Working as a Maths Ambassador on the Isle of Sheppey

Last Thursday, I was working as a student ambassador at the Isle of Sheppey at the Isle of Sheppey Academy. The isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England in the Thames Estuary, some 46 miles (74 km) to the east of London.

My role was to support two Further Maths Support Programme co-coordinators in delivering presentations to year 10 and 11 students from the Academy, encouraging them to study Mathematics up to the age of 18 by studying A Levels in Mathematics and Further Mathematics.  My role was to deliver a 5 minute talk about the degree I am  studying which is BSc Hons Mathematics, what my degree entails and where I hope to go after the completion of my undergraduate degree. I also outlined the differences between school/ college life and university life. The main difference which I strongly emphasized was the need for more independent study at undergraduate level.

There were lots of useful hints and tips with regards to what the major topics of mathematics students should be confident in. Some of these topics are; algebra, understanding and the use of trigonometry, standard angles and their ratios, Pythagorean triples, Language – identity, equation, expression, ratio, root, solution, asymptote. 

One of the major points which was stressed throughout the duration of the presentation was that students who are interested in studying Mathematics and Further Mathematics at A Level was that they should continue to keep practicing throughout the summer holidays. Of course this is not what most students expect to hear, spending their summer holidays studying maths, however, for those keen students who are eager to do well and gain top grades on their A Levels and gain admission into University it is essential.

One of the reasons mathematics is so useful in the modern world is that the amount of technology we are using is increasing all the time.  New technology relies on a lot of mathematics. In computing and mobile technology for example, programming requires mathematically proficient people. Games depend on using A level maths idea to create realistic artificial environments. Mobile networks involve the application of techniques introduced in Decision maths.

Unfortunately the supply in the UK of good mathematicians is not enough to keep pace with the demand by employers, - hence there are plenty of career opportunities for mathematically able young people.

Back from Bangladesh

Hey, my dear reader’s I’m back from my home country and what have I come back to? Bad weather. Well truthfully, it wasn't much better back home. It was very cold and chilly, just without the rain and snow.

So during my holidays I had lots of fun. I went back for my cousin’s wedding, as I mentioned in my previous blog prior to leaving for my trip. There were three major parties. Ceremonies throughout the two weeks I was there, all of which took place after the New Year. 

On the 2^nd of Jan was the mehndi party, which is a traditional party which can take place a few days before or even the day before the wedding. All three events were held in the evening at or after 7pm. The bride (my cousins) wore bright yellow and all her friends and I wore purple. I believe it was a good contrast. The evening was enjoyable overall. Relaxing with the family and taking pictures with my cousin.  There was also a yummy cake that we fed the bride and she fed us, and at the end of the evening the cake was cut up and distributed among the guests who attended the party.

On the 4^th of Jan (coinciding with my brother’s birthday) was the day of the wedding, again it was an evening programme. This time everyone wore different colours and the bride wore red – similar to chilly red colour. I wore hot pink and my mum wore royal blue. This time I guess the event was more emotional compared to the mehndi party as we were giving the bride away at the end of the night. However before the sad moment arrived, we all did have great fun.

On the 8^th January was the walima party and this time we had to travel to Dhaka from Sylhet where the ceremony was taking place. The walima party is from the groom’s side where as the wedding party is from the bride’s side. Considering it takes between 4 to 6 hours by car to get to Dhaka, we all had to wake up quite early. This time it involved an overnight stay at a hotel in Dhaka as it would be too tiring to get there, attend the ceremony and then come back to Sylhet all in one day. The ceremony was once again took place in the evening. The day after the programme, everyone went back to Sylhet and the bride and groom came back to stay with us for a few days.

Overall it was a really good holiday and I enjoyed it very much.

One more week to go

Yay! It’s only one more week to go before I fly out to Bangladesh with my Mum. I fly out on Wednesday 26^th December. I’m so excited. This year I am going to attend my cousin sister’s wedding ceremony. Last year I went over there for my cousin brother’s wedding (her elder brother). It was a really interesting and exciting experience, so I am definitely looking forward to going back this winter holidays too.

I still haven’t started packing yet, as I still have lots to do in terms of my University studies over the next two days. Tomorrow I have my Mathematics in Society lecture at 10am in the morning. Uff, I really dislike early morning lectures. Considering I’m not a morning person, I think afternoon lectures suit me best. Well I am more alert and awake anyways.

On Friday, I have my placement at Wanstead High School, however considering it will be a half-day for the students, seeing as it’s the end of term, I will only have to participate in two lessons, and I still have to plan a starter activity for my Year 9 class. Over the past several weeks I have been lo0oking forward to carrying out my placement at Wanstead High School. The staff and students are all friendly and helpful, so I think so far my placement is going successfully, and this experience also makes me look forward to being a full-time teacher, sometime in the future.

It’s quite a short blog this week, but there’s not much else to say. Who knows? I may have some exciting stories with regards to my adventures in Bangladesh to tell you about after the New Year. So till then my readers, keep reading J

Busy!

Last week was quite a busy week for me as I had work for the first four days – Monday to Thursday, and then of course I had my placement at Wanstead High School on Friday. 

Work on Tuesday and Thursday was most interesting. On both days I was working on the Greenwich campus. Interviews were held on both days in the Computing and Mathematical Sciences Department. On Tuesday, the film and television interviews were taking place so the majority of students attending the interviews were predicted to achieve AAB or above for their A Level examinations which they are due to complete by the end of June 2013. My main role was to help answer any general questions they had with regards to university life, accommodation, etc.

On the Thursday, prospective maths students and other film students were being interviewed. Although I started work at a later time of 1:30 on Thursday (compared to Tuesday, when I started at 11:45pm) due to the fact that my lecture finished at 1pm, I enjoyed Thursday’s work much more. Perhaps it was because the prospective students were being interviewed for the subject I am currently studying. It was nice to talk to these students about the modules that were going to be studied in the first and second years of the Mathematics degree. They also had other questions with regards to extra–curricular activities within the Maths Department. I was able to talk about the student Maths Society which is a society that comprises of 7-10 maths students that organise various events and trips for all the maths students studying at the university. Past events which have taken place are- Ice- Skating, Trips to Thorpe Park, Christmas Balls as well as many others. I was also able to advise the prospective students that they have to be in their second year of study to be part of the Maths Society team.

Other things which they could do include being a second year mentor to the first year students – helping the first years settle in during the first few weeks of University life. Taking part in these extra–curricular activities is really impressive for the CV, and it shows employers that you’re capable not only academically but socially as well, which is always a bonus, especially working within a team environment.

My placement working at Wanstead High School

For the past six weeks or so I have been doing a placement at Wanstead High School. I go to the School every Friday to help out and sometimes do some starter lessons with the year 7, 8 and 9 class. Although this placement is part of my final year undergraduate programme, I believe that it is relevant experience for me to become a secondary school teacher. Doing this placement also gives me the added benefit of strengthening my PGCE application.  One of the requirements of a PGCE programme is to secure a minimum of 10 full, working days in a classroom setting, and so by doing the placement at Wanstead High School, I wou8ld be fulfilling this criteria.

Aside from doing the placement and attending my other maths courses, I also need to focus on writing up my personal statement, in my opinion, writing personal statements can be quite tricky, as sometimes there can be so much to write about, however I need to only think about the relevant points which would interest the admission tutors, reading my application.

The most important characteristics to have, to be a successful school teacher is to be motivating, a good listener and patience. Of course there are many other character traits which are also just as necessary, such as good organisational skills, communication and practical.

I aim to submit my PGCE application by early December, so hopefully I can hear back from some universities to attend an interview. Practicing interview techniques is also important, as I want to make a good impression and show that I am a keen and serious learner, and I am eager to do well, if I were to be successful in securing a place on the PGCE Secondary Education programme.

Maths at Uni

Maths at university can be fun and interesting, but that’s only if you’re determined to work hard and be successful in your studies. It is more in depth and covers a much broader range of topics. My best piece of advice would be to study A Level Further Maths. It’s really useful, as some of the topics are repeated, especially within the first term.

Top tips to be successful for the exams would be to practice maths regularly. Try and do some maths every day even for at least an hour or two (if you can manage it). Practising maths regularly, helps keep your brain sharp and you find it easier to remember important formulae, and methods of solving mathematical problems.

Studying maths daily means that you complete the topics quickly leaving you more time to tackle past exam papers. It is best to do past papers under exam papers, without using the textbook. Doing past papers gives a good idea of the topics which you are most confident in and other topics, which you may need to, go back and revise again. By doing lots of past papers you can improve your understanding of maths, and overall improve you’re a Level grades.

My final piece of advice is to try and get it right from the beginning. Don’t depend on retaking the module again at a later time. Retaking modules again and again just adds more pressure and increases the workload, as you have to do well in the modules you are currently studying and also the modules you retake. Another reason not to be dependent on retakes is that students don’t get an opportunity to retake modules as easily as to when doing retakes in college. So of course, it’s a really good idea to get used to it, students who study hard and thoroughly at college life, find the transition from college or sixth form to university much easier and smoother.

Good Weekend!

I would say that I had quite a good weekend. It was Eid-Ul-Adha on Friday, which was really nice. My family and I didn’t go out or anything, as both my parents had work and my brother had university classes. So my family was busy overall, just as if it was a normal day.

Overall, we just had a peaceful and relaxing afternoon and evening, with us all just watching TV and just generally chatting together

Oh yeah and the time changed on Sunday. I read some of my messages on my Facebook account, and a lot of my friends were awake before 7am. I had to check the date to make sure it was Sunday, and not Monday, otherwise that would mean that I would have been late for work, which is a big ‘no no’. But waking up on Sundays before 7am seems so pointless for me. I guess I am one of those people who prefer my sleep, rather than watching TV or doing something else, whatever it is people do early mornings on a weekend. Although, saying that, I guess it is good practice for the weekdays, so we can get used to the time change.

On Sunday, my aunt and uncle came over to my house. My aunt is my dad’s sister. It was quite a long visit and for some reason I wasn’t feeling so sociable. I have seen them quite often over the last two months, so their visit wasn’t so exciting or special. My uncle is going back to Bangladesh on Wednesday, so that was his last visit before he goes back to his home country. I didn’t mind them coming to my house or anything, but I guess I was having one of those days, where I just wasn’t feeling so chipper.