Maths essentials
Turning the spreadsheet into a tool for teaching
Most maths teachers will be familiar with Microsoft Excel, but it may come as a surprise to some to learn that spreadsheets can be used as a teaching tool.
SET member Ruth Lennard, a course leader in maths and English for Westminster Adult Education Service( WAES), uses spreadsheets in a number of imaginative ways to support Functional Skills and Level 2 learning in maths.
“ I love creating formulae in spreadsheets. They are very easy to do. And making learners develop a formula allows them to see the mechanics of working out various calculations,” Ruth says.
An example would be to type in a lot of prices into a column on a spreadsheet and task students with creating a formula to work out how much they would pay for 100g, 500g, 1kg and so on.
Another example might involve students converting fractions into decimals and percentages. Set up four columns headed: numerator, denominator, decimal fraction and percentage. The teacher provides the numerators and denominators, then tasks
( A)
( B)
Finite Ideas iStock students with developing formulae for calculating the matching decimal fractions( perhaps to two or three decimal places) and the equivalent percentages.
At a simpler level, the cells in spreadsheets can be used to represent fractions graphically. For example, select five cells and colour fill them. Then select a larger block of cells around these blocked out cells, say 15 cells in total, giving a graphic representation of five fifteenths, or one third.
“ Students can work on formulae on their own machines or you can copy and paste material from your computer into students’ online workbooks or into the VLE discussion board,” Ruth says.
Additional useful Level 2 maths resources for adult learners are available from Citizen Maths at goo. gl / harLb0
Follow Ruth on Twitter @ RuthLennard
You’ ll need four square tables and four student volunteers, each with a roll of masking tape. In the absence of tables, create four squares on a wall or floor, using tape.
Ask each volunteer in turn to split up their square into two equal parts( avoid saying“ half”) using the tape to create a straight line – but they must do it in a different way to those before them. You should get a mix of vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines of tape, each halving the square( A).
Next, ask each in turn to split one of their halves into two equal parts again – again each must be done differently( B). This allows for really constructive discussions around area, such as how all the quarters are equal but look different.
This can be developed into considering actual areas( especially useful to consider a 4 by 4 square).
Paul Stych is the Education and Training Foundation’ s regional maths lead for the South West
Maths essentials
STOP. LOOK. LISTEN!
When it comes to teaching maths in a post-16 setting, you could do worse than have Stop- Look- Listen as your motto. It served us well in the 1980s to keep children safe when crossing the road, but today it might keep you safe from criticism about your teaching of maths.
Ask yourself: who do your learners listen to and take notice of? Is it you? Perhaps not. Is it themselves? Possibly. Or, is it their peers? Almost certainly! So why not try an approach to your teaching that builds on this and takes advantage of it?
STOP talking aster no more than a fi ve-minute introduction to the session. Make this an introduction about what they are going to do in the session, and not the subject content. For instance, say“ today we are all going to work on a jigsaw that will help us revise our understanding of percentages” rather than“ this is how you calculate 10 per cent of an amount, now you do some”.
LOOK at the reaction you get. Spot the ones who look bored and talk to them, get their attention and develop their enthusiasm for the activity ahead. Adapt your activities to suit their interests and preferences as time goes on.
LISTEN to what they say as they undertake the activity. Don’ t give answers or correct mistakes, wrong logic or wrong thinking. Instead, ask prompt questions that make them think again about their answer and work it out for themselves. So, if you hear a student saying,“ of course the answer is 12 because 16 minus 3 is 12”, just calmly ask“ so 16 take away 3 is 12 is it?” Turn the student’ s logic back on themselves and see their reaction.
Ideas for further activities can be found from the National STEM Learning Network at goo. gl / L3UQdn
Judy Maguire is the Education and Training Foundation’ s regional maths lead in the South East.
Find your regional maths and English specialists here goo. gl / jbr44s
INTUITION ISSUE 28 • SUMMER 2017 23