Teachers of mathematics to mathematics teachers: a TDA Mathematics Development Programme for Teachers

To address the shortage of mathematics teachers in England, serving teachers, qualified in subjects other than mathematics yet teaching secondary mathematics, were eligible to participate in a Mathematics Development Programme for Teachers (MDPT) commissioned and funded by the Teacher Development Agency (TDA). A research project was set up to investigate how teachers in our 2010-11 cohort developed into mathematics teachers within this Programme. This report indicates how (1) learning new mathematics, (2) developing a view on the nature of mathematics and (3) teaching mathematics in different ways, contribute to a mathematics teacher identity, yet there was a discrepancy between the teachers’ espoused confidence in being a mathematics teacher and their technical mathematical competence

Talking the talk…but walking the walk? How do non-specialist mathematics teachers come to see themselves as mathematics teachers?

In order to address the shortage of mathematics teachers in England, the UK government has funded various in-service subject knowledge courses for practising teachers, who are not mathematics specialists. These courses aim to develop these teachers’ mathematical subject knowledge (e.g., DfE 2014). In this TAS session we will report on a research project which was set up to investigate how teachers on the in-service programmes offered by our institution developed as teachers of mathematics. We orientated our research around a central research query: How do already qualified, non-specialist mathematics teachers come to see themselves as mathematics teachers? Our previous work (Crisan and Rodd 2011) found that at the end of the course these teachers’ mathematical work showed that they still lacked fluency with mathematics and were far from having secure subject knowledge. However, familiarity with and learning of new maths topics on the course increased their confidence in themselves as learners of mathematics. As the non-specialist mathematics teachers’ confidence in their own mathematical ability increased, we noticed a change on how they talked about themselves as potential mathematics teachers. The teachers became preoccupied with whether and how they will be recognised as mathematics teachers by their colleagues on the course, current school or potential employing schools and mathematics departments. We have many forms of data from the course participants: mathematical work, interviews, teaching observations, written narratives, for example. Analysis of data considers the participants’ developing mathematics teacher identity in terms of ‘engagement, imagination and alignment’ (Wenger 1998). We will be presenting excerpts from some of our case studies to illustrate how the participants negotiated their own trajectories of learning towards a new identity, that of mathematics teachers

Using video cases to encourage participants’ engagement with research and theory: Emergent pedagogies from an online course on digital technologies for mathematical learning

In this paper we present the model behind our on-line master level module Digital Technologies for Mathematical Learning, which focuses on the teaching and learning supported by digital technologies. In our evaluation of the delivery of this module over two years, we reflect here on the emergence of two pedagogies: the online pedagogy of the tutors, ensuring that online teaching and learning is effective and the participants’ developing RiTPACK (Research Informed Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge - our own acronym for this concept) as they start experimenting with using the digital technology in their classroom practice and linking it with the research knowledge base of the module

Integrated home security system :Module on mobile application

Home security system is needed for occupants' convenience and safety. Nowadays, there is lot of burglary happening across the city, the reason is no one helping or getting late for help. Sometimes, guard in housing area also not helping because of the big area housing environment. Nowadays, Malaysian still uses old technology alarm for their home security. How people react for the alarm? Can the guard in housing area hear it? For this paper, I have design and implementing a security system for home using Bluetooth and SMS notification which is smart in helping owner to get helps from neighbor, friend, police station or guard in housing area faster. The user can choose the recipient number from contact's phonebook and set SMS by self. This system was implemented in J2ME to operate in mobile

Development of cutter for printed circuit board using hydraulic principle

Cutter was known since long times ago as something that was use to cut the thing into smaller piece. Starting from the usual rock at the rock age till the high technology cutter which was make from the precious and valuable material like diamond at this modern age, the cutter was develop to make our daily life more easier and easier. This project is proposed to design and fabricate a cutter as benefit to cut the printed circuit board, the board which contains cuprum as a trace to connect the electricity current to the electronic component like resistors and capacitors. The printed circuit board was widely used in modern electronic and electric component like radio and computer because it can minimize the space and reduce the manufacturing cost by assemble all electronic components together. The usual way to cut the printed circuit board is by using hand because the sensitive of it. By develop the cutter it will make the way to cut the printed circuit board is more efficient without give the damage to the board. In this project, the main purpose of study is to develop the cutter to make sure the cutter can achieve it objective. Developments of cutter are starting by choosing the right cutter's material then design and finally fabricate the cutter

Renormalization group approach of itinerant electron systems near the Lifshitz point

Using the renormalization approach proposed by Millis for the itinerant electron systems we calculated the specific heat coefficient $\gamma(T)$ for the magnetic fluctuations with susceptibility $\chi^{-1}\sim |\delta+\omega|^\alpha+f(q)$ near the Lifshitz point. The constant value obtained for $\alpha=4/5$ and the logarithmic temperature dependence, specific for the non-Fermi behavior, have been obtained in agreement with the experimental dat.Comment: 6 pages, Revte

First year engineering mathematics: the London South Bank University experience

This short article describes an innovative approach to teaching mathematics to first year undergraduates on a variety of B. Eng. courses offered in the Faculty of Engineering, Science and Built Environment (FESBE) of London South Bank University (LSBU)