Here are my notes from Math Teachers Conference 2011 :
3 Learning Points
a. What teachers do matters. What students do matters EVEN MORE. Hence the need for effective student Tasks. (Prof Lee Sing Kong, Dir NIE)
b. Performance in EL & MA is closely linked. (Prof David Hogan)
c. Math data/statistics in media can be misleading eg. Mean vs Median Expenditure on Gambling, Absolute vs Relative Risk of cancer from eating processed meat (Dr Marion Kemp). When using Polls/Surveys : "Asking the right & specific questions makes the difference".
d. Math questions that ask to explain reasoning, help give us an idea about student misconceptions. We can incorporate 1-2 reasoning qns in homework assignments. (Prof Denisse Thompson)
e. Connections : "Specific vs Generalisation". Teachers should try to make linkages/connections within & across math topics eg. Pythagoras Thm vs Cosine Rule, Arithmetic vs Algebra (Prof Lim Suat Khoh)
2 Ideas to Implement
a. I shall incorporate 1 reasoning question when I set class tests and exam papers. By doing this regularly and in an assessment mode for marks, it will encourage devt of mathematical reasoning in students.
b. I shall make connections in my lessons, between students' prior knowledge of the Specific concept, with the new Generalisation concept to be learned.
1 Suggestion
a. Teachers have been suggested to be more open to student curiosity which may go off tangent to the lesson topic. We as teachers need to support and address that curiosity appropriately, instead of brushing it aside. Use it as a learning opportunity.