This cartoon isn’t the funniest one I’ve seen but it made me smile and it got me thinking that this is a great way to help kids remember the name of angles less than 90 degrees. I’ve heard the joke … Read on…

In the last article on subtraction, we looked at how to subtract using renaming. I hope you’ll agree, it is much more logical (and no more difficult) than borrow and payback. However, there’s one final argument I want to put … Read on…

Now that we’ve played around with renaming numbers, (for example 38 can be renamed as “20 18″), it’s time to put it into action when we’re subtracting. Let’s look at the following subtraction problem: 34 – 16.

In the old … Read on…

In last week’s article, I argued that the “borrow and payback” way of subtracting is not effective for understanding subtraction, particularly Place Value, which is a backbone of basic maths. This time, I’m going to show you how to help your child … Read on…

I’m in my mid-30s and I am amazed that the words “borrow and payback” are still mentioned in primary schools outside of a history lesson. Almost a quarter of a century ago, I learned how to subtract in what was … Read on…

I recently went along to the Association of Teachers’/Education Centres in Ireland (ATECI) Conference, which was entirely focused on Maths, the theme being: Does it all add up? The conference was aimed at both primary and second level equally so … Read on…

There was a lot of activity in Ireland during Maths Week this year and it is positive to see how people are beginning to see the huge importance of Maths in everyday life. I decided to try and get some … Read on…

We’re constantly being told that the mathematics curriculum must represent real life situations. I completely agree with this and as we’re living in a digital age, it’s never been more important.

The maths curriculum in Ireland has managed to sway … Read on…

What does atan(y,x) do? If you did well in your Leaving Certificate Honours Maths paper this year, you probably know the answer. If, like me, your Leaving Cert is a long distant shuddering memory that comes up in dreams … Read on…