The Australasian Problem-Solving Mathematical Olympiads (APSMO)

The Australasian Problem-Solving Mathematical Olympiads (APSMO)

The Australasian Problem-Solving Mathematical Olympiads (APSMO) is a professional organisation that offers a range of mathematical competitions for students aged from around eight to 14. The programs are unique in that they focus on the students' ability to solve mathematical problems in a creative manner - as opposed to simply reaching a solution using a prescribed method.

In 2015 APSMO introduced the Maths Games to provide an opportunity for mainstream students in Years 5 and 6 to learn valuable problem-solving skills and exposes them to the application of mathematical problem-solving strategies and techniques.

Blackfriars has been running these programs for many years and when the Maths Games was introduced in 2015 our students in Year 5 were able to benefit from this program.

On Wednesday 6 March Blackfriars Priory School hosted the first workshop in South Australian run by the Australasian Problem-Solving Maths Olympiad. Pauline Kohlohoff was the presenter and she was able to engage the teachers there in problem solving activities that could be adapted to their own classrooms, aiming to give students a deeper conceptual understanding of Mathematics.

Along with teachers from other schools in Adelaide, two primary staff attended, Mrs Steph La Forgia and Mr Henry Vo and below is their reflection on the day.

Henry and I participated in a problem-solving conference which investigated problem solving strategies and how these can be applied through the Mathematics curriculum, giving students the opportunity to work and communicate mathematically while problem solving. A range of problem-solving strategies were modelled for each problem, as a way to explore how we can assist students with their mathematics.

I know the boys in my class will enjoy working through some of the hands-on tasks we tried to solve today.

Miss Valerie Frost

MATHEMATICS TEACHER