on the worksheet as quickly as they can. They can divide the questions any way they wish. All of the answers must be written on the paper you gave them. When they have solved all of the questions and written the answers on the paper, the runner brings the paper to you. Check the answers, stopping as soon as you find one that is wrong. Give the paper back to the runner and tell them which question was wrong (Note: there might be other questions that are wrong that you didn't get to check yet.) The first group to get all of their questions correct wins three points. The second place team wins two points. If a team submits wrong answers three times then they are disqualified from that round. Once the first two teams are done, stop the round, record the points on the board and begin a new round.

To maintain discipline, tell the class that if a group is too loud, then all of the other groups will be given one point.

Reward the winning team.

Whole Class Competition

Group activity  /  Divide class in half  /  Suitable for a unit or whole course review  /  15-50 min

Overview - Divide the class into two. One student from each team comes to the board and tries to solve the same problem. The first student to get the right answer wins a point for their team.

Planning - Create a worksheet with about 60 questions. This can easily be done with a Kuta Software product by merging past assignments and then scaling the length to 60 questions. Make the assignment one page long if possible. Print the assignment with "answers in context." Bring the answer sheet to class.

Classroom Setup - Divide the class into two. The easiest method is to make the left half of the room one team and the right half of the room the other team. On the board, draw two vertical lines to separate it into three parts. The middle part is for you, the part on the left is for the team on the left, and the part on the right is for the team on the right. Have each group provide a name. Write the team names on the appropriate sides of the board.

Play - One student from each team comes to the board. Write a question in the middle of the board. The first student to give the correct answer to the problem receives a point for their team.

The order in which students come to the board should be simple, such as "this row from front to back, then this row from front to back... etc." At the board, the student indicates a final answer by circling it. An answer is not considered official until it is circled. An answer that has been circled cannot be changed. If both students at the board get the question wrong, then the question remains the same for the next two students, but the question is now worth more points.

Discipline can be maintained very effectively with this rule: Students may talk while no students are at the board, but as soon as a question is on the board, then the class has to be quiet. If a team member talks then the other team gets a point. Note that the students at the board continue working even if a team surrenders a point due to talking. The students at the board can't be helped by anyone on their team.



Reward the winning team.

BINGO

Individual activity  /  Suitable for one to three skills  /  20 minutes

Overview - Students solve problems that you write on the board. They find the answers on their BINGO cards. If the answers form a line, then they score BINGO and win.

Planning - Create a worksheet with 24 questions that all have different answers. A simple way to create a review worksheet is to merge previous assignments into one, and then scale the number of questions to 24. Be sure no two questions have the same answer. Print the assignment with a separate answer sheet. If you use an overhead projector, make a transparency of the answer sheet.

Classroom Setup - Have each student take out a piece of paper and draw a BINGO card on it. Display the answers to the questions on the board/overhead projector. Each student writes the answers randomly on their BINGO card, with one answer per square. They should be sure to write the question number alongside the answer.

Play - Randomly select questions from the worksheet you created and write them on the board. Do not write the number of the question you selected on the board, but circle it on your own paper. Slowly and regularly write new questions on the board.

Students solve the questions individually at their desks, each at their own pace. When they get an answer, they put an X over it on their board. A student has BINGO when X's make a vertical line, horizontal line, diagonal line, or cover all four corners.

To make the game last longer, use more than 24 questions.

Reward the students who score BINGO.

Quick and Fun Review

Individual Activity  /  Suitable for any number of skills  /  3-30 minutes  /  Not for speed

Overview - All students solve a problem that you give them. Randomly pick a student. If that student can explain the problem correctly and has the correct answer, then they get to choose: win one bonus point, or gamble for either two points or nothing.

Planning - Almost no planning is necessary. Questions can be invented on the spot. This activity is extremely flexible. Questions can be simple, advanced, old, or new. You may wish to bring props with which the students may gamble once you have your own favorite methods.

Classroom Setup - No setup necessary. Students stay in their seats. They will each need a piece of paper.

Play - Write a question on the board and instruct all students to solve it. Give everyone plenty of time to finish it. Randomly pick a student. Ask that student to explain how to solve the problem. If they can correctly solve the problem, then they get to choose: 1) win one bonus point; or 2) gamble their point. If they gamble and win, they get two points. If they gamble and lose, they get no points.

The gamble can be anything. Here are some favorites:
   1) Throw a piece of paper into the trash can from 10 feet away.
   2) Answer a trivia question.
   3) Throw a piece of paper behind your back and catch it.
   4) Correctly guess a coin flip.

You can poll the class for more gambling ideas. You can also give the student their choice of how they wish to gamble.

You can find more maths activity class at: http://eimaths.com/parents/

Thursday, 19 March 2015

Math problem solver helps in solving math problems

Mathematics is a subject that is included in every stream of education and its problems gets tougher as student moves further in his studies. That's why proper assistance in solving math problems is required by most of the students because they know it is a kind of practical subject in which they can score maximum. But this is not an easy task to do, This subject requires regular math practice. At present, several online math tutoring services provide math problem solvers on the internet platform for the students so that students can take help in math anytime they want. Math problem solver simplifies all the math related queries of the student and provides all the related steps to that problem which can be useful while solving other similar kind of problems.

As we all know mathematics is categorized in several of its branches which have distinct types of queries and due to this online math tutoring websites have math problem solver for each of the mathematical branch. Let us talk about algebra solver that solves all the complex queries of students related to the algebra. Algebra is an art of forming mathematical expressions with variables and integer constant which are related through arithmetic operators. These relations are made according to any real life situation which is explained in words to the students. While taking lessons from online tutors, students are free to ask their doubts without hesitation and they can review the lessons as many times they want.



Algebra solver uses some of the features provided by tutoring service for better explanation of math principles with good interactive communication on the internet platform. These features are video aids, online test, and various worksheets for practice, online live chat, and video conferencing.
Let us take an example of an algebra problem and see how algebra solver helps to solve the equation for students:

X2 + 9x = 2x
Here X is a variable which is to be replaced by an integer value to solve the above equation:
X2 = 2x - 9x
X2 = - 7x

Dividing both terms by x
X = -7

Now for check your answer. Put this value of X in the given equation:

X2 + 9x = 2x
(-7)2 + 9(-7) = 2( -7)
49 -63 = -14
-14 =-14 LHS = RHS equation satisfied so the answer of the equation is correct.
Dividing both terms by x
X = -7

Now for check your answer. Put this value of X in the given equation:

X2 + 9x = 2x
(-7)2 + 9(-7) = 2( -7)
49 -63 = -14
-14 =-14 LHS = RHS equation satisfied so the answer of the equation is correct.

You can find guide about Problem Solving Maths here.

Sunday, 8 March 2015

Types of Math Tuition Centres


Which Type of Mathematics Tuition Centres Do You Prefer?

For starters, let us discuss the different types of maths tuition class. The educational landscape is evolving at a fast pace. There is a new wave of educational branding that is to be reckoned with. The local mathematics tuition centres can be categorized in three main strata - the Specialized Mathematics Centre, the Niche Mathematics Centre and the Star Tutor Mathematics Centre. Let me share with you the different groups in details.

The Specialized Mathematics Centre

As the name implies, Specialised Mathematics Centre has only mathematics classes, in the different educational levels. Sporadically, the tuition centre might also conduct ad hoc courses in other subjects as a result of the demand of students. These ad hoc courses are usually conducted during the exam season. The nature of the tuition classes can be: one-to-one customized lessons, small tuition classes of up to four students, or larger tuition classes of up to twelve students. At times, the Specialized Mathematics Centre can conduct lecture sessions for large groups of students, potentially reaching up to a few hundred students. Usually, this nature of lecture sessions is more prevalently seen during the exam period.

As all resources and efforts are ploughed into developing the curriculum of a single subject, albeit different levels, the quality of the materials and notes provided can be assured. Highly customized materials can also be created for the different segments of students, namely the mainstream, IP, IB, School of Science and Technology and NUS High etc. Coupled with experienced mathematics tutors conducting the classes, it is a winning formula for helping the students to improve.

The Niche Mathematics Centre

The Niche Mathematics Centres specialize in conducting mathematics classes for a niche group of students, such as Gifted Education Programme students, Mathematics Olympiad and SAT participants etc. The tutors teaching these classes are highly qualified coaches who have either been participants of the programmes or have received proper training to coach the students. As such, it is considerably difficult for these niche groups of students to find suitable help in the subject. Good Niche Mathematics Centres are highly sought after and often have a long waiting list of students.



The Star Tutor Mathematics Centre

The Star Tutor Mathematics Centres employ branding strategies to promote their star mathematics tutors. Hence, advertising efforts hinge primarily on the image of these mathematics tutors as well as the ability of the tutors to connect well with the students and thus engage them. Generally, the star mathematics tutors are well liked by students as these tutors are energetic, enthusiastic, humourous, fun loving and have the "cool" factor. In addition, the star mathematics tutors are motivators who can really drive the students to perform to their potentials. In short, besides catering to the academic aspect of the students, the star mathematics tutors also look into the emotional well-being of the students.

So, which type of mathematics tuition centres do you prefer?