Mother comforting sad daughter by telling her, "It's ok - we're just not maths people."

I’m just not a “maths person”

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What if we are ALL maths people, but some of us have been led to believe we’re not? And what if we’re passing on to our kids a detrimental preconception about maths? Is there even such a thing as a “maths person”??? When I hear this phrase used, it’s mostly by parents talking about themselves

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University course price changes from 2021

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Radical change to university incentives has been needed for some time. And here it is! (Announced 19 June 2020) But what a year for school-leavers! The first to graduate with an ATAR in Queensland. Learning and assessments disrupted by Covid. And now, with QTAC preference selection well underway, a university course price shake-up due to start next year has thrown

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Maths Methods leads to more careers

Which maths? Methods, Specialist or General?

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Which maths? Short answer: Methods We say students should have Mathematical Methods as their default expectation, and aspire to it from early on. (Formerly equivalent to Maths B.) In Year 10, students choose which maths subjects to study in Years 11 and 12 for their QCE. But the road to Maths Methods starts years before

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Mathematical Methods General maths specialist maths explained

New QCE Maths Subjects Explained

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New Senior Maths Subjects Explanation  – as briefly as possible – 2020 update In Year 10, students select which mathematics subject/s to study in Years 11 and 12 for their Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE). Year 11s in 2019 were the first Queensland students to start the new maths subjects, which are Queensland’s implementation of

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Maths Methods leads to more careers

Mathematics A, B or C – which should my child study?

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2018 Update: With the transition from OP to ATAR, the names and structure of Queensland senior maths subjects changed. The below is still generally applicable if you change the names: Maths A – General Mathematics Maths B – Mathematical Methods Maths C – Specialist Mathematics Here is our UPDATED post incorporating the NEW Australian Curriculum

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Parallel Box Plot example

How to make Parallel Box and Whisker Plots

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What is a box and whisker plot? Box and Whisker Plots, or just Box Plots, are a graphical summary of data spread (dispersion) and central tendency. Here’s a quick explanation of why box and whisker plots are useful. All box plots show (from left to right): Minimum First/Lower Quartile/Q1 Median, aka Middle/Second Quartile/Q2 Third/Upper Quartile/Q3 Maximum These

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Test results are not everything

Learning Ahead vs. Latest Test Results – the bigger picture

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The best way of effecting long-term student success is to expose students to curriculum ahead of school. When working towards a student’s future, we always take into account the bigger picture and the long-term. This goes to the core of what we do. Over-emphasising test scores. Following the dominant school narrative, parents sometimes don’t realise that

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Teaching maths in advance

Teaching Students Maths in Advance

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Teaching of maths concepts to students in schools is like being taught how to ride a horse over several years where the learner never gets to ride the horse until the last year. In the first year you can pat the horse, in the second year touch the bridle. Slow, disjointed, boring, laborious with poor

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Holiday Homework?

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What maths should my child do during the summer holidays? Around this time of year, I’m asked this question. The answer changes by individual and by how they feel from day to day, but in most cases there’s no great need for structured maths learning to continue through holidays. “A holiday is as good as

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