Page 146 - JPGS Magazine 2018-2019

MATHS DEPARTMENT

This year in the Maths department we have
encouraged our students to actively take part in
their learning. The photos are only snap shots of
moments that happen daily within our lessons as the
department endeavours to make maths accessible,
fun and interactive. As you can see from these photos,
pupils have had to participate in a number of activities,
irrespective of the year group. Types of engaging tools
are; tarsia puzzles, treasure hunts and team building
projects.

A tarsia puzzle involves, matching the correct answers
to the corresponding questions card so that it forms a
2D shape, just like a jigsaw. Year 7 all the way through
to the Sixth Form enjoy these activities, to be able to
really test their knowledge on the topic and logic skills,
to be able to see where the pieces fits together. Some
pupils in year 7 and 8 have also started developing
the skills to be able to create their own sets of these
puzzles to be able to test each other.

Treasure hunts activities are also a keen feature that
can be seen in Ms Trencher’s maths classes with pupils
having to stand up and solve problems from posters,
then go around the classroom to find the solution
which is displayed, to be able to work out the next
question, until the full loop has been completed. This
is seen to have pupils discussing and helping each
other with the common misconceptions and errors
that certain exam questions present. As well as simply
competing to have the correct order with a correct set
of methods to ensure that they win the “treasure”.

Mr Maqbul Hussain
Head of Mathematics

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