Mathematics

“Think left and think right and think low and think high! Oh the thinks you can think up if only you try!” 

Dr Suess

My son posed to me just the other week, “What do you think it would be like having a $5 coin?” Hearing him ask this question made me forgive him for every absurd question he had ever asked (e.g. can I cook a steak in the toaster?) and praise him for thinking outside the square!

I adored this question for two main reasons. Firstly, it was a question that did not have a right or wrong answer and, therefore, could not be easily answered by Google. Secondly, by posing this question, my son demonstrated to me that he could think both critically and creatively and he further proved this in our discussion of the advantages, disadvantages and interesting aspects of having a $5 coin.

In Mathematics, students often experience questions as having either a right or wrong answer or that one solution method is better than another. Instead of asking questions such as “What is four times six?” we can ask “What are two numbers that multiply to give 24?” We have changed a question that has only one answer, to a question that has infinite answers simply by rephrasing the question. And, more importantly, we are training our students to think!

I am so excited to be joining the Kilbreda College community and to be leading a team of fabulous Mathematics teachers. 

I strongly believe in the importance of developing lifelong learners by encouraging students to be active participants in their learning experience. After all, we are preparing students for careers that do not yet exist. I would never have imagined that the Nokia 3210 I owned in high school would be replaced two decades later with a phone that allows me to watch my steamed vegetarian dumplings being delivered. And who knows, perhaps in another two decades, my son may be able to cook steak in a toaster!

Karen McMullen 

Learning Leader: Mathematics