|
Post by corastack1 on Jun 18, 2012 15:33:11 GMT -5
www.scribd.com/qnik91/d/4408631-Additional-Mathematics-Paper-2Not easy to scroll down but have a go. both papers way more technical and way more demanding of problem solving skills than PM. No comparison. These students also have to do project not sure if the mark is 20% or less on IB but if you look at their maths internet dicussion boards the students are always asking for help with these project etc. Not regarded internationally as high as Singapore but still well regarded. PM is nowhere near this syllabus etc. Way below in fact unfortunately
|
|
|
Post by corastack1 on Jun 18, 2012 23:48:28 GMT -5
This is not the forum to be discussing and this is my very last point on percieved inequities in the secondary education system in Dublin. But did say Enda Kenny from Mayo or any of those people attend 'private' school. Appprove of him or not he has a marvellous manner with people always happy looking ( not that he any reason for this!!) great temperatment etc etc. I am one of the few who liked Enda Kenny before anyone else did - just his temperament etc. Senior friends and sources in the dept of Taoiseach expressed surprise at how well he was able to master briefs written to him by senior staff able to highlight and capture key points in speeches they write for him. Of course I am against austerity policies etc. But Kenny and a pile of others in the govenment didn't go to private schools because they came from the country. This is the secondary education system for the most part down the country. The other thing I felt I sensed about these Dublin mulitmilliaires and top partnners in KPMG and all these kind of people was that in some way in spite of going to UCD etc they almost came across as somethat inferior in some way because their parents could not afford to send them to 'priviate' school in Dublin. In the UK of course it is ten times worse and the Dublin system is most major cities etc. In my opinion it reinforces class system and therefore govenments sohuld not support this type of what I call 'educational' aparthied etc and invest in state schools with the very best of facilites and best teachers and best choice of subject offerings. I have sent my children to both public and private school and the best school were the ones where the principles had best interaction with parents. In other words in parents had an issse they knew that they could ring the school and the matter could be dealt with asap etc. In other schools I felt parents were 'kept out' and contributions and suggestions not welcome. Everyone's child in important to their parents. The way all schools handle approaches by parents is importnat and in some private schools I sent my children to I felt they were better at dealing with parents - more faciliationg of them. But then I sent my chidlren to a Gaelscoil in Rathcole ten years ago and the principle there who became very serior in the INTO fantastic Irish speaker too very early retirement perhaps to write books but had every bit as good as way with parents as any I ever met in private Dublin schools. Her door was always open. She was an extremely intelligent and humane person as well and of course that helped
I have nothing against grind schools etc but these are not supported by the state etc. Very last post about obervation about percieved inequities in secondary education system in Dublin. Some very ambitious primary teacher told me recently that Finland had no private schools.
|
|
|
Post by corastack1 on Jun 21, 2012 1:08:05 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by corastack1 on Jun 21, 2012 1:12:51 GMT -5
I would have to say looking at the workbooks my children do at primary level find the design of some of them highly questionable All about focus on addressing bit and pieces 'strands' and then the deep things like symmetry are very poorly addressed. I find very litte depth in these 'workbooks' etc. Some primary schools way better at doing the 'funamentals in arithmetic that others and usually teacher is that bit older. Primary curriculum in mathematics in my opinion is extremely unchallening compared to what is was in my day. C
|
|
|
Post by corastack1 on Jun 21, 2012 3:47:02 GMT -5
From same top professor of mathemaitcs education and world expert in curriculum desigh who advise systems all over asia! Very nice professor too!! please refer to math.nie.edu.sg/ams/click "Maths Buzz" then May 2009 issue and page 5-8 Why do we teach what we teach in schools?
|
|
|
Post by corastack1 on Jun 21, 2012 4:04:49 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by corastack1 on Jun 21, 2012 17:03:58 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by corastack1 on Jun 23, 2012 15:34:36 GMT -5
I have a students at cambridge who always emails me about mathdep comments nicest guy - very mannerly. View from senior medic on PM Brother has over 450 citations on MD paper - equivalent to maths PhD Was telling me a great story about one of this first patients the bishop of Cork and the doctor that referred him very closely associated with cork G advised him to make sure the bishop was kept waiting for at least three quarters of an hour in the waiting room! Brother also excellent maths student and I was trying to communicate with him about PM issues and he said what you are very concerned about is that project maths took out an awful lot of the 'hard' stuff and put in an awful lot more of the 'easy' stuff. Exactly this would be one way of putting it across to the general public.
|
|
|
Post by corastack1 on Jun 23, 2012 15:45:00 GMT -5
Ket conclsuons PM far to weak for engineering and science okay for humanites etc. It will ruin reputation of Irish engineering etc. PM has repositioned the curriculum downwards relative to where we were before and now way below all the best countries particularly those from which we were supposed to have taken our inspiration. Very damning findings from extraordinary weak and poor curriculum design Maths community needs to come together to decide how to save Irish maths education from this very poor appalling curriculum design.
|
|
|
Post by corastack1 on Jun 24, 2012 9:36:46 GMT -5
I suppose the other major conclusion is that no other country we looked and not all are considerabove did what PM did its mathematics curriculum. Indeed what they did to solve the same problem is to introduce more differentiatiation into their mathematics curriculum etc. More maths courses were provided/designed to suit different learners of mathematics and different needs for mathemaitcs users at universities engineering, applied mathematics science indeed pure mathematics. No country world wide reduced that maths standard to such a degree to solve a perceved problem in mathematics education at second level. This was again an appalling mistake in curriculum design.
|
|
|
Post by corastack1 on Jun 24, 2012 9:46:54 GMT -5
HE NCCA representative are called higher education representives. The question should and has to be asked who did these representatives represent and who were they nominatted onto NCCA maths team and who or what maths group were they accountable to. Represenattives suggest reps were representing views of majority in HE maths sector. Where was the accounability here or checks and balances to ensure there reps were accoutable to the sector they were supposed to be representing. This is a very serious matter for the mathematics community and needs to be addressed by IMS at appropriate executive meeting. In my opintion PM has made very serious mistakes in desing of Project Maths new second level maths curriculum. Reps not accountable for this to maths community since there are in so far as I can find out no such accountability measures or checks and balances for mathematics to say if reps too radical in views about reform they there is process by which mathematics can remove them from NCCA maths group etc as happened with ASTI recently. One think I am unable to do is to quantify at this point the very serious damage that PM will do long term to the Irish mathematical education system at this point unless something is done to introduce extra maths courses for those requiriing serous mathematics educationat university etc. How much did all this cost?
|
|
|
Post by corastack1 on Jun 24, 2012 9:53:33 GMT -5
I think this email to mathdep should be put on here. Dear all, following concerns expressed in previous email I also have very serious concenrs following quite a number of emails and phone calls from people who are saying to people like me, we completely agree with you in private but because of our 'position' in their college or university etc high or low if you excuse this expression, they feel unable to express their position publically. A related matter of course to is a mathematical analogy is akin to a topological concept called close 'connectedness' with key people behind design on PM in NCCA or indeed with people who were and are very friendly with these people Academic freedom was a huge issue in several universities and many have come out with their own policies and are now on the various university websites. The matter being discussed is so important that in view of the above 'academic freedom' in mathematics is completely compromised particularly in key cities, universities colleges etc. There is abolutely no reason whatsoever why people should be so nervous of expressing their views publically on this very important matter and in certainly in the instiutute I came from apart from one call coming from CEO NCCA asking me to stop emailing her too many emails on one day!! I think I emailed her a few two many emails on one day etc but personal there in my college no way took her side and indeed she wrote to me subsequenty about this- appalling to do this sort of thing. I knew then that the people to send the same emails do were to the minister and his private secretray who has emailed me on numerous occasions and indeed send me a very nice letter yesterday about this - completely different response form the private sectretary of the dept of education and skills! I won't say what should happen to her in view of her supporting 40% radical reform at JC which thankfullly the ASTI have been able to block because of their accountability procedures and processes with regard to their nominees, which they removed in very unusual move this year because what their president Broderick very rightly believed was that their suppport for overly radical reform agenda inside NCCA. TUI supported these proposals which I couldn't possibly agree with. Introduction of continious assessement and project work etcc into the second level system has to be very carefully handled and 40% initially is far too excessive. I have disucssed this also on PM boards. Where is 'academic freedom' in mathematics when it is most needed?? C
|
|
|
Post by corastack1 on Jun 24, 2012 9:55:48 GMT -5
The point on academic freedom was this one and had nothing to do with source from which it was taken. Academic freedom is the belief that the freedom of inquiry by students and faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy, and that scholars should have freedom to teach or communicate ideas or facts (including those that are inconvenient to external political groups or to authorities)
|
|
|
Post by corastack1 on Jun 24, 2012 9:58:42 GMT -5
I want to thank certain key professors from UL DIAS and Hamilton as well as hugely committed teachers and maths book authors and several other highly talented mathematics lecturers for hugely supporting me while I was carrying out this work.
|
|
|
Post by corastack1 on Jun 24, 2012 10:04:18 GMT -5
I want to thank in particular one expert mathematican and most committed mathematics education professor at NUIG who has been advocating for change in second level education system with particular concerns for the quality of teaching of mathematics at second level for over fourteen years. This is the story so far. Spent more than ten years advocating for very close relative and medical doctor extremely intellligent, with very severe chronic pain and perhaps learned something from this experience. This close relative no longer suffers from any pain whatsoever and so I have had time to devote to this cause because for me that cause was far more important. Probably misse first mathdep post etc because of advococy for other cause. C
|
|