School students share experience of 'maths in action'

May 22, 2007

Year 8 students from 32 schools throughout northern NSW had an opportunity to indulge their interest in mathematics for a whole day when they competed in the 13th annual Year 8 Mathematics Day last Friday.

Two hundred students, working in teams of four, took part in the challenging day of mathematical fun at the University of New England. They came from towns as far afield as Port Macquarie, Tweed Heads and Moree.

The New England Mathematical Association, UNE's School of Education, and the National Centre of Science, ICT and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia (SiMERR), which is based at UNE, jointly sponsor the competition. Robyn Hadfield from PLC Armidale, the mathematics teacher who convened this year's event, said it had enabled students to share their enthusiasm for mathematics with their peers from other schools, and to gain experience of working in a team. "And in the construction activity that brings the day to a climax, they get to experience maths in action," she added.

A team from Oxley High School in Tamworth won the "large schools" division of the competition, and a team from Holy Trinity Central School in Inverell won the "small schools" division.

Brett Newton, a mathematics teacher from MacIntyre High School, Inverell, who accompanied his students to UNE, said the event gave participants "a different perspective on maths". "They find out that doing maths – just for the sake of doing it – can be fun," he said.

"They return to the classroom with increased enjoyment and drive," Mr Newton added, "and they pass on their enthusiasm to those who did not take part in the competition."

Each of the four members of the two winning teams received a medallion, and the two teams took the Mathematics Day's perpetual trophies back to their respective schools. Texas Instruments continued its sponsorship of the event this year by providing a complete class set of graphic calculators and an interactive on-site licence as a "lucky door prize".

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows UNE's Professor John Pegg, Director of SiMERR, speaking to participants in the Year 8 Mathematics Day.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at May 22, 2007 01:48 PM