good at math: #Mathsconf2015

I had a dandy fourth dimension at La Salle Education's National Maths Teacher Conference inward Birmingham yesterday. It was good worth going upward at that spot on Fri nighttime - I had a fantastic evening, enjoying a delicious dinner together with the fellowship of beau tweeters @solvemym aths, @tessmaths, @7puzzle, @MrPatelMaths and @DocendoTim. I was inward the bar at midnight to watch the kickoff of Pi Day but upward brilliant together with early on the adjacent morn to brand the lastly preparations for my workshop (with a slightly sore caput due to besides much vino the nighttime before...). I was a pocketbook of nerves over breakfast pastries but thankfully the lovely Craig Barton (an experienced together with pop conference presenter) reassured me alongside words of wisdom.

@MissBsResources, me together with @MrPatelMaths at 12.01am on Pi Day -
thank yous to @El_Timbre for the posters and @jennypeek for the photo

At the conference, I actually enjoyed David Thomas' session '3 Techniques You Should Know (but in all probability don't)'. It was helpful to watch adept examples of bar modelling, algebra tiles together with double release lines. I already purpose some aspects of these methods inward my education but the presentation gave me enough of nutrient for thought together with at that spot were moments where I could actually watch the advantages of these approaches. In the 2nd session I saw Robert Wilne speak close developing reasoning. He was an entertaining speaker alongside lots of adept ideas including his 'olympic podium' of operations.

The TweetUp at dejeuner was fun - Bruno Reddy did a dandy project organising it. It was amazing to watch so many teachers trying to solve @solvemymaths' puzzles on 'the dorsum of an envelope' so to speak. His puzzles are awesome but are all pretty challenging. The few that I've tried to solve convey involved a long catamenia of concentration together with frustration (followed past times satisfaction, so good worth it!). I was actually impressed to watch teachers getting stuck into these tricky problems.

TweetUp: @MistryMan6's selfie alongside me together with the lovely @MissBsResources

I presented inward the lastly session of the twenty-four hours to an audience of unopen to 100. The aim of the session was to verbalise over unlike approaches to education topics such every bit sequences, linear graphs, surds together with quadratics. I had lots of ideas to portion together with I was pleased that I learnt fifty-fifty to a greater extent than methods from delegates afterwards the session. It was a wonderful chance to swap education ideas (this is the kind of collaboration nosotros should all produce at schoolhouse but never acquire time). I was careful non to label whatsoever methods every bit correct or wrong, but but to advise alternatives together with - hopefully - encourage people to intend close their dependent area noesis together with delivery. I was pleased to watch @danicquinn together with @BodilUK enthusiastically discussing methods at the destination of the session.

Me presenting at MathsConf III - thanks @DrBennison for the photo

If yous were at my session together with so you'll already convey a re-create of this workbook which is total of links, together with here's the presentation as promised. If yous weren't at my session together with so the presentation won't brand much sense, but I'll write a weblog postal service shortly to explicate all. Give me a calendar week or 2 to acquire it written though!

It was dainty to destination the twenty-four hours alongside a quick gulp at the bar alongside @letsgetmathing, @MrPatelMaths together with @MrKMorrison. One of the best things close these conferences is coming together upward alongside like-minded maths teachers who enthusiastically laissez passer on upward a Sabbatum for professional person development. Over the weekend it was dandy to grab upward alongside people I met at the lastly conference together with I enjoyed coming together lots of novel people too.

Many thank yous to the La Salle squad for the tremendous bear witness they position into organising the conference. I'm pathetic that I in all probability won't live at the adjacent 1 (it's on 20^th June - the weekend of my 10^th marriage ceremony anniversary) but I volition definitely live at MathsConf V inward September together with I'm already looking frontward to it.