Your memories of Maths at school may well include standing in front of the class reciting times tables. Mine certainly do. When teaching Maths, that is the last thing I want to do. At Cargilfield, our aim is to develop and embed a fluency, creating a deeper knowledge and understanding of underlying mathematical concepts.

Maths is not simply about the classroom or times tables – it is immersed in our daily lives. And whatever your thoughts on the subject, everyone has the ability to harness it in one way or another. There is a common misconception that you are either “good” or “bad” at Maths, but Mathematics is entirely logical: there is no mysterious magic or trickery involved. I so often hear “well I was no good at Maths at school”. Funnily enough, I wasn’t confident in Maths until the age of 12, when it all clicked into place. I went on to study Maths in my later years at school and now I have a strong passion for teaching the subject!

Even though most of us rely on technology these days to do a calculation, you still need to be able to choose the correct operation (multiply, divide, add or subtract) to tackle the problem at hand, and mental arithmetic is still a constant in daily life. For example, working out a 20% discount. Your brain follows a process: 20% is the same as one-fifth, so you divide by 5, then subtract your answer from the original price. Others might divide by 10 then multiply by 2 to work out the saving. Without being conscious of it, you are using Maths. In fact, your first thought of the day may well be a mathematical one when you open your eyes and look at your alarm clock.

What might be second nature to you is an entirely new way of thinking for your child. However, with the right mindset, access to different ways of learning and the opportunity to make mistakes, anything is possible. My favourite quote is by Albert Einstein: “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” Making mistakes is part of the learning process in Maths. This is an important lesson to teach children as they work through problems and more challenging questions. This skill can also be applied throughout life. How dull would life be if we never pushed ourselves for fear of failure?

I was very surprised to hear from the Form 7 and 8 STEM workshop that by 2022 it’s expected that the UK will be short of 2 million engineers. This type of job requires a wide set of skills, one of which is Maths. If every child realises they can use Maths in their daily lives and understand that it is not only for the classroom, then we will be helping future generations open up new opportunities when they become adults.

Which is why, when explaining new Maths concepts to the children, I like to take a leaf out of American mathematician Stan Gudder’s book: “The essence of mathematics is not to make simple things complicated, but to make complicated things simple.”

LAW

Your memories of Maths at school may well include standing in front of the class reciting times tables. Mine certainly do. When teaching Maths, that is the last thing I want to do. At Cargilfield, our aim is to develop and embed a fluency, creating a deeper knowledge and understanding of underlying mathematical concepts.

Maths is not simply about the classroom or times tables – it is immersed in our daily lives. And whatever your thoughts on the subject, everyone has the ability to harness it in one way or another. There is a common misconception that you are either “good” or “bad” at Maths, but Mathematics is entirely logical: there is no mysterious magic or trickery involved. I so often hear “well I was no good at Maths at school”. Funnily enough, I wasn’t confident in Maths until the age of 12, when it all clicked into place. I went on to study Maths in my later years at school and now I have a strong passion for teaching the subject!

Even though most of us rely on technology these days to do a calculation, you still need to be able to choose the correct operation (multiply, divide, add or subtract) to tackle the problem at hand, and mental arithmetic is still a constant in daily life. For example, working out a 20% discount. Your brain follows a process: 20% is the same as one-fifth, so you divide by 5, then subtract your answer from the original price. Others might divide by 10 then multiply by 2 to work out the saving. Without being conscious of it, you are using Maths. In fact, your first thought of the day may well be a mathematical one when you open your eyes and look at your alarm clock.

What might be second nature to you is an entirely new way of thinking for your child. However, with the right mindset, access to different ways of learning and the opportunity to make mistakes, anything is possible. My favourite quote is by Albert Einstein: “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” Making mistakes is part of the learning process in Maths. This is an important lesson to teach children as they work through problems and more challenging questions. This skill can also be applied throughout life. How dull would life be if we never pushed ourselves for fear of failure?

I was very surprised to hear from the Form 7 and 8 STEM workshop that by 2022 it’s expected that the UK will be short of 2 million engineers. This type of job requires a wide set of skills, one of which is Maths. If every child realises they can use Maths in their daily lives and understand that it is not only for the classroom, then we will be helping future generations open up new opportunities when they become adults.

Which is why, when explaining new Maths concepts to the children, I like to take a leaf out of American mathematician Stan Gudder’s book: “The essence of mathematics is not to make simple things complicated, but to make complicated things simple.”

LAW

It always amazes me how much children learn from each other; their peers, siblings and friends. However, I think as adults we also sometimes forget just how much ‘learning’ happens through play! In the nursery we are given daily reminders of the important role that play gives the children as they grow and develop and how pivotal it is to their learning. In the nursery here at Cargilfield, the children have been learning about woodlands and woodland animals and it is incredible to see how much of the children’s learning has been; developed, extended and consolidated through their play.

We see examples of this every day in all sorts of wonderful ways, a few of which I have highlighted here:

All sorts of fantastic art work and den building have taken place over the last few weeks where the children have been able to use their imagination and problem solving skills to create something wonderful. These types of play scenarios are crucial in developing the children’s imagination, critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Creativity through play has also been shown in many different contexts this term. The children have created their own self-portraits, made woodland art pictures and scavenged for items to make their own woodland crowns to give just a few examples. These sorts of activities are so important to help brain development in early childhood as they promote cognitive, social and emotional development aswell as helping to develop a range of multi-sensory skills.

The sand and water areas in the nursery have been very popular this term as the children make and test their hypotheses, stretch their imagination and explore their senses through these different mediums. They have been encouraged to lead their own learning to help them develop their physical, cognitive and social skills in a variety of ways. Sand and water have provided the ultimate ‘blank canvas’ to enable this to take place.

The children have already been engaging in the nursery allotment over the last few weeks; planting pumpkin seeds and thinking of ways in which we can help the seeds grow and what we can make/do with the pumpkins once they have grown. Gardening is a fantastic experience which enables the children to discover, learn and explore their natural surroundings. The children are leading the learning in this instance; deciding what we plant, how we might help the seeds to grow and what we want to do with the vegetables which will grow i.e use them to make snack each week in nursery.

Role play and creative drama has also played an important role in the children’s learning so far this term. It is through this type of play that the children are extending their understanding of community, culture and the wider world as they take on different characters in play and learn to empathise and understand the feelings of others as they ‘step’ in to their shoes. We have had some wonderful ‘role play’ so far this term with the children using masks of woodland animals as a prompt to ‘become’ the animal and then searching for food and making houses through their play.

So, when we take a step back and consider ‘How do we learn best?’ let’s not forget about the crucial role that play contributes to a child’s learning and development, something which we are reminded of in the nursery every single day.

JH

It always amazes me how much children learn from each other; their peers, siblings and friends. However, I think as adults we also sometimes forget just how much ‘learning’ happens through play! In the nursery we are given daily reminders of the important role that play gives the children as they grow and develop and how pivotal it is to their learning. In the nursery here at Cargilfield, the children have been learning about woodlands and woodland animals and it is incredible to see how much of the children’s learning has been; developed, extended and consolidated through their play.

We see examples of this every day in all sorts of wonderful ways, a few of which I have highlighted here:

All sorts of fantastic art work and den building have taken place over the last few weeks where the children have been able to use their imagination and problem solving skills to create something wonderful. These types of play scenarios are crucial in developing the children’s imagination, critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Creativity through play has also been shown in many different contexts this term. The children have created their own self-portraits, made woodland art pictures and scavenged for items to make their own woodland crowns to give just a few examples. These sorts of activities are so important to help brain development in early childhood as they promote cognitive, social and emotional development aswell as helping to develop a range of multi-sensory skills.

The sand and water areas in the nursery have been very popular this term as the children make and test their hypotheses, stretch their imagination and explore their senses through these different mediums. They have been encouraged to lead their own learning to help them develop their physical, cognitive and social skills in a variety of ways. Sand and water have provided the ultimate ‘blank canvas’ to enable this to take place.

The children have already been engaging in the nursery allotment over the last few weeks; planting pumpkin seeds and thinking of ways in which we can help the seeds grow and what we can make/do with the pumpkins once they have grown. Gardening is a fantastic experience which enables the children to discover, learn and explore their natural surroundings. The children are leading the learning in this instance; deciding what we plant, how we might help the seeds to grow and what we want to do with the vegetables which will grow i.e use them to make snack each week in nursery.

Role play and creative drama has also played an important role in the children’s learning so far this term. It is through this type of play that the children are extending their understanding of community, culture and the wider world as they take on different characters in play and learn to empathise and understand the feelings of others as they ‘step’ in to their shoes. We have had some wonderful ‘role play’ so far this term with the children using masks of woodland animals as a prompt to ‘become’ the animal and then searching for food and making houses through their play.

So, when we take a step back and consider ‘How do we learn best?’ let’s not forget about the crucial role that play contributes to a child’s learning and development, something which we are reminded of in the nursery every single day.

JH

I don’t know about you but The Blue Planet II was probably the best thing I watched on TV last year. The grandeur and vastness of the oceans is something to behold and it was a privilege to get such an intimate insight into the ways and workings of this dynamic landscape. Yet, watching the final episode which highlighted the impact the human race has had (and continues to have) on this delicate ecosystem, I was startled and appalled in equal measure at the scale and gravity of the damage done to this precious resource and the ongoing threat faced to this vital habitat.

As we return from our summer break, where many of us no doubt have been enjoying time spent by the seaside, it seems topical and relevant for the students to reflect on these experiences in class and explore these areas in more detail. Having been inspired by what I had seen on the TV, Form 6 Geographers will be focussing this term on The Oceans with a special emphasis on the current state of the oceans and how we can ensure that we use them wisely in the future. We will be looking into the global location of our oceans and how essential they are for life on earth. We will investigate how we use our oceans and how we are harming the ocean ecosystem. We are delighted to have a new suite of ipads in the Reynolds buildings which affords our pupils the ability to carry out independent research and enquiry into topics such as these. I have been so impressed with the knowledge and understanding demonstrated by Form 6 already on this issue. From our very first lesson last week, they have been captivated by the images of plastics in the water and how the marine life have been affected. The students show a great passion for the environment and issues regarding sustainability and it is clear, they want to do their little bit to prevent future harm.

I am sure the next few weeks will be a great time of learning for our pupils in Geography – a time of widening horizons, where they will be acquiring new skills, knowledge and understanding which is relevant not only in the classroom but beyond.

Useful websites that you may wish to explore further if you are interested include:

https://plasticoceans.org/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/plastic-facts/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04tjbtx/clips

What we have found out so far:
• 12 million tonnes of plastic is estimated to escape into the oceans each year.
• 90% of waste in the oceans is plastic.
• Countries like the UK use about 13 billion plastic bottles per year. Only 3 billion of these are recycled.
• It takes 450 years for a plastic bottle to break down into micro-plastics.
• Micro-plastics have been found in sea creatures living as deep as 11,000 metres.

Form 6 geographers also spend this term working on The John Muir award which enables young people to connect with, enjoy and care for wild places.
https://www.johnmuirtrust.org/john-muir-award

CM

I don’t know about you but The Blue Planet II was probably the best thing I watched on TV last year. The grandeur and vastness of the oceans is something to behold and it was a privilege to get such an intimate insight into the ways and workings of this dynamic landscape. Yet, watching the final episode which highlighted the impact the human race has had (and continues to have) on this delicate ecosystem, I was startled and appalled in equal measure at the scale and gravity of the damage done to this precious resource and the ongoing threat faced to this vital habitat.

As we return from our summer break, where many of us no doubt have been enjoying time spent by the seaside, it seems topical and relevant for the students to reflect on these experiences in class and explore these areas in more detail. Having been inspired by what I had seen on the TV, Form 6 Geographers will be focussing this term on The Oceans with a special emphasis on the current state of the oceans and how we can ensure that we use them wisely in the future. We will be looking into the global location of our oceans and how essential they are for life on earth. We will investigate how we use our oceans and how we are harming the ocean ecosystem. We are delighted to have a new suite of ipads in the Reynolds buildings which affords our pupils the ability to carry out independent research and enquiry into topics such as these. I have been so impressed with the knowledge and understanding demonstrated by Form 6 already on this issue. From our very first lesson last week, they have been captivated by the images of plastics in the water and how the marine life have been affected. The students show a great passion for the environment and issues regarding sustainability and it is clear, they want to do their little bit to prevent future harm.

I am sure the next few weeks will be a great time of learning for our pupils in Geography – a time of widening horizons, where they will be acquiring new skills, knowledge and understanding which is relevant not only in the classroom but beyond.

Useful websites that you may wish to explore further if you are interested include:

https://plasticoceans.org/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/plastic-facts/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04tjbtx/clips

What we have found out so far:
• 12 million tonnes of plastic is estimated to escape into the oceans each year.
• 90% of waste in the oceans is plastic.
• Countries like the UK use about 13 billion plastic bottles per year. Only 3 billion of these are recycled.
• It takes 450 years for a plastic bottle to break down into micro-plastics.
• Micro-plastics have been found in sea creatures living as deep as 11,000 metres.

Form 6 geographers also spend this term working on The John Muir award which enables young people to connect with, enjoy and care for wild places.
https://www.johnmuirtrust.org/john-muir-award

CM

Technology is changing faster than the blink of an eye and in the 16 plus years I have been at Cargilfield, not only has the amount and the quality of hardware we have at the school increased dramatically, the curriculum has had to move with it.

It was April 2002 when I stepped through the doors at Cargilfield to run the Design and ICT departments. There were 10 PCs in an ICT suite all running Windows ’95; dial-up internet; one printer; no interactive whiteboards; no projectors…the list or perhaps the lack of a list of hardware goes on. The subject of ICT back then was very much Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Databases, create a picture in Paint and it stayed that way for some time, even when the hardware replaced and grew in numbers. We added a new ICT suite with the Pre Prep in 2003; interactive whiteboards were purchased; projectors were hung from the ceiling; printers were put into classrooms along with new computers and broadband came in – first at 2Mb and then increased to the 100Mb fibre connection we enjoy today.

Whilst there has been significant investment into the IT hardware, the teaching and topics we studied in ICT largely remained the same. Of course, topics changed, projects were different as I looked to engage the children with something new but the software they were using was the same. There were pretty pictures created in Paint to put on display along with word processed menus for a restaurant or graphs created with data collated – all valuable skills to learn in their own right but it wasn’t getting the children inspired. They weren’t given as much opportunity to express themselves or let their imaginations run wild other than using a rainbow brush to create a squiggly psychedelic pattern. About 10 years ago, I started to introduce Scratch, the software created at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The enthusiasm from the children was incredible. Many of them had played video games but hadn’t really been given the chance to actually design and create them.

We continued with this and children built up their knowledge of Scratch and began to create some wonderful pieces of work. However, a few years later two parents, who were particularly enthusiastic about all things computing, came to see me armed with an iPad and YouTube clips, and made me realise I was missing something from my lessons. The videos on YouTube were of two young New Zealanders lecturing to an audience of 10-12 year old children on Computer Science topics. Their enthusiasm and passion for the subject had the children gripped and laughing at the humourous ways they delivered what might be perceived to be a dull subject for ‘geeks’. CSUnplugged.org provides an entire curriculum containing lesson plans for teaching topics such as binary, text compression and minimal spanning trees– all without using a computer.

Following this conversation with the two parents, I decided to see what else was out there and delved into the teaching of Computer Science a bit more. I found Code.org – a non-profit organisation founded by Hadi Partovi who is trying to get everyone to try the “Hour of Code.” The website has videos of famous American celebrities explaining different coding terminology before giving you the chance to use blocks of code to make an Angry Bird move through a maze to catch the pig. You can navigate Ana and Elsa (of Frozen fame) on ice to draw patterns and shapes using loops and functions. If you don’t know what a ‘function’ is, why not bring up the video of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to explain it – which he does in a really simple way. Code.org is a fabulous resource for those of Cargilfield School age and CSUnplugged offers the older children more talk and chalk based lessons but with props to make it really interactive.

And so out of the window went ICT lessons teaching word processing, spreadsheets and how to get the rainbow paint brush in Colour Magic and Computer Science at Cargilfield was born. Why paint your own picture in Paint when you can paint your own Sprite or background for your game? And understand that you are in fact drawing a load of pixels?

When I introduced some Form 6 children to CSUnplugged, at first they were very confused. “So you’re saying we aren’t going to log on to a computer till after half term?!” As anyone could imagine this confused them slightly and there were a few moans and groans but after the first lesson on Binary, I got some really positive feedback. We are now into our 3rd year of Computer Science at Cargilfield and the children are very enthusiastic about the subject.

Our evening midweek Code Club is full of girls and boys wanting to design and make their own games on Scratch – from scratch. Our long 50 minute break (on wet days) offers those especially keen on honing their skills and who want to share what they have created with others.

Our 2018-2019 academic year has begun and as always, evening clubs at Cargilfield begin on day 1. I had two very excited Form 4 girls arrive at Code Club on our first evening back. “What can we do?” they asked. As my regulars got logged on and began coding away, we went straight onto Scratch – something they had been introduced to in P3 and began thinking about what they could create. When Natasha said, “I want to make an animation of me throwing a ball to Nadia; where do I get the characters from?” I replied, “Why choose the characters from Scratch, when we can use you and Nadia in the game?”

By the end of the club, they had created sprites of themselves and were learning how to make a ball move across the screen from side to side by adding blocks of code. To see the excitement and enthusiasm on their faces at what they were creating was especially pleasing and they cannot wait to develop and build their animation into a game at Code Club next week! Computer Science is a thoroughly exciting and interesting subject which not only teaches the children how to code but also develops their computational thinking. Computer Science provides the children with insights into other STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects and this makes it a very important member of our broad curriculum here at Cargilfield.

We must not forget ICT however, and getting the right balance is important. As well as learning the nuts and bolts of how the computers work, the children are still logging on to our computers or iPads at Cargilfield. Teachers of other subjects at Cargilfield are using our ICT suites to word process, create PowerPoints and research the internet.

However, the fact that the children are gaining a better understanding of how things work will enable them to get a better understanding of the systems they are using and be able to solve problems when things don’t work. Children who can think computationally are more able to conceptualise and better equipped to function in modern society. As the well-known Dutch computer science engineer, Edsger W. Dijkstra famously remarked, “Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes”.

RM

Technology is changing faster than the blink of an eye and in the 16 plus years I have been at Cargilfield, not only has the amount and the quality of hardware we have at the school increased dramatically, the curriculum has had to move with it.

It was April 2002 when I stepped through the doors at Cargilfield to run the Design and ICT departments. There were 10 PCs in an ICT suite all running Windows ’95; dial-up internet; one printer; no interactive whiteboards; no projectors…the list or perhaps the lack of a list of hardware goes on. The subject of ICT back then was very much Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Databases, create a picture in Paint and it stayed that way for some time, even when the hardware replaced and grew in numbers. We added a new ICT suite with the Pre Prep in 2003; interactive whiteboards were purchased; projectors were hung from the ceiling; printers were put into classrooms along with new computers and broadband came in – first at 2Mb and then increased to the 100Mb fibre connection we enjoy today.

Whilst there has been significant investment into the IT hardware, the teaching and topics we studied in ICT largely remained the same. Of course, topics changed, projects were different as I looked to engage the children with something new but the software they were using was the same. There were pretty pictures created in Paint to put on display along with word processed menus for a restaurant or graphs created with data collated – all valuable skills to learn in their own right but it wasn’t getting the children inspired. They weren’t given as much opportunity to express themselves or let their imaginations run wild other than using a rainbow brush to create a squiggly psychedelic pattern. About 10 years ago, I started to introduce Scratch, the software created at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The enthusiasm from the children was incredible. Many of them had played video games but hadn’t really been given the chance to actually design and create them.

We continued with this and children built up their knowledge of Scratch and began to create some wonderful pieces of work. However, a few years later two parents, who were particularly enthusiastic about all things computing, came to see me armed with an iPad and YouTube clips, and made me realise I was missing something from my lessons. The videos on YouTube were of two young New Zealanders lecturing to an audience of 10-12 year old children on Computer Science topics. Their enthusiasm and passion for the subject had the children gripped and laughing at the humourous ways they delivered what might be perceived to be a dull subject for ‘geeks’. CSUnplugged.org provides an entire curriculum containing lesson plans for teaching topics such as binary, text compression and minimal spanning trees– all without using a computer.

Following this conversation with the two parents, I decided to see what else was out there and delved into the teaching of Computer Science a bit more. I found Code.org – a non-profit organisation founded by Hadi Partovi who is trying to get everyone to try the “Hour of Code.” The website has videos of famous American celebrities explaining different coding terminology before giving you the chance to use blocks of code to make an Angry Bird move through a maze to catch the pig. You can navigate Ana and Elsa (of Frozen fame) on ice to draw patterns and shapes using loops and functions. If you don’t know what a ‘function’ is, why not bring up the video of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to explain it – which he does in a really simple way. Code.org is a fabulous resource for those of Cargilfield School age and CSUnplugged offers the older children more talk and chalk based lessons but with props to make it really interactive.

And so out of the window went ICT lessons teaching word processing, spreadsheets and how to get the rainbow paint brush in Colour Magic and Computer Science at Cargilfield was born. Why paint your own picture in Paint when you can paint your own Sprite or background for your game? And understand that you are in fact drawing a load of pixels?

When I introduced some Form 6 children to CSUnplugged, at first they were very confused. “So you’re saying we aren’t going to log on to a computer till after half term?!” As anyone could imagine this confused them slightly and there were a few moans and groans but after the first lesson on Binary, I got some really positive feedback. We are now into our 3rd year of Computer Science at Cargilfield and the children are very enthusiastic about the subject.

Our evening midweek Code Club is full of girls and boys wanting to design and make their own games on Scratch – from scratch. Our long 50 minute break (on wet days) offers those especially keen on honing their skills and who want to share what they have created with others.

Our 2018-2019 academic year has begun and as always, evening clubs at Cargilfield begin on day 1. I had two very excited Form 4 girls arrive at Code Club on our first evening back. “What can we do?” they asked. As my regulars got logged on and began coding away, we went straight onto Scratch – something they had been introduced to in P3 and began thinking about what they could create. When Natasha said, “I want to make an animation of me throwing a ball to Nadia; where do I get the characters from?” I replied, “Why choose the characters from Scratch, when we can use you and Nadia in the game?”

By the end of the club, they had created sprites of themselves and were learning how to make a ball move across the screen from side to side by adding blocks of code. To see the excitement and enthusiasm on their faces at what they were creating was especially pleasing and they cannot wait to develop and build their animation into a game at Code Club next week! Computer Science is a thoroughly exciting and interesting subject which not only teaches the children how to code but also develops their computational thinking. Computer Science provides the children with insights into other STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects and this makes it a very important member of our broad curriculum here at Cargilfield.

We must not forget ICT however, and getting the right balance is important. As well as learning the nuts and bolts of how the computers work, the children are still logging on to our computers or iPads at Cargilfield. Teachers of other subjects at Cargilfield are using our ICT suites to word process, create PowerPoints and research the internet.

However, the fact that the children are gaining a better understanding of how things work will enable them to get a better understanding of the systems they are using and be able to solve problems when things don’t work. Children who can think computationally are more able to conceptualise and better equipped to function in modern society. As the well-known Dutch computer science engineer, Edsger W. Dijkstra famously remarked, “Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes”.

RM