Mathematical discussions are a vital part of my daily work as a research mathematician. It's true that when you walk around the building in which I work, people are often sitting in deep thought behind closed doors. But, when needed—which can be often—these same people also participate in animated mathematical conversations with each other: to help untangle … Continue reading Debating maths: Chris Luzniak’s new book
Category: other
Australian mathematics education and Indigenous peoples [an essay]
This blogpost is an exact reproduction of an essay I wrote and submitted in October 2018 as a requirement of the course 'Aboriginal Futures', an elective I took as part of the Master of Teaching at the University of South Australia. The course aims to 'explore Aboriginal Futures in contemporary Australian society' and to provide … Continue reading Australian mathematics education and Indigenous peoples [an essay]
Managing overwhelm: How do you curate and consume your educational reading list?
This blog post describes how I curate and consume my education reading list. It’s a response to Ollie Lovell’s (@ollie_lovell) blog post with the same questions (and title!). We hope that others in the Edu-Twitter/blogging community will also write posts that respond to the same six questions. The greater the diversity of responses, the more … Continue reading Managing overwhelm: How do you curate and consume your educational reading list?
If maths was an animal …
'If maths was an animal it would be a _______ because _______ ' Responses from my #math1070 students: A koala because maths is interesting and unique. A spider because of the pattern organisation of their web. A cat because it has lots of layers. An ant because lots of small parts make up a big part. … Continue reading If maths was an animal …
#TMC18: tweet at me now
Last week I travelled to Cleveland, Ohio for Twitter Math(s) Camp. If you've just raised an eyebrow (Twitter? Math? Camp?), let me explain. There is a global community of maths educators1 who communicate via Twitter and blogs and so use the nickname Math Twitter Blogosphere (#MTBoS). Since 2012, the community has organised an annual four-day conference, … Continue reading #TMC18: tweet at me now
My maths autobiography
School maths I have always loved maths, but the reasons why have changed dramatically over time. This is my Year 1 work. It reminds me about what I thought it meant to be good at maths: lots of ticks on neat work, especially if it was done quickly. This attitude was reinforced by my report … Continue reading My maths autobiography
Counting in unexpected ways
It was a delight to recently spend five days working with students and teachers in Alice Springs at the invitation of MTANT, the Mathematics Teachers Association of the Northern Territory. I then spent a week in bed with the flu, which is one reason I've recently lost my voice (both physically and online). The main purpose of the visit was to join … Continue reading Counting in unexpected ways
Too quiet
It's been quiet around here. A little too quiet. The first half of this year was a bit crazy. I tried to juggle increased travel and talks with teaching, research and student supervision. It was not always successful. I didn't quite realise how crazy it felt until I stopped. A week of quietness has helped replenish some rather depleted batteries! But teaching restarts next … Continue reading Too quiet
Wrapping up the #MTBoS30 challenge
It just occurred to me that if you don't follow me on Twitter (shame on you!), you might wonder why the steady stream of blog posts has slowed. Since joining the MathTwitterBlogosphere, I'd been wondering what I could add to a community that I was currently only taking from — their thoughts, activities and enthusiasm. A few people … Continue reading Wrapping up the #MTBoS30 challenge
Better student talks
Having a mathematical idea is only one part of the equation (excuse the pun!); we also need to be able to communicate it. A good example is Fermat writing next to his conjecture that he (purportedly) had a proof that the margin was too small to contain. If Fermat really did have a proof, then he could have saved mathematicians 350 … Continue reading Better student talks
