MATHCON- A Transition Year Module combining Mathematics and Wood

Technology
Katie O’ Dowd 17366171, Sarah Butler 17923812, Sean Merrins G00359010, Shaun Horan G00358873, Andy Daly G00356985

Overview The Scheme of Work Teaching Strategies and Resources

MathCon is a new short course developed for Transition Year students. This course takes strands from We have designed a scheme of work for a 45- hour short course transition module. These are the strategies we researched and some we used in our working scheme.
various subjects such as Construction Studies, Graphics and Maths. It is a fun, exciting course with a Topics include: Basic Principles of 2D Shapes, The Sphere, The Cube, The Cylinder, The Cooperating learning- getting students learn off each other via class discussion or group
mixture of theory and practical tasks. Some topics covered are: Pyramid, The Cone , The Prism and a Research Project. Below is a snapshot of the work.
• Shapes Scheme of Work, looking at the Prism topic: Differentiation- is important to allow every student to be involved from higher level students
• Sketching to students with special educational needs (Tomlinson, 2014)
• Design Real life examples lets students relate to the topic.
• Model Making Allowing for Visual, audio and kinetic learning to take place in the classroom. (Turville,
• Area & volume 2008)
Students will also learn numerous skills such: Technology in the classroom (Keith Topping, 2007)
• Problem Solving Skills Feedback- giving students feedback on their learning (Stephen Merry, Margaret Price, David
• Teamwork Skills Carless, Maddalena Taras, 2013) , allows for student reflection.
• I.T. Skills Resources- Lego, Matchsticks, mala, magnetics, paper, tech graph online, visualizes,
• Numeric Skills PowerPoint to help students visualize the shape.
At the end of the course students will conduct and present a research project on what they learned.

Assessment strategies
These are the strategies we will use to assess the students of our class.
Transition Year and The Junior Cycle Reforms Exit cards- get students to answer a simple question on what was covered in one of the lessons
Before we designed our module, we carried out research into curriculum change and transition year. Both and simply write it down and hand it back to the teacher, gives an idea to the teacher what
Mathematics and the Technology subjects have recently, or are currently going through, curriculum Research Project was learnt.
change. Transition year is a one-year course taken between the Junior Cycle and the two-year Leaving The Students will complete a Research Project to show the knowledge they have learned Discussion- have a class discussion at the end of the lesson, with the teacher asking all pupils a
certificate programme (Department of Education and Skills, 2019). We decided to design our module for and apply it to real life. We give the students a brief and they will investigate a shape question on the topic learned in class. Gives the teacher an outline on what individuals are
the transition year, with a similar design to the “transition units” being implemented in schools, e.g. which they have learned about and use them skills to present their knowledge through a learning.
“Artykats”, a transition unit between Wood technology and Art. Transition year acts as a bridge between poster or model. This project encourages students to critically think about how to Socratic Questioning- a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals,
Junior Cycle and Leaving Cert, so the content is designed for this level of difficulty, without drawing in present information in a professional way. They will learn various skills and topics such based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas.
Leaving Cert content. The transition year aims to prepare them for their role as autonomous, participative, as: Think-Pair-Share- is a collaborative learning strategy in which students work together to solve a
and responsible members of society (NCCA, 2019), hence, this module incorporates examples from • Sketching/ shading problem or answer a question about an assigned reading.
industry, learning through investigation and a final research project. This is to ensure the stakeholders see • Volume, area and nets Heads Up- is a game where students teach each other to learn while the teachers can assess
the benefits of the course- the skills gained are outlined in this poster. • Developments the student's knowledge through a fun interactive classroom.
We carried out an informal survey during a 2nd Year Mathematics class to find out about interest in the • IT skills
fields this module would be aimed at: • Scale and enlargements
• Degrees and angles
• Model making
• Composite shapes
• Design
• Materials
• Working drawings
Here we see examples of the students brief they will investigate and the research poster Improved Mathematical and Technological
they will present
skills gained.
These are the specific skills that will be developed during the module:
The Junior Certificate has changed to the Junior Cycle, the difference being now the teachers correct 40% Mathematical Skills:
continuous assessment throughout the three-year cycle , with the exam at the end worth 60% (Skills, • Using Formulae to Calculate Volume and Area
2015). ​ . • Understanding Proportions and Ratios
This takes the pressure off the final exam and with continuous assessment like the CBA’s classroom-based • Analysing statistics and research
assessment allows students to get feedback on their work and learning (Skills, 2015). ​ • Using mathematical software e.g. GeoGebra
There were many protests to the change as teachers now have a bigger workload than before with the JC
reform. In 2014 the ASTI members voted for a strike over the Junior Cycle, they argued that students will Technological Skills:
become less motivated for the exam and the exam won't have its high-status base.(Barry, S. 2019). • Technically Drawing different 3-Dimensional Shapes
The new Junior Cycle focuses on key skills such as being creative and working with others, so this • Designing and creating
transition module will incorporate these key skills. • Shading

References
•1.Keith Topping, S. E. (2007). Peer-assisted Learning. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Stephen Merry, Margaret Price, David Carless, Maddalena Taras. (2013). Reconceptualising Feedback in Higher Education: Developing dialogue with students. New York: Routledge.
•2. Tomlinson, C. A. (2014). The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners, 2nd Edition. USA.
•3. Turville, J. (2008). Differentiating by Student Learning Preferences: Strategies and Lesson Plans. New York: Eyeon Education In
• Stephen Merry, Margaret Price, David Carless, Maddalena Taras. (2013). Reconceptualising Feedback in Higher Education: Developing dialogue with students. New York: Routledge.
•Department of Education and Skills. (2019). Transition Year. [online] Available at: https://www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Information/Curriculum-and-Syllabus/Transition-Year-/Transition-Year.html [Accessed 4 Nov. 2019].
NCCA. (2019). Transition Year | NCCA. [online] Available at: https://www.ncca.ie/en/senior-cycle/programmes-and-key-skills/transition-year [Accessed 4 Nov. 2019].