Lily Tang-Gentile, AC for Cambridgeshire & Peterborough
During a half-day professional development session in Cambridge, a group of 19 teachers from six schools and colleges around Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire explored the large dataset from the Edexcel A level Mathematics syllabus. Participants were from a range of backgrounds – some had already been using the datasets but were seeking more teaching ideas with the available technology, whilst a few teachers had changed schools recently and subsequently have changed exam boards so they were looking for starting points with the dataset in lessons.
Teachers were shown various visualisation tools in GeoGebra and Autograph, which are helpful when getting students to understand the dataset that they are looking at. Many teachers have found the visual tools on repeated random sampling particularly useful. Participants had the time towards the end of the session to explore the datasets with their colleagues, familiarising themselves with various tools and functions in the applications, as well as linking together what they have learnt in the session to their scheme of work.
Quotes from participants:
- “Giving ideas of how to use the dataset on other programs rather than just Excel and actually using the data and trying out techniques.”
- “Very clear demonstrations and links to my current teaching.”
- “Use of technology and use of LDS in an effective way. So many new ideas!”