How often does a Mathematics teacher get asked the question “when are we ever going to use this in life?”. Whilst there is no definitive answer, it is important for our students to understand that Mathematics is ‘real’.  In fact, Mathematics is everywhere; it is a lifelong skill. It has the potential to be intertwined into various elements of our lives in both direct and indirect ways. Therefore, by helping our students to understand the importance of Mathematics and its connections to the real world, we can teach them to value their mathematical skills as necessary life skills and not just rules and procedures needed to pass an exam.

Often a deficiency in Mathematics is the ability to problem solve.  Therefore, it is important to teach our students the skills that are necessary in order to problem solve.  Such skills may include, trial and error, working systematically, pattern spotting, reasoning logically and visualising.  Moreover, we can help students enhance their ability to problem solve through explicitly and repeatedly providing them with opportunities to develop key problem-solving skills.  For our students at St Francis, they are lucky enough to have this opportunity.

Semester two at St Francis has seen the launch of Terrific Tuesdays (for our Year 6 students) and Fun Fridays (for our Year 5 students).  Once a fortnight, our Stage 3 students have the opportunity to be exposed to a range of fun activities that require them to problem solve and reflect on the way in which they have done this.  Each student is partnered up whereby each pair rotates through a variety of problem solving activities.  Together, they collaborate and share their problem solving strategies. These activities are fun! They range in level of difficulty, but are accessible to all students.  Examples of activities include, Rush Hour, Gravity Maze, Number Pong, Block by Block and Jackpot,  just to name a few.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Mathematics teachers at St Francis for their contribution to making Terrific Tuesdays and Fun Fridays a success.  A special thank you must go to Miss Cox, the College Numeracy Instructional Coach, for her expertise and insights into the development of various activities.  I look forward to continuing working with our Stage 3 students for the remainder of the year as they uncover how ‘Maths is Real’.