I've just spent a little time adding some content to taylorda01.weebly.com, specifically on the 'Stories' page (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, remarkable prime numbers, a festive activity, Frobenius numbers, and Lagrange's Four Square Theorem). Any more to be added?

4/4. The last blog for this weekend is up at taylorda01.weebly.com This one looks at The End of The Lesson. Happy School Year's Eve!

The hat trick has landed. Following on from 'The Start of The Lesson' and 'Just After The Start of The Lesson', I've just blogged about 'The Lesson' at taylorda01.weebly.com I hope you're all as excited as I am about getting back to teaching this week!

Yesterday I posted a blog at taylorda01.weebly.com called The Start of The Lesson, considering routines for the coming academic year. I've just followed it up with another - Just After The Start of The Lesson.

My new role starts on Monday. That came around fast. I've been thinking about transitions between lessons recently and blogged about 'The Start of The Lesson' at taylorda01.weebly.com Enjoy the final weekend of the summer holidays!

As the dust settles after results day and the focus of leadership teams returns to the coming academic year, I think it's natural that much of this focus sits with year 11. But if there's one thing I think we get wrong with Y11, it's giving unsupported exam practise.

Howz-stat?! Incredible opportunity to explore this in lessons. Have everyone stand up and toss a coin. Students call it, and sit down if they get it right. How many coin tosses until everyone is sat down?

Increasingly difficult exercises taylorda01.weebly.com/uploads/4/2/...

Calling all Maths teachers! What are some of your all-time great tasks for secondary Maths? Ones that could have their place in any curriculum, one that should be studied in PGCE courses, ones that started whole new genres of tasks... ... or just ones you really like. (see some of mine below)

Tomorrow I am recording podcasts with @steckl.es and we’re doing a livestream with @ayliean.bsky.social and @mscroggs.co.uk about maths things everyone knows, but do they??? You can watch both live by joining now.

Breaking news - on Dec 11th we're bringing 'Much Ado About Numbers' to The Rose Theatre in Kingston, whose layout is based on the original Elizabethan Rose Theatre. Great for Year 10/11, you can provisionally book now, and pay in the autumn mathsinspiration.com/much-ado-aut...

I presented a session called 'The Power of Stories' at #MathsConf38 yesterday. This has now been recorded and added to my web site at taylorda01.weebly.com, under the tab 'Stories', with the stories on the page too. Please share your stories with me so I can add them too!

“We are biologically hardwired to listen to stories… I think we can bring that to maths, to move the needle from boring to interesting.” @taylorda01.bsky.social #mathsconf38

Carpe diem. 9000 steps before 9am.

My #MathsConf38 workshop choices: 1 - @mrmetacognition.bsky.social 2 - @arithmaticks.bsky.social‬ 3 - @taylorda01.bsky.social‬ 4 - Jack Jennings 5 - @mrtaylormaths2.bsky.social‬ Join me with @lasalleed.bsky.social, get your ticket here: completemaths.com/community/mathsconf38

My #MathsConf38 workshop choices: 1 - @krisboulton.bsky.social‬ & Lee Wheeler 2 - @arithmaticks.bsky.social‬ 3 - @taylorda01.bsky.social‬ 4 - Jack Jennings 5 - @jemmaths.bsky.social Join me with @lasalleed.bsky.social, get your ticket here: completemaths.com/community/mathsconf38

📣 Another #MathsConf38 workshop announcement! 📷The Power of Stories This one is by Dave Taylor (@taylorda01) 📷 Learn more about this workshop and book your ticket here: completemaths.com/community/ma... #MathsConf38 #GCSEMaths #DaveTaylor #MathsCPDchat

There's not a lot of positivity about teaching in the press, ever. 'Teacher burnout', 'GCSE hell' and 'Schools should do this, do that, and the other'. Negativity rules. But after a half term back in the classroom I can confirm that teaching really is the best job in the world.

Coming out of the pandemic I collated a revision web site to support learners at bit.ly/mathssummers... Videos from onmaths.com, self-marking exercises from CIMT, exam question booklets and solutions from Maths Genie. I hope this is useful over the next few weeks!

In the final stretch towards end-of-year assessments, what can teachers do to help students who are still not exam-ready? @ensermark.bsky.social suggests five key approaches…

As my year at AQA comes to an end, I'm really excited about returning to the classroom after Easter. It's a temporary role for the Summer term, but then as part of a growing community from September. If there's one thing I've learnt: teaching really is the best job in the world.

Enjoyed a lovely day at #TDAPEManchester Thanks for having me @kieran-m-ed.bsky.social Great sessions from @styluseducation.bsky.social @oaknational.bsky.social @tomoakley.bsky.social @jessrennie.bsky.social gave me some wonderful inspiration for heading back to the classroom!

Which is the most important to you? #MathsFuddle

My vacancy for Sep closes on Friday, still time to apply. I also DO still need someone 0.6FTE for Easter term only. Timetable is over three days and KS3 only. (Never count your 🐓 before they hatch!) DM for details.

Here's the full schedule featuring sessions from @misssdoherty.bsky.social @alexgingell.bsky.social @mralmonded.bsky.social @scottinghatt.bsky.social @mradamkohlbeck.bsky.social @mrsmithnorwich.bsky.social @playfulclassroom.bsky.social @taylorda01.bsky.social @neophitoua.bsky.social ...

Absolutely amazing #mathsconf37. The amount of motivated teachers across our country is inspiring! Highlights from @taylorda01.bsky.social for those lists, @mathsjem.bsky.social for making my head hurt. @studymaths.bsky.social because I've got a new fave manipulative.

If you're implementing a new idea in your school and it doesn't clearly lead to more learning, you're wasting time. We went this way with "engaging" lessons, group work, marking, target grades and more. We are now going this way, once again, but with AI.

🔢 Don't miss this exciting #MathsConf37 session! What's the difference between a grade n and a grade n+1? (Foundation) 🤔📈 This one will be run by @taylorda01.bsky.social @aqaeducation.bsky.social 🎟️ You can book his workshop and grab your ticket here: completemaths.com/community/ma...

🔢 Don't miss this exciting #MathsConf37 session! What's the difference between a grade n and a grade n+1? (Higher) 🤔📈 This one will also be run by @taylorda01.bsky.social @aqaeducation.bsky.social 🎟️ You can book his workshop and grab your ticket here: completemaths.com/community/ma...

Hello Blue Sky! You may remember me from resources such as Increasingly Difficult Questions and Backward Faded Maths, from podcasts such as Teaching Together or How I Taught Maths. At Easter I became Interim Head of Curriculum for Maths at AQA, leaving the classroom after 17 years.

Today is #GCHQChristmasChallenge day, and I can't think of a better way to engage learners as we reach the end of term. Access the puzzles at gchq.gov.uk/xmas-2024

Oh... What is this?!

This is a beautiful post from Tom Francome about a wonderful project to digitise Don Steward's rough notes. blog.lboro.ac.uk/cmc/2024/11/... I have loved just reading through the notes over the last few days and already grabbed quite a few things to use in lessons. @lborodme.bsky.social

Accepting new signups again… Our servers have the capacity to accept new schools again. amPIL will allow students to submit their own RAG feedback, generate feedback sheets, and predict topics students might need help with from a SoW. Find out more www.amPIL.co.uk Btw it’s 100% free for teachers 😍

Reminds me of the rotating coin problem. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coin_ro...

Reposting this for any newcomers who might benefit from my web site.

Praise matters. My children come out of school every day telling me what praise they got from whom, and how many dojo points! Tomorrow I’m going to send positive texts to 3 students in my y11 class. 🍎🎓

There's also A-level readiness to consider because: (a) there are no non-calc papers, (b) you can do so much on A-level calcs now, especially in stats, algebra & calculus, so you need a firm foundation and (c) it is EXPECTED that students will use calcs where possible & Qs are written that way.

Other approaches: - work it out first, then check on the calc (develop fluency both ways) - estimate first, then do it with the calc (good exam technique & estimation useful in RL) If students don't use calcs regularly, they don't become fluent or efficient in their use & forget how to do things.

Absolutely agree with this. Far too many pupils see using a calculator as “cheating”. They’ve not all built up that sort of perception on their own. Yes, there might be a lot of questions we model in class where we can do the calculations in our head but pupils would benefit from using a calculator

If I was back in school today, there would be one thing on my mind that (almost) everyone can action... Make using a calculator the default. Move away from 'you can use your calculators this lesson' to 'no calculators allowed today' for odd lessons. Their exams are two thirds calculators.

This feels like a positive step forward. ET's (7yo) behaviour takes a significant step backwards when we allow her to use a phone/tablet. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...