Mei Conference 2019

I was fortunate to stimulate got the chance to attend the here.

Residential conferences are a real dissimilar experience to 1 twenty-four hours events. There’s to a greater extent than fourth dimension inward sessions to hash out ideas together with create maths, together with there’s to a greater extent than fourth dimension exterior of sessions to socialise, run into novel people together with chat almost teaching. At tiffin on Fri I sat alongside Ben Sparks addition Christopher Rath (@Rathematician) together with his colleagues - they showed me cool maths materials that I'd never seen before. So much fun. Since I got dorsum I've been showing everyone my novel tricks! Literally every fourth dimension I catch Ben Sparks he blows my heed alongside roughly clever maths magic. He did the same inward his workshop on Sat forenoon where nosotros played a poker game inward which I truly thought I had a total household – until I realised he’d rigged it. How does he create that…?

It was wonderful to remain for all 3 days of the conference - I loved every infinitesimal together with felt incredibly relaxed hanging out on a academy campus inward glorious sunshine. The eventide amusement was plough over lineament - the after-dinner speak Harry Baker was absolutely wonderful. Everyone was blown away yesteryear how lovely he was. Watch this video to larn an idea, but become catch him perform if yous tin (I starting fourth dimension shared this video dorsum inward 2015 inward Gems 26 so it was cool to really run into him inward person!).

I’d ever assumed that the MEI Conference is aimed mainly at H5N1 grade teachers but I establish that at that topographic point was a broad hit of sessions to appeal to all secondary maths teachers. It had a flake of an academic experience to it inward parts - especially the starting fourth dimension 2 plenaries. The starting fourth dimension keynote was yesteryear Dr Eugenia Cheng (she’s my novel hero) together with 2nd keynote was delivered yesteryear Professor Alison Etheridge – she delivered a fascinating lecture on genetics which made me experience similar I was dorsum at university! I love the high expectations that the organisers stimulate got of their audience - it’s wonderful to live on immersed inward intellectual challenge every straight off together with then. Craig Barton’s keynote on the in conclusion twenty-four hours was brilliant, every bit always. He too had the coolest clicker I've ever seen. Did I cite that I’m running a course of instruction alongside Craig inward October? You tin mass your house here.

One affair I similar almost the MEI conference is that there's a real dissimilar hit of speakers from the events I unremarkably attend thus I larn to hear lots of novel perspectives. I recorded a conference podcast alongside Craig Barton on the Fri nighttime (after a few spectacles of wine…) thus stimulate got a hear to that to hear roughly reflections on a few of the sessions I attended. I didn’t larn a jeopardy to speak almost every workshop. In this spider web log postal service I’m only sharing a twain of things that I didn’t cite inward the podcast that I thought teachers mightiness live on interested in.

Football Loci
Rob Eastaway (@robeastaway) ran a session called 'What's the deviation betwixt a puzzle together with a maths question?' which was partly almost how to plough a tedious inquiry into an interesting one. Something that really jumped out at me related to loci. We ofttimes catch really contrived scenarios inward loci questions but he shared a fascinating scenario that I loved.

Rob showed us a laid of football game rules from 1891, when the rules of the game were evolving. It said:

"The goals shall live on upright posts, 8 yards apart, alongside a bar across them 8 feet from the ground.

When the ball is kicked behind the goal-line yesteryear 1 of the contrary side, it shall live on kicked off yesteryear whatsoever 1 of the players behind whose goal-line it went inside 6 yards of the nearest goal-post..."

Show pupils this together with inquire them what it would human face like. Where tin the role musician stand upwardly to stimulate got a destination boot according to these rules? Perhaps inquire pupils to effort to describe a scale drawing of it.

They should terminate upwardly alongside a twain of arcs rather than the half dozen yard box nosotros are straight off thus familiar with.

Once they've done this yous tin present them a picture of the 1901 FA Cup Final when Tottenham Hotspur played Sheffield United. There are arcs! It's real cool. The Wikipedia page on destination kicks says "In 1891, pitch markings were added to define the six-yard radius from each goal-post".

In 1902, the term 'goal area' was introduced for the house from which the destination boot was taken - it assumed its modern dimensions every bit a rectangle extending half dozen yards from each destination post.

I loved this workshop together with I recollect that this lesson on loci together with scale drawing would become downwardly really well.

Fascinating materials from Rob Eastaway, every bit always.

Circle Theorems Chase
Tim Honeywill (@honeywilltim) led a session called ‘Expecting the Unexpected’ where he shared a pack of problems which are suitable for IGCSE together with H5N1 grade pupils. I love angle problems together with at that topographic point were a few inward the pack, including this beauty called 'Crazy Circle Theorems'.

Tim's pack of questions contained loads of overnice problems. Here are a few to a greater extent than examples:

Very kindly, Tim has permit me percentage the whole laid of resources from his workshop here. Thank yous Tim!

Sectors of Circles
I ran a workshop on resources inward which I talked through the procedure of planning a sequence of lessons on sector area. I showed a large publish of places nosotros tin become to larn resources including roughly classics such every bit SMILE. I talked almost dissimilar types of chore together with discussed how they run into dissimilar purposes.

For this workshop I made a novel Fill inward the Gaps task on sector surface area (extract pictured below) which is intended to live on used every bit role of the initial instruction phase. The thought is that pupils prepare an agreement of how to position what fraction of the circle is required, together with brand connections betwixt sectors of dissimilar sizes. I too decided that I wanted to larn pupils to a greater extent than comfortable alongside sketching diagrams, thus I included that inward the task. If yous utilisation this resource, permit me know how yous larn on.

There's lots to a greater extent than I could tell almost the MEI Conference but to move along this postal service to a manageable length I volition larn out it there. Thank yous to everyone - speakers, delegates together with organisers - who made it thus fantastic. Well done MEI! Great work.

Hanging out alongside Chris Shore together with Tom Bennison

The side yesteryear side residential maths instruction conference I attend volition live on the MA Conference 2020 which involves 2 nights away at a spa hotel inward the Easter holidays – I’m looking frontwards to it already!

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