Shortcuts Vs Concept Development

I highly recommend this mass Nix the Tricks - ‘a lead to avoiding shortcuts that cutting out math concept development’. I felt uncomfortable reading it at times - my ain pedagogy is amount of these tricks in addition to shortcuts because I’m strongly influenced past times the fourth dimension pressures in addition to examination focus that the writer references inwards her introduction. The mass covers a dandy many pedagogy tricks in addition to inwards each instance makes first-class points almost why these tricks should endure avoided. Helpfully, option approaches are suggested. I’m non going to halt using crocodile references when introducing inequality symbols (I similar the crocodiles!) in addition to I'm non (yet) going to halt pedagogy slope as 'rise over run', simply I volition sure enough intend twice almost many of my methods at nowadays I’ve read this book.

My spider web log focuses on sharing pedagogy ideas in addition to some of my posts include just the variety of shortcuts that this mass is thus opposed to - similar sohcahtoa triangles, or this play a joke on for remembering exact values of trigonometric ratios (which doesn’t supercede the triangle method - simply it's a squeamish play a joke on in addition to worth sharing).

It was my excitement at discovering this method for multiplying matrices that inspired me to write this blog. I was astounded that I’d never seen this method earlier in addition to similar a shot showed it to my FP1 students, who were as impressed. I mentioned this method to a colleague, prompting a conversation almost other 'alternative methods' nosotros knew of. She told me about this method for finding Highest Common Factors. Again, I was astonished that I’d been happily pedagogy the Venn method - which I’d learnt from my mentor during a PGCE placement - when a quicker in addition to easier method existed. I felt similar I'd unnecessarily overcomplicated things for my students.

We all know that quicker methods aren’t e'er ameliorate methods. ‘Maths hacks’ such as matrices method - that modify the means nosotros learn a theme for the better.

By the way, if you lot relish the mass in addition to then there's to a greater extent than (including novel sections inwards draft) on nixthetricks.com.