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Post by Ron on Feb 24, 2011 23:30:27 GMT
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Post by Rosefriend on Feb 25, 2011 6:17:00 GMT
Blimey Rony - it was 6am when I first read this and even now at just after 7am I am still trying to understand it...
RF
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Post by Jasmine on Feb 25, 2011 7:18:03 GMT
We need someone who can 'do' maths! ;D
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Post by Ladygardener on Feb 25, 2011 7:22:11 GMT
I have no idea what it all means I'm afraid.  |
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Post by Barbara on Feb 25, 2011 11:09:44 GMT
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Post by Jasmine on Feb 25, 2011 11:48:35 GMT
Anyone got a maths degree...A level... ;D
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Post by Dr Bill on Feb 25, 2011 12:20:19 GMT
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Post by Jasmine on Feb 25, 2011 12:24:27 GMT
That's a brilliant find Dr Bill....just a few words I need to look up! ;D
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Post by MamIDdau on Feb 25, 2011 12:35:40 GMT
It's basically that the long side is slightly bent in on the top, and slightly bent out on the bottom.
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Post by Jasmine on Feb 25, 2011 13:49:36 GMT
That's perfect AL...no words to look up now! ;D
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Post by Ladygardener on Feb 25, 2011 18:07:35 GMT
Yes but what's the point of it all? |
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Post by Jasmine on Feb 25, 2011 18:29:57 GMT
Just one of those mathematical mysteries I suppose LG.
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Post by Geranium on Feb 25, 2011 18:45:33 GMT
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Post by Jasmine on Feb 25, 2011 18:58:08 GMT
I scraped a pass on my 4th go.  |
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Post by Geranium on Feb 25, 2011 19:20:42 GMT
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Post by Jasmine on Feb 25, 2011 19:25:07 GMT
My Mum and Dad made me! ;D
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Post by Ladygardener on Feb 25, 2011 19:50:06 GMT
Oh I see. |
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Post by Geranium on Feb 25, 2011 21:35:13 GMT
Teachers have to have Maths now, don't they.
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Post by Jasmine on Feb 26, 2011 6:22:29 GMT
Yes they do - the new application forms ask you the marks you got for the maths and literacy tests you have to take if you got QTS after 2001...and quite right too I guess...although if you chose to teach secondary level maths I guess you'd have an interest and/or an A level or a degree in it  |
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Post by MamIDdau on Feb 26, 2011 10:16:41 GMT
It's a bit like this mathematical rhyme
Ten weary, footsore travellers,
All in a woeful plight,
Sought shelter at a wayside inn
One dark and stormy night.
'Nine rooms, no more,' the landlord said
'Have I to offer you.
To each of eight a single bed,
But the ninth must serve for two.'
A din arose. The troubled host
Could only scratch his head,
For of those tired men not two
Would occupy one bed.
The puzzled host was soon at ease -
He was a clever man -
And so to please his guests devised
This most ingenious plan.
In a room marked A two men were placed,
The third was lodged in B,
The fourth to C was then assigned,
The fifth retired to D.
In E the sixth he tucked away,
In F the seventh man.
The eighth and ninth in G and H,
And then to A he ran,
Wherein the host, as I have said,
Had laid two travellers by;
Then taking one - the tenth and last -
He logged him safe in I.
Nine single rooms - a room for each -
Were made to serve for ten;
And this it is that puzzles me
And many wiser men.
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Post by Jasmine on Feb 26, 2011 12:37:07 GMT
I'll work that out later! ;D
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Post by owdboggy on Feb 26, 2011 17:51:33 GMT
You always had to have Maths O'Level to get into Teaching College, or ay least you did in 1965 when I went. AND we had to sit an entrance Exam in both English and Maths too. Odd really but I failed my O level Maths 5 times with marks beginning at 30 percent and going down to 5 percent. I did eventually pass so I could go to College. Very odd indeed that I was taught Maths by an 11 year old at the school I was teaching in before going to College.
Having said all that I actually enjoyed teaching Maths and found I could do it better than some of the Maths specialists. Why? Because I could see where and why children got stuck and could find ways of explaining it. Still cannot do Arithmetic though! ;D
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Post by Jasmine on Feb 26, 2011 18:24:54 GMT
That last bit is so true OB - I think the best maths teachers are often the ones who found maths a bit difficult themselves.
I was on a course where the lady taking it said there are 2 sorts of mathematicians - those who know the tricks and those who know how maths works. I know the tricks that get you by. My boys have the most amazing maths tutor who teaches them why you do things in maths - no one ever did that when I was at school.
I love listening to her teaching the boys - she knows her subject, she obviously loves it and she has all the patience in the world.
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Post by MamIDdau on Feb 26, 2011 21:24:41 GMT
My maths tutor for one of my maths courses is sooooo lovely! So approachable, doesn't mind you contacting her with silly questions and even doesn't mind us contacting her about stuff on the other course!! We spent 2 hours at the tutorial today discussing questions on the assignment for the other course lol
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Post by owdboggy on Feb 27, 2011 10:35:08 GMT
And if you want some really odd maths then try looking at triangles drawn on curved surfaces. Wow!
And when I did O level maths there were 4 sections in three papers. Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry and Trigonometry and you had to get a score of 45 percent or over in all of them to pass.
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Post by Ron on Mar 3, 2011 9:21:25 GMT
Wow, this thread has developed a bit whilst I was away. The original thing with the shapes was that if they were all moved around to produce another triangle of the same size, there shouldn't be a gap. It should be impossible. Aprilaydee was right though; the two triangles aren't really triangles at all, the longest side is slightly bent. Your eyes are tricked into seeing a straight line that isn't really there because your brain expects it.
As for Maths, it's true, you do need a good teacher. I remember our Maths teacher being asked to explain how a particular rule or procedure worked when using matrices. All he could do was repeat the mathematical process he had already given us; he couldn't explain it in plain English. He worked to a formula (perhaps unsurprisingly in Maths) and although he could repeat a proof word for word, he couldn't do it in language the average pupil would understand. We shouldn't be worrying about newly qualified teachers having a good understanding of Maths so much as Maths teachers having a good understanding of English.
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Post by Rosefriend on Mar 3, 2011 9:37:22 GMT
Very true Rony but I don't think that is just boils down to the language - I know people both in England and Germany that are so intelligent, have very responsible jobs, are mines of valuable information and are totally unable to convey that information to others.
It isn't always the language that is the fault - I feel it is also the fact that they are too intelligent - they cannot use words of one syllable to explain something... They know perfectly well how something works but they are just incapable or passing the knowledge on.
RF
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Post by Auricula on Mar 3, 2011 10:10:12 GMT
I never managed to get Maths O level I have a teaching degree ( got it in 1969) and taught for over 30 years, getting several promotions...........good job I'm not starting out now I was brill at calculations, but hopeless at geometry and weak at algebra - both of which were crucial to getting Maths in my day  |
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Post by Jasmine on Mar 3, 2011 15:30:42 GMT
Very true Rony but I don't think that is just boils down to the language - I know people both in England and Germany that are so intelligent, have very responsible jobs, are mines of valuable information and are totally unable to convey that information to others. It isn't always the language that is the fault - I feel it is also the fact that they are too intelligent - they cannot use words of one syllable to explain something... They know perfectly well how something works but they are just incapable or passing the knowledge on. RF That is spot on RF. I had 2 teachers at secondary school who were an absolute whizz at their subjects - my maths teacher and my biology teacher. Neither of them were teachers though. |
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Post by Ron on Mar 4, 2011 14:19:39 GMT
I see your point, ladies. I remember we had a really good English teacher who would spring surprises on us. One day he told us to imagine a stranger who didn't speak our language needing directions to a pub called the Dog and Duck. He soon had a class full of pupils barking and quacking at each other, waddling like ducks, and drinking imaginary beer. He played the stranger and encouraged us to communicate meaning without the use of spoken langage.
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