Term 1 Round Up

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For those of you that are not on Facebook here is a brief round up of what members shared over term 1


 What is 1/2 a coconut an apple and 3 bananas worth?

The year began with a lot of activity around this puzzle that also featured in the NZ Herald  http://m.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11591370

These are great conversation starters for classrooms and encourage mathematical discussions between students.


Maths in the News
‘Not a Math Person’: How to Remove Obstacles to Learning Math. Jo Boaler from Stanford University  http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/11/30/not-a-math-person-how-to-remove-obstacles-to-learning-math/

How often do you hear people telling you they can't do maths? This article from Washington post is for them  "Stop telling kids you’re bad at math. You are spreading math anxiety ‘like a virus.’"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/04/25/stop-telling-kids-youre-bad-at-math-you-are-spreading-math-anxiety-like-a-virus/ 


Growth Mindset
Carol Dwek led a keynote discussion, on how growth mindset practices can work in the classroom, and throughout school systems, at the 2016 Leaders To Learn event here https://storify.com/edweekevents/carol-dweck

Dan Myer's Blog: I am a bit of a fan of Dan Myer. These two ideas featured in posts this term 
1. A rewrite of his post introducing parabolas through Will it hit the hoop?  & illustrating using the online activity builder on DESMOS
What is your best guess?
Will the ball go through the hoop?
Teaming that up with Michael Jordan's Hang time from TED-Ed will generate interest.

2. Also an interesting problem for our students using floating docks (marine ramps) as a context for investigation involving right angle triangles http://blog.mrmeyer.com/2016/makeover-marine-ramp/


Finding real data is always a  challenge - here are 5 places you could go
  1. Tour Aotearoa : Cape Reinga to Bluff on a bike. Participants were live tracked throughout the event so data could be collected daily. The final data  is still available here
  2. Stats Chat: data on the NZ flag referendum  http://www.statschat.org.nz/2016/03/24/the-fleg/
  3. Film data: http://polygraph.cool/films/index.html  
  4. Insights from the NZ Herald has topical data and displays http://insights.nzherald.co.nz/article/who-is-the-best-one-day-cricketer
  5. Figure.nz  is a useful source of local data - eg this time series graph showing monthly trips on public transport in Auckland

https://figure.nz/chart/akdRWSIS7FK7hmfo 

to finish up -  the amazing properties of couscous


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