Nt1310 Unit 1 Assignment 1

Intoduction

Numeracy is a mathematical skill that is needed to be a confident teacher. This unit of study has allowed students to build their knowledge in the mathematical areas of competency and disposition towards numeracy in mathematics. The six areas of mathematics under the Australian Curriculum that were the focus of this unit were; algebra, number, geometry, measurements, statistics and probability. Covering these components of the curriculum made it evident where more study and knowledge was needed to build confidence in all areas of mathematics. Studying this unit also challenges students to think about how we use numeracy in our everyday lives. Without the knowledge if numeracy, it can make it very challenging to work out may problems that can arise in our day to day activities. The knowledge of numeracy in mathematics I have has strengthened during the duration of this unit. This has been evident in the mathematics support I do with year 9 students at school, as I now have a confident and clear understanding of algebra, number, geometry, measurements, statistics and probability.

Number

To be a confident teacher, it is important to have an adequate

understanding of Mathematics- this allows the tools to teach students different ways of thinking towards mathematics. In the WIKA 1 (Appendix E), it shows how children are exposed to number in the foundation year of schooling. This is done by a multi-modal approach using oral, visual, listening and a hands on approach. Having the knowledge to teach a diverse classroom of students whom all have a different way of learning is critical to the learning of each student. Chris Hurst (Hurst, 2007. pp 440) states it is just as important to teach children strategies to be familiar with recognizing and applying mathematics to a wide scope of contexts, as well as teaching mathematical content (Hurst, 2007. pp 440).

Numbers are the foundation to Mathematics competency. Children are exposed to numbers from an early age by their surroundings. Parents counting and dividing food amongst children, counting money and singing a song that includes numerals demonstrates numbers to children. I work with foundation year students and one of the first mathematical content that is taught is to connect number names, numerals and quantities, including zero, initially up to 10 and then beyond (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority ACMNA002). Students are firstly taught numbers and that each number represents an arithmetical value. There are many tools used in a classroom to help deeper learning and connection to number. The different tools used in Mathematics are; counters, flashcards, songs, books, calculators, scissors, ten frames, tape measure, computer games

Algebra

I work at school as an Education Support Officer, supporting children from Foundation Year to Year 9. Supporting the Year 9 children in Mathematics has strengthened my knowledge in Algebra. Before supporting the Year 9 students, I was not very confident with Algebra. However, having the opportunity to sit in on Algebra lessons has reinforced my knowledge in Algebra. The Australian Curriculum (ACARA) states that by the end of Year 9, students should have a sound knowledge of Algebra and apply the distributive law to the expansion of algebraic expressions, including binomials, and collect like terms where appropriate (ACMNA213). What I have found interesting is the different ways teachers teach algebra. I have found the most effective way is to take time breaking down every part of the equation step by step and getting the students involved by asking questions and demonstrating their understanding. Working with students with diverse ways of learning it is important to offer a variety of ways to strengthen their learning on algebra.

When an equation has unknown variables and constants, mathematical knowledge is needed to solve the equation. The Illuminations (n.d. Illuminations ) website has a fantastic tool for students to use to test knowledge on algebra and also breakdown equations that involve algebra, if having difficulty. I still need to further my knowledge in algebra; I believe you can never stop learning. I have found Maths Space a very valuable tool for practicing algebra equations, it has a very simple to follow guideline on how to solve each question if needed.

Geometry

It is important to have a solid understanding of geometric concepts because it is a skilled used in a lot of professions (Prezi Inc, 2016).

Study of Geometry gives students the tools to logical reasoning and deductive thinking to solve abstract equations. Geometry is an important mathematical concept to grasp as we use it in our life every day. Geometry is the study of shape- and there are shapes all around us. Examples of geometry in everyday life are- in sport, nature, games and architecture. The game Jenga involves geometry as it is important to keep the stack of tiles at a 90 degrees angle, otherwise the stack of tiles will fall over. Architects use geometry everyday- it is essential when designing buildings- shape, angles and area and perimeter are some of the geometry concepts architects

use.

I have concrete understanding of angles- there size and name. I have always enjoyed the study of angles and I believe this is why I have good knowledge in this concept of Geometry. As angles increase, so do the names of the angles. I remember an Acute Angle is a small angle (less than 90 degrees), because I connect acute angle is a small ‘cute’ angle. A right angle (90 degrees) I relate to the corners of a square which are a right angle. An obtuse angle is more than 90 degrees, but less than 180 degrees. Straight angle is visual and simple as it is a straight line (180 degrees). Lastly a reflex angle is an angle that is more than 180 degrees- I relate this to an elbow being broken and ‘bent back’.
In the WIKA week 9 (Appendix G), it showed how we use geometry in our everyday lives- it is all around us. Geometry is in the structure of our house- the angles of walls, the area of carpet laid. When sport is played, geometry is used- the angle the ball is bounced and thrown, the angle a bike is ridden and the distance travelled.

Measurement

The concept of measurement has been around for many years. One of the oldest forms of measurement is the ‘cupit’, which is the length from the tip of the fingers to the elbow (National Physical Laboratory). This unit of measurement is where the measurement ‘foot’ came from, as ‘foot’ is a segregated smaller measurement of the ‘cupit’. The cupit measurement is not used today; however the foot measurement is still used to measure the height of horses.

I found it fascinating reading how Native Americans measured the height of a tree in the ‘History of Measurement’ (NRICH team 2004). The Native Americans would bend over and look at the tree in between their legs. They then would move forward of back until they could just see the top of the tree. The distance between themselves and the tree is how the Native Americans determined the height of the tree- this distance was supposedly the height of the tree.

We are surrounded by measurement; it is a part of our daily life. The measurement of time is the basis on when we get up, go to work/school, eat meals and go to bed. Sorts use measurement to structure sport ovals, to time events, to work out the height, length and speed. We also use measurement for safety in administrating medicines at home and in hospitals. Another form of measurement that is used for safety is the speed cars are allowed to travel.

Statistics
Working with Year 9 students I have been exposed to a variety of statistics used in education. The first component to formatting statistics is to gather data. Depending on the data collected, there are many ways of recording the information to make it visually easier to see. I am familiar with the following graphs that are used to record data; histogram, bar graph, pie chart, box plots, stem and leaf plots and cumulative frequency graphs. The Bureau Of Statistics states that to be statistically literate a student must have knowledge in four areas of criteria (The Bureau Of Statistics). The first criteria are data awareness- for upper primary students this is having the ability to understand why we collect data and understand the different ways data is collected. The second criteria is the ability to understand statistical concepts- upper primary students must understand simple graph and tables and have a brief understanding of mathematical concepts mean and range. The third concept is to have the ability to analysis, interpret and evaluate statistical information – this is for upper primary students to have the knowledge to construct and read graphs and tables. The last criteria are to communicate statistical information and understanding- upper primary students should be able to interpret in words what a set of data is representing.
Two large scale assessments that Australia use are the NAPLAN test and the Census. The NAPLAN test is a set of literacy and mathematic questions for students in year3, 5, 7 and 9. This data is collected to compare students and schools abilities in the curriculum of English and Mathematics. The Census is an Australia wide survey that is collected to analysis data about our nation. An example of the data collected is information about health, finances, family, work, education and transport.

Probability
By collecting data we can analyse this information to work out the probability of situations. The Thinking Time Problem in week 8 was to find out if you; are you more likely to win first division lotto on Saturday or Thursday or to be killed by a shark or an aircraft crash. I found it very fascinating collecting this data. I have always bought a weekly lotto ticket hoping that one day I would win. After reading the data I collected, I now realize I have more chance of being killed by a shark or by a plane than winning the lottery.
I am presently working with Year 9 students in statistics and probability. The task that the students are working on at the moment is to work out the probability of their AFL football team winning against their appointment in round 20 of the AFL premiership. The students have enjoyed this activity as it is a subject that majority of children have knowledge in. The first task was to collect all the cores for the last 19 rounds from both teams playing against each other. Secondly, the students ordered the figures from highest to lowest and then worked out the median of these results for both teams. The team that had the highest median score then has the most probability of winning. Working with students on this task, I can see the importance of relating the learning of statistics and probability to something that interests them as this creates a better foundation of learning.

Conclusion
I discovered that mathematics is a unit of curriculum that needs continuous learning and training in, to gain the confidence to be able to teach. If we take the time to look around us, we can see that mathematics is everywhere- which can be taken for granted. Children love to learn from visuals. It is a great tool to use the environment around to teach and demonstrate how mathematics is used and applied. Following the year 9 curriculum in mathematics has given me the confidence to be able to teach in a primary school environment. The thinking time problems have allowed me to think of the various ways to solve different problems. It important to know different ways of teaching, as every child learns in a different way.
I will continue to develop my knowledge in mathematics in my job as an education support officer by keeping up with the year 9 curriculum in the area of mathematics.