Mathematics and Calculus Teachers' Day
2014
Epsom Campus, University of Auckland (Map)
Friday 28 November 2014
The annual Mathematics and Calculus Teachers’ Day will be held on Friday 28 November
2014, at the Epsom Campus of the University of Auckland (A block), 74 Epsom Avenue.
The day is an opportunity to catch up with developments in Mathematics; to share
resources and ideas; to listen to others; and to meet up with people old and new.
Registrations open on Monday 17 November and will close at midday on Tuesday 26
November.
Programme outline
8:30 – 9:00 am
9:00 - 9:50 am
Registration
Plenary 1 : Dr Michael Johnston, Senior
Lecturer, School of Education, Victoria
University of Wellington
9:50 - 10:20 am
Morning tea
10:20 - 11:20 am
Workshop 1 (5 separate rooms)
11:25 am - 12:25 pm
Workshop 2 (6 separate rooms)
12:25 - 1:15 pm
Lunch
1:15 - 2:05 pm
Plenary 2: Geoff Gibbs MoE
2:10 - 3:10pm
Workshop 3 (5 separate rooms)
Registration Information
Notice of late withdrawal
If, after registration, you cannot attend, you are welcome to send a replacement from your
school. If you don’t have a replacement please let us know because there could be a waiting
list.
Registration Form
Before proceeding to register please ensure that you have selected the workshops you wish
to attend. You will be asked to choose, in order of preference, three workshops in each of
the three sessions. We will do our best to give everyone at least 2 of their first 3 choices.
Access the registration form
Confirmation of registration
Registration will be confirmed (by email) within two days of receipt, and at the latest by late
Tuesday afternoon 26 November 2014
Cost

AMA School Members $80 (incl. GST)

AMA Personal Members $60 (incl. GST)

Non-members $100 (incl. GST)

Pre-service Teachers $80 (incl. GST)
Payment details

Payment should be made to the Auckland Mathematical Association (GST Number 55126-402) as soon as possible after registration is confirmed.

Details of payment methods will be included in the information sent with confirmation
of registration.
Contact for queries
Tony Carey
Phone: 09 269 0690 ext 234
Email: ct@manurewa.school.nz
Steve Buckley
09 535 2620 ext 805
bp@macleans.school.nz
Plenary Information
Plenary 1
Dr Michael Johnston, Senior Lecturer, School of Education, Victoria University of
Wellington
Assessment
Plenary 2
Geoff Gibbs, Lead Advisor, Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, Ministry of Education
Review of Mathematics and Statistics (RAMP)
The Ministry is initiating a review process – Review and Maintenance Programme
(RAMP). This is looking at NZC-derived materials that support the recognition of student
achievement in the NCEAs. This review follows a significant investment of time and effort
from the secondary sector over the last 4-5 years. The effectiveness and impact of the
materials on classroom teaching and learning in relation to directions indicated in the NZC
will be explored as part of this review. This session will outline this review process to date
and will include specific focus on problem solving as one of the emerging issues. There will
be opportunity for questions and discussion.
Workshop Information
Please read the information on workshops carefully prior to registering. You may wish to
consult with other teachers from your school before making your workshop selections.
Please make sure you have noted your selections prior to going to the
registration form.
Workshop 1
Choose three in order of preference
1A
Digital Classrooms (a brief introduction) - Vaughan Mitchell, HoD Pakuranga College
This workshop is aimed at teachers beginning the transition to include more digital
resources. If you know how to use google drive and already know how to
successfully flip the classroom, then this is NOT the workshop for you. I will be very
quickly looking at Google Drive and the associated apps (including forms). This will
also look into the new google classroom environment, this is especially good if you
are a google school. You will need to ask your network admin people if your school
email is linked to a google account as this is required to run a google classroom.
Have you tried digital stuff with your iPad but found yourself tethered to your laptop
and stuck to the front of your room? I have a solution, Air Server. I will demo this
very quickly also to see how to unlock more potential from your device.
Bring a laptop and please have a gmail account set up (if your school email is linked
to a google account there is no need to create a new one). If you have an iPhone or
iPad, bring this along too!
1B
BYOD in Junior Mathematics - Simone de Brouwer & Mercy Edward, Botany Downs
Secondary College
In this presentation we will be showcasing how we have used BYOD in Junior
Mathematics this year. There will be real strategies for including students with a
range of devices, and will look at ways of using programs such as OneNote, Socrative,
Kahoot, Padlet and Flash games. This will be an interactive session where we will get
you using some of the programs so please come along with your laptop or tablet.
1C
Blended Learning Year 9-11 - Yvette Britten & Jason Ridler, Elim Christian College
Blended Learning provides increasing opportunity for personalising learning by pace
and ability for all types of learners. In this workshop we will share ideas about
increasing student ownership of learning through the use of “Learning Journeys” in
Year 9-11. Collective critique of this approach will be a key part of the discussion- ie.
How could this work in your classroom? The workshop will also feature helpful
programmes for students with learning needs and how gifted and accelerated
students benefit from the “Learning Journey” approach.
1D
Equations, Tables & Graphs (1.3) leading to level 2 Non-Linear Graphs (2.2) Brenda McNaughton, HoD Mt Roskill Grammar School
Our department has tried a number of ways to teach these topics so that students
get a solid understanding of graphing concepts that lead on to success in L2 and
L3. This is a work in progress but we will share the challenges so far, what we have
come up with and what we are creating to continue to improve.
1E
Scholarship Calculus - Michael Walden & Johanna McHardy, Mt Albert Grammar
School
In this workshop we will cover the structure of our course at MAGS and how we deal
with multi-levels. We will also discuss several problems which we feel develop skills
and lateral thinking and the types of problems that we give in tutorials. We all
provide some worksheets on various topics and a copy of our scholarship end-ofyear exam will be available.
Workshop 2
Choose three in order of preference
2A
The Flipping Journey - Subash Chandar K, Ormiston Senior College
Subash presented his ideas in Term 1 Saturday Morning Workshop and on HOD Day
about flipping the classroom for his Level 3 Calculus course; so that students can
learn the concepts by watching a video at home and then spend classroom time
refining their learning by questioning and investigation.
He is using an iPad application called doceri to record and put videos on YouTube.
He will talk about his experiences, the mistakes and the excitement in flipping the
class. He will also talk about the app doceri and its other uses.
2B
Teaching Calculus with REAL UNDERSTANDING and not just by applying a whole lot
of rules - Philip Lloyd, Epsom Girls Grammar School
There is a big difference between just “knowing” something and actually
“understanding” it. Even when teachers spend considerable time introducing
various concepts from first principles, many students just wait until a “formula”
appears and they happily proceed to apply it with no actual understanding
whatsoever. Most teachers are surprised and even shocked when they find out even
some of their top students do not really understand some very basic things.
In this presentation you will find out about some of these things and see many useful
ways how to make sure students do learn with real understanding.
This usually results in genuinely enthusiastic students who regularly rate Calculus as
their favourite subject!
2C
Getting a Head start on Year 11 Internals - Mary-Ellen Wilcox, Otahuhu College
Using the Year 11 internal results from 2013, the Maths department at Otahuhu
College knew that something had to change in our preparation of our Year 10
students for Year 11. Many Year 10 students across a variety of schools feel
that maths is a repeat of Year 9 skills. Despite many students needing repetition to
build on the skills, they were not always motivated to try their best which left our
students with significant gaps in Year 11. To try and change this attitude and
motivate our students, we decided to offer one Year 11 standard each term to our
Year 10 students. This means that as a school we spend the first part of the term
reviewing/practicing the Year 10 skills needed for the assessment and the second
half of the term practicing the Year 11 skills and writing the assessment. Our Year 10
results are in, and Otahuhu College is excited to talk to you about them and how we
plan on supporting these students who will have the ability to work on Level 3
Statistics or Calculus credits as Year 12 students.
2D
AS1.7 How to make it work! - Jen Triggs, Massey High School
A practical unit of work for AS1.7 and how to make it work. What can you do in the
way of practical activities and still stick to the standards. There will be a chance to
share your own ideas so please bring resources and ideas to share.
2E
Pedagogy, Teacher Dashboard & Google apps - Noelene Dunn, Tamaki College
Tamaki College has been digital using 1:1 devices for y9 - 13 since 2012. I will share
some useful tips that we have picked up along the way using presentation, prezi,
Lino, Google forms, spreadsheets and documents. There will be a Kahoot treat at
the end which is the rave for now.
2F
Vocational Pathways - Megan Jowsey, Senior Sector Advisor – Contractor, Youth
Guarantee, Ministry of Education
The Vocational Pathways are a curriculum design tool to support NCEA Level 1 & 2
programme design that provides relevant, coherent & contextualised learning across
the curriculum. Mathematics teachers can play a crucial role in their schools,
working collaboratively with other subject specialists to connect student learning
with their pathways and aspirations.
This workshop will provide information, examples of how schools are changing their
practice and a chance to think about some next steps for your classroom.
Workshop 3
Choose three in order of preference
3A
iPads in the Maths Room - Ro Bairstow, Kings College
At the beginning of 2014, each member of my Year 10 mathematics class was asked
to bring an iPad to class for the rest of the year. My talk will focus on how the
technology has been used (maths apps, Dropbox, Google forms, etc) and how I have
created and developed some of the resources (iBooks, websites and games) myself. I
will show the effect the use of these technologies has had on my teaching and the
students’ learning and how we plan to proceed in future years.
3B
Linear Programming - Michael Walden & Johanna McHardy, Mt Albert Grammar
School
This workshop will cover the basic concepts for those who have not taught this
standard. We will also provide useful questions that help develop the topic through
to scholarship levels. We will demonstrate the use of technology to assist the
teaching and learning and provide an internal assessment task.
3C
One Approach to Designing a New Unit of Work in the Junior School - Sam
McNaughton & Peter Radonich, Northcote College
This session will outline the process Northcote College went through in designing our
new Year 10 Measurement unit, culminating in a series of 10 lessons which we have
implemented (mostly successfully!!) over two years. It is hoped that parts of the
process we used to design the lessons/unit may be helpful for other departments
who (like us) are looking at revitalising their junior programmes. The last part of the
session will be an open discussion, sharing experiences and philosophies in designing
a junior unit of work.
3D
Encouraging Communication Through Geometry - Robyn Headifen, SSA Facilitator,
Team Solutions
In this hands-on workshop we will focus on a selection of activities to increase
student engagement in junior classrooms.
The activities encourage the use of mathematical language in describing similarities
and differences between shapes & help develop convincing arguments as to why.
They allow students to work together collaboratively in small groups examining and
exploring reasoning.
3E
Future Directions - Jan Wallace, Educational Consultant
A follow-up workshop to Geoff Gibbs’ talk about RAMP. What might the questions
for the MCAT look like in 2015 in response to Geoff’s comments on our curriculum
document and the requirement to solve problems.