Who do I want to be?
Mathematics Unit
Why do I need Maths?
This unit examines the importance of Mathematics in working life and how it underpins a number of careers.
Key Questions
- Why do you think Maths is so important for employment?
- What use is the Maths I learn at school?
- What kinds of Maths do nurses and doctors use?
- How would an engineer use Maths?
- How does an insurance company use Maths?
- How do other occupations use Maths?
Possible Development of Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities |
Developing pupils’ Knowledge, Understanding and Skills |
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Young people shoud have opportunities to develop knowledge and understanding of:
by demonstrating:
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Why do you think Maths is so important for employment? |
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Learning Intentions |
Possible Learning, Teaching and Assessment Activities |
…about how Maths is used in working life. … to experiment with ideas and questions. |
‘I don’t need Maths to do my job.’ In small groups, brainstorm and discuss if there are any jobs for which mathematics is not needed. List how maths is used in various jobs. What kind of categories keep coming up? Interview your parents or another adult about how they use maths in their job and everyday lives. Carousel* activity: Pupils work in groups, within a time limit, to write down their initial responses, thoughts, ideas and suggestions to statements about maths, for example:
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What use is the Maths I learn at school? |
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Learning Intentions |
Possible Learning, Teaching and Assessment Activities |
…about the role and uses of geometry. |
The study of shape and space is called geometry, a word that comes from Greek and means measuring the earth. Pupils engage in activities involving geometry used in other subjects and jobs. |
Choose from the following activities to explore aspects of geometry. Each group performs a different activity and reports back to the class |
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… to make connections between learning in different contexts. Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making |
Fashion design From a picture or piece of clothing, sketch the shapes that make up that garment. Pupils could then design an outfit, create a pattern and make the garment (or a scaled down version). Art link Cartography Cartographers use geometry for drawing maps. Ask pupils to choose an image from Google Earth or similar. Use this to draw a map. Architecture and Engineering Architects, builders and engineers use geometry to draw plans for building houses and other structures. Have a look at some building plans. What do you notice about them? What questions do you have on looking at them? Interior Design and Landscape Gardening Geometry is needed in home decorating, garden landscaping and for interior design. Draw up a plan for a garden or room at home. Remember to use and state the scale that you use Medicine Medical imaging (CAT, MRI, ultra sound and x-rays) requires knowledge of geometry. How have these impacted on our lives? If possible have a look at some of these images. IT A knowledge of geometry is needed to work in computer graphics to design characters and environments in games. Using Logo, design different shapes/graphics. Show how giving instructions to the turtle on how to move can be made less tedious by using simple equations. |
…about using equations. …to make links between cause and effect. Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making …about the role of algebra. …about using statistics and probability. …about the importance of mental maths. |
Show how equations are used to model the world around us. For example, engineers use them for designing bridges and buildings, economists and financial planners use them to describe relationships between money, time and products, and biologists use them to describe the actions of a particular gene. Ask pupils to think of a relationship between two things where a change in one affects the other. Write down this relationship in words. The word algebra comes from Arabic and means ‘the reunion of broken parts’. It replaces numbers with symbols. Ask the class can they replace the equation (from the activity above) with one involving symbols and numbers. Why do you think this format is used in computer programming? Statistics and probability provide ways to record observations and make predictions based on these. They are used in the financial and insurance industry to assess risk. Politicians use statistics and probability for election strategies. Statistics are used in manufacturing to assess reliability and used in law to prove the chance of something happening beyond reasonable doubt. Useful websites: www.stats4schools.gov.uk Mental maths is like a safety net to guard against mistakes, so you have an idea of what the right answer should be. Practise mental maths strategies as described in the Northern Ireland Mathematics Strategy.
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What kinds of Maths do nurses and doctors use? |
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Learning Intentions |
Possible Learning, Teaching and Assessment Activities |
… how maths calculations are used in different occupations. |
Nurses and doctors have a huge responsibility in administering medicine to patients. Each dose can depend on an individual’s body weight. What kinds of calculations would they have to do? What topics in maths would they need to have a very good understanding of? What could happen if a decimal point is put in the wrong place? Nurses and doctors need to:
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How would an engineer use Maths? |
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Learning Intentions |
Possible Learning, Teaching and Assessment Activities |
… to choose and justify a method for working. |
Engineers’ work involves making calculations for building structures and providing services such as water. Calculate the volume of concrete required to fill in a set of foundations, for example, 500mm depth of concrete in a trench of 10m x 12m. Calculate the amount of polystyrene beading needed to insulate cavity walls of height 2.5m and width 5.5m with a cavity gap of 100mm. Calculate the length of piping required to bring water from Silent Valley reservoir to Belfast . Useful websites: Institution of Civil Engineers: Education Zone Build a Bridge Challenge
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How does an insurance company use Maths? |
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Learning Intentions |
Possible Learning, Teaching and Assessment Activities |
… to evaluate different ways of solving a problem. Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making
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Insurance companies deal with the mathematics of risk. They estimate the probability of a loss and calculate a premium to be paid to insure for such a loss. If the loss happens, the insured person is compensated. In groups, estimate the probability of losing a textbook for a particular subject by a member of the class.
Research how insurance companies assess risk. Perhaps you could ask a guest speaker from an insurance company or loss adjusters. Discuss the different types of insurance available. How is life assurance different from all other types of insurance?
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How do other occupations use Maths? |
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Learning Intentions |
Possible Learning, Teaching and Assessment Activities |
In small groups or individually, choose a job or career area not already mentioned and research the maths used in it. Demonstrate an example of the maths used to the class. Useful websites: http://plus.maths.org/interview.html www.rss.org.uk Click on ‘Careers’. |
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Development of Learning Outcomes |
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Links with Key Elements |
Link with Learning for Life and Work |
Employability |
Employability Key concepts – Career Management Key concept – Work in the Local and Global Economy |