For both groups this was the end of the paper so the questions are more difficult at the end of the paper. This does prove that for different topics it is a good idea to think of the strategy that is to be used for each group, with the willingness to change strategy if it is not working for a group. The other interesting note is that the year 9 class chose to use the flowchart method even though there was no reference to it in the question. BIBLIOGRAPHY Strategies for Teaching Tricky Maths Topics by Richard Coles Changing the way to teach maths by Carol Murphy
Eniko Rus - The importance of generalisation in developing Algebraic thinking Intent – The issue For many people, the thought of studying algebra brings up memories of “intensive study of the last three letters of the alphabet” (Blair, 2003). We might feel, that our experiences of algebra, involved problems with x, y and z, and as a topic, algebra was extremely difficult to learn, if not impossible. During my teaching, I have encountered many students, who act as if their jobs is to find the final answers to the many mathematical problems they are presented with and forget about the process and skills they used, when solving these problems. They all forget about the thinking skills and methods they have used in maths and everyday life, so fundamental in developing their algebraic thinking. Algebraic thinking or reasoning involves forming generalisations from experiences with number, formalizing these ideas with the use of a meaningful symbol system, and exploring the concepts of pattern and functions.” (Van de Walle, Karp, & Bay-Williams, 2011). “Generalizations are the lifeblood of mathematics." Mason, et al., 2011 My intention was to show to students that, through the generalisation process, they can bridge the gap between what they like, such as straightforward and concrete mathematical problems, towards the more abstract algebraic ones. Through different teaching methods and activities, I aimed to raise the students’ confidence in their own abilities, challenge them to take a more active part in their own learning: explore algebraic ideas and to extend those ideas using their own thinking. Target students
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