Mathematical Minds

“This was a really cool project but made me realise how hard it is to actually prove something in Maths. We had lots of ideas but we solved each other’s solutions quickly, proving they didn’t work, we were even doing some of the work outside of the lessons to help for next time” Cole 6PME

The Year 6’s have been developing their understanding of Mathematical proof. For this challenge, the students were given a statement to try to prove or disprove. They had to decide: how they would approach the problem, create theories and test them as well as collaborate with each other along the way to make the most of the time that they had. They question they were trying to prove; Can all maps be completed using 4 colours or better? Alternatively, there are no maps that need 5 colours to complete. As simple as it sounds, it has been difficult to prove Mathematically. 

The project has taken place over four lessons, recording their findings and thoughts along the way using the Japanese method of Bansho. This is where all ideas, questions, solutions and guidance are recorded on the whiteboard, often wall size or bigger. This enables the students to see the progress they have made, have visual reminders and cues on what stage the investigation is up to and record reflections along the way to better direct their learning. The Year 6’s have done a phenomenal job working on this project, collaborating and truly demonstrating many aspects of the leader learner profile. 

Hear a few thoughts from our students about their work so far:

“I have really liked this project because every time we seem to find an answer, it just made us ask more questions and we had more to find out.” Merijn 6LKO

“I loved doing this because we had so much freedom and chances to be really creative to find a solution. We decided what we had to find out and it was awesome working as a group like this too. I hope we can do more of this again.” Carlotta 6LKO

“This was a really cool project but made me realise how hard it is to actually prove something in Maths. We had lots of ideas but we solved each other’s solutions quickly, proving they didn’t work, we were even doing some of the work outside of the lessons to help for next time” Cole 6PME

 

“The best thing about trying to answer the questions was that there is no right and wrong and everyone’s ideas were used. Usually, we do a calculation and find an answer, but with this we were trying to prove the answer, which is really hard” Oliver 6PHA

“It was great having the space to do this and leave our work up up on board. We all decided what was chosen to go on the wall though which made it fair. It really helped to tell us what we needed to focus on and where we got up to last time too.” Sophie 6LKO