We had four network meetings this term in Hertfordshire with lively discussions at each one. My personal highlights were as follows:
- Observing colleagues solving Mr First and Mr Last as an interview question: Mr First and Mr Last had to guess a number: I thought of a number between 1 and 12 and how it was spelt. I whispered to Mr First the first letter of the word and to Mr Last the last letter of the word. (E.g. if the number was one, I would whisper ‘o’ to Mr First and ‘e’ to Mr Last). The 2 friends, understanding what was involved, had the following conversation: Mr First said ‘I cannot work out the number.’ Mr Last said ‘I cannot work out the number. Mr First said ‘I cannot work out the number. Mr Last said ‘I know it!’ Mr First said ‘So do I.‘ What was the number?
- Seeing teachers going from one computer to another as different online resources were shared.
- Watching colleagues aiming to keep up with Gerard Dummett as he rapidly ran through helpful tips on using graphical calculators. We learnt how to update the operating system to use UK AC to enter exam mode while keeping vector calculation facilities.
- Viewing calculator and computer screens as teachers worked with 3D graphing skills – GeoGebra is great for showing intersection of planes and graphical calculators allow 3D lines to be entered in different forms!
Next term the East Herts network will combine with West Essex. Venues and dates of network meetings will appear on the website. We welcome teachers from state and independent schools in any location.