Trinity Maths

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KS3 - KS4 (Years 7 - 11)

Mathematics

Description

This incredibly detailed interactive teaching resource comes on a single disc and is intended to aid teachers of GCSE Mathematics to optimise their use of Interactive Whiteboards within their lessons. Of particular note is the fact that this title has been produced by practising teachers within Trinity Church of England School. It seems to be one of an ever-growing number of such resources where classroom teachers have seen that what they have created for their own use, could be used in schools across the country. This innovative approach has ensured that other schools can benefit from the exceptional content contained in this package. Some people might argue that teachers should be freely sharing such resources on one of the plethora of teacher resource websites that are available. However, when one sees the content included on this there is no question that the disc represents exceptional value for money.

Purpose of the Program

The disc contains a vast quantity of activities that are aimed for use as starters, main or plenary activities on an interactive whiteboard within KS3 and GCSE Mathematics lessons. These resources are presented by way of an easily accessed menu from which the user can select the activity they want to try and as they dig deeper into the menu they can select activities that are appropriate to their ability level. So as a result students could use this product to revise aspects of work covered in class. Having selected a wide range of activities on this disc, I am in no doubt that this title is an extremely engaging resource that will invigorate some aspects of the Mathematics Curriculum by harnessing the power of an interactive whiteboard. Having said this, the program is equally powerful when used on a standard PC and monitor.

Teacher Controls

The teacher (and indeed the student) can select tasks appropriate to their own level – and for that reason it is a tool that can be perfectly tailored to the needs of individual students. The fact that each activity has innumerable variations means that students can continually try them until they either grasp the concept, or choose to ask for further assistance from the classroom teacher.

From what I have been able to ascertain, a huge amount of the KS3 and GCSE syllabus is covered in this program – the main categories of content (found on the main menu) are: Numbers; Fractions, Decimals and Percentages; Calculations; Equations and Formulae; Sequences and Functions; Geometry; Shape & Space; Measures; Handling Data and Probability. All in all there over 60 sub-categories of activity, each of which has separate levels of task to suit the ability level of the student. Furthermore each activity has a range of variables providing many variations of outcome for each activity.

Appropriateness

Content appropriate for target age group

Activities pitched at the right level

Suitable vocabulary

Activities relevant and easy to access

I have seldom seen a teaching resource of such high quality. The content is exceptional in its depth and scope and gives all users the chance to exploit interactive capabilities of the software to support learning. At no point are any features gimmicky or superfluous – each activity has been well thought out to ensure that each screen is used to the maximum. For this evaluation I looked at 50 of the activities and in each case all were clearly focused on the learning objective.

Ease of Use

Clear installation instructions

Classroom resources included

Easy to navigate

Logical progression of content

Lesson plans/ideas for use in the classroom

Suitable for Whiteboard use

Suitable for lesson starters

Suitable for whole class teaching

Suitable for individual use

Whilst this CD-ROM is clearly aimed at teachers for starter, main or plenary sessions using an interactive whiteboard, it could be easily used by individual students at standard PCs as no functionality relies solely upon the features of an IWB. The instructions are easy to follow and navigation within the title is not complicated.

Quality

Good quality images, video, sound

British English spellings

Courseware available

Activities easy to access

Activities become more difficult

Put simply, this title is a superb resource. The content has been well thought out and cleverly presented. In all cases the screens are clear and, if you know your maths, easy to follow. Clever use has been made of colour as this allows certain elements of each activity to be emphasised at once without overloading the user with information. This is the sort of product I wish I could have written myself! It is a joy to use.

Includes materials for lower achievers

Includes materials for gifted and talented

Ideas represent good practice

The sub-menu structure of each main topic is laid out with user ability in mind. The user can select an activity appropriate to their own ability level. The text is large and the language used is as simple and concise as it can be without being patronising. The most complex are sympathetically worded and accessible to students of all levels of ability.

I am hugely impressed by this product. It is outstanding in terms of its design and content, and its main recommendation is that it was written by a practising teacher. I have seen many titles intended for use with interactive whiteboards but never have I seen one that allows teachers to exploit interactivity and the main features of an IWB to the degree that this program does.

Students who are introduced to this title will undoubtedly enjoy the experience. There are many cases where complex topics will be understood more easily as a result of using this product.

The activities themselves are engaging and it is possible to become immersed in each one. As the designer has used a wide range of variables in the activities it means that there is no sense that a user can predict an answer – unlike many similar titles which seem to cycle through a handful of alternatives.

I would like to pay particular compliment to the thought that has been given to the design and layout of each screen. At no time did I ever feel I was being confronted with too much information.

All in all Trinity Maths is a truly fantastic title which deserves a place in the library of every school Maths department in the country.

Read KS3 Classroom evaluation...

Product Overview

This product is published by eStarters Ltd (Tel: 0161 962 5005)