Shell Centre for Mathematical Education Publications

• A to Z Index
• Extended Tasks for GCSE Mathematics
  • Teacher's Guide
  • Applications: Plan It
  • Applications: Where There's Life, There's Maths
  • Practical Geometry: Construct it Right
  • Practical Geometry: Pack It In
  • Pure Investigations: Looking Deeper
  • Pure Investigations: Making the Most of It
  • Statistics and Probability: Finding Out
  • IMPACT - a Departmental Development Programme
• Numeracy through Problem Solving
• Teaching Strategic Skills

Improving Mathematical Practice And Classroom Teaching (1989)

This programme of teacher activities is intended to be flexible and to offer support to any department, or small group of teachers within a department, who may wish to review their style of mathematics teaching. An important feature of the programme is that there should be interaction between the teachers involved. The teacher activities offered are designed to provoke discussion, thought sharing and mutual support. This is achieved by focussing upon a single teaching/learning issue and inviting participants to share experiences of a relevant classroom activity in order to provoke discussion and reflection. It is essential that any such teacher group should have sufficient time to consider and explore the issues as they feel necessary. Although a provisional ordering of issues is suggested, it may well be beneficial to change the order according to an individual group's needs.

Extended Tasks for GCSE Mathematicss

These materials were first published in 1989 to offer practical support to mathematics teachers in implementing Course Work in GCSE and in responding to other changes brought about by the National Curriculum. The Midland Examining Group has been involved in a joint project with the Shell Centre for Mathematical Education to produce a series of books containing ideas for Course Work assignments and guidance for carrying them out.

Although the references to GCSE Coursework and MEG Mathematics are obsolete, these books remain a valuable resource to anybody wanting their students to tackle extended mathematicsal tasks and investigations.

The set of materials comprises -

• The Teacher's Guide,
• 8 Topic Books,
• A departmental development programme ('IMPACT').

Each of the eight topic books contains a lead task, discussed in detail with teacher's notes and examples of student work, as well as a number of secondary tasks, providing ideas for other assignments. The Teacher's Guide and IMPACT (Improving Mathematical Practice and Classroom Teaching) provide additional support of a more general nature for those involved in GCSE Mathematics Course Work.

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