Erasmus+ using technology to present a problem-solving activity

CSSC Schools' Support Officer Jill Brown led the course, with input from Dr Mark Prendergast (Trinity College Dublin) and Tony Hayes (Regional Development Officer for Project Mathematics).  

Sessions focused on exploring how we can engage learners’ curiosity in posing and solving problems using various forms of media. 

Participants investigated why penguins huddle, how cats can multiply but can’t add, and the preferred ripeness of bananas, along with many other activities. 

The team reflected on:

• the importance of using group work and collaborative learning in mathematics
• the need to model the problem-solving process
• teaching strategies such as recording data in a table or trying a simplified problem in order to understand what is going on
• how best to encourage learners to monitor and reflect on the problem-solving process.

At the end of the three days, the Erasmus+ project team met to review their progress against the work plan and the intellectual outputs that the project will deliver. 

The team discussed initial plans for their meeting in Finland in February 2019, the international conference in Bangor, Northern Ireland, in August 2019 and the development of resources. 

Progress was reviewed by the project team via its online meeting in December 2018, and they developed the learning, teaching and training activity to be hosted by Vamia, Finland.