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10ticks Newsletter November 2006
Welcome to the November Newsletter 2006
Maths Coursework Scrapped
Alan
Johnson announced in September that he was scrapping maths coursework. Mr
Johnson said technology had improved teaching methods across the country, but
was also being exploited by some students who used the internet to copy
coursework. 'After a detailed review, I can announce today we will remove all
GCSE coursework from maths and, in other subjects, coursework will be
supervised,' he said. 'We have one of the most rigorous exam systems in the
world - we can not have it devalued and undermined by the few who cheat by
copying from the internet.' Steve Sinnott, general secretary of the National
Union of Teachers (NUT), welcomed Mr Johnson's plans, saying: 'There are some
subjects for which [coursework] is totally inappropriate. 'I hope however that
coursework is retained for subjects such as the arts, geography and history.'
ASCL general secretary John Dunford concurred, saying: 'Although nobody will
mourn the death of coursework in GCSE maths, coursework remains a legitimate
way to test a wide range of skills and knowledge in other subjects.' This
decision has been long overdue and welcomed widely amongst us all. The burden
of coursework on pupil and teacher workload has been immense. Although there
were educational benefits to coursework, these were easily outweighed by the
many disadvantages. Most pupils achieved their expected coursework grades by
steady teacher supervision, a few (with outside help) excelled. At the lower
ability end coursework added pressure on teacher/student relationships, and
many disaffected pupils voted with their feet, turning them off mathematics for
life. Hopefully this should now encourage the disenfranchised lower ability to
sit exams, and give a little respite to the teachers workload.
Great Christmas
Gift - Website in a Wallet
Looking for an unusual Christmas Present
this year? Why not give a Website in a Wallet?
www.websiteboffin.co.uk We
developed WebsiteBoffin to help people get online without the need of any
technical knowledge. It takes just a few minutes to get your first page up on
the web - it really is that simple to build your own unique website. We have
lots of different page types for you to choose from (profile, tables, video,
photos, games, puzzles, e-cards, live news feeds....). We have hundreds of
designed templates to create the look of the website or use DIY to create your
own. If you want to learn HTML (the language for websites) we even have a HTML
tutorial system for you to use and earn certificates. The price of the website,
which includes your very own domain name and our easy to use PageBuilder
system, is £63.45pa. See our time limited special offer below.
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Special offer for 10ticks registered users. Now you can get a
super present for a lot less. We are offering 10ticks registered users £15 off
any Website in a Wallet gifts. Our WB40.uk best seller is now just £48.45
compared to the usual £63.45 pa. Go to
www.websiteboffin.co.uk and type
TICKS in the promotional box on buying. Promotion valid up to 31/12/06. |
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Mathematical Genetics
Simon Baron Cohen, Professor of Developmental
Psychopathology and Dr Lindsey Kent from Cambridge University are running the
world's first study into the possibility of a maths gene. With the use of an
online maths test and a cheek swab, they may soon discover whether a child's
genes determine if they find algebra easy - or if they are best suited to a
career in PR. They hope that their discoveries may be relevant to understanding
disabilities such as dyscalculia. Already Simon (cousin of comedian Sacha Baron
Cohen - Ali G) has conducted studies on 800 Cambridge graduates which found
that being good at maths correlates highly with musical ability and spacial
awareness. This study also showed a relationship between being good at Maths
and autistic disorders. This has been highlighted in Mark Hadon's best selling
book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in tne Nighttime where the main character
has Asperger's syndrome. And where does he start? 'It is a bit like turning
over a pebble on the beach looking for a pearl, but we're not thinking in terms
of a single, simple gene. We don't know how many genes may be involved, though
given what we know about about the link between maths ability and the mental
rotation test where men are quicker, it might be sex linked,' he said. If it is
gene based, and children can be identified, should children be allowed to drop
mathematics well before 16? Over to you.
Puzzle
I have two 6 digit
numbers. The first number starts with 1 and the second number ends with 1. When
I multiply the first number by 3 I get the second number. Lastly, the second
number's first, second, third, fourth and fifth digit are the same as the first
numbers second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth digits respectively. These
successive digits are each different. What are the two numbers? Answer below.
Further Open ended Task: Why does this work?
Primary School Bundle
Many
Primary Schools have been asking to have access to 10ticks worksheets, but
found the costs prohibitive for smaller Primary School budgets. This is why we
have introduced the Primary School Bundle licence. This is available to any
school where the oldest pupil is a Year 6 pupil or below, or the school (such
as a PRU) has less than 100 pupils. The primary school bundle consists of our
level 3, 4, 5, and 6 packs plus the calculated colourings. E- Learning Credits
can be used. We hope this will help cross phase links between schools.
10ticks
Christmas Page
After numerous requests we will switch on the 10ticks
Christmas Page next week. This page has printable activities for you to use in
school, as well as festive online games and puzzles. Have an excellent term,
10ticks Webmathster Puzzle Answer. 142857 and 428571
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