TIME CONFERENCE 2019

09.00 AM - 10.00 AM

Topic- Free Mathematical Software at School Level
Use of mathematical software and computer programming is becoming essential tools for teaching and learning mathematics in modern digital environment. Several mathematical software both free and commercial are available depending upon the level and topics that one wants to explore. There are several choices when it comes to dealing with higher mathematics, the mathematical software that can be used at school level are somewhat limited. In this document, we list some of the free mathematical software and programming languages along with their important features that can be used at school level in order to bring pedagogical benifit while teaching mathematics.

10.00 AM - 11.00 AM

Topic- Unifying Themes in High School Mathematics.
A central question facing any mathematics teacher is: how do we create a nurturing classroom? In this regard, the importance of finding unifying and cross-connecting themes (i.e., themes which cut across topics as well as classes) cannot be overstated. Such themes allow students to hang concepts on multiple pegs and strengthen comprehension and grasp of concepts and problem-solving abilities as well. We will present some work in this area which we feel is of relevance to high school mathematics teachers.

11.30 AM - 01.00 PM

Theme 1 & Theme 5

Theme 2

Theme 3

Theme 2 & Theme 5

12.00 PM - 01.00 AM

Topic- Computational Thinking in Mathematics Teaching and Learning
Computational thinking has been identified as an important skill for students who wish to pursue mathematics and mathematics related disciplines as a career. In fact the rapidly changing nature of these disciplines and the need to prepare students for careers in these disciplines has been the primary motivation for bringing computational thinking into classroom practices. Seymour Paper was the first to emphasise the importance of computational thinking by referring to the affordances of computational representations for highlighting powerful ideas. Over the decades many researchers have attempted to define computational thinking. In his book A new kind of science, Stephen Wolfram talks about the computational world, its relationship with the physical world and the importance of computational thinking. Jeanette Wing, in her seminal article, expressed that computational thinking involves solving problems, designing systems and understanding human behaviour by drawing on the concepts fundamental to computer science. While many definitions of CT may be found in the literature, all of them seem to focus on specific skills, such as, the ability to deal with challenging problems, representing ideas in computationally meaningful ways, creating abstractions for the problem at hand, breaking down problems into simpler ones, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a representation system and engaging in multiple paths of inquiry. These skills are also critical for mathematics learning and there is a common consensus on the understanding that CT skills have to be developed in mathematics classrooms right from the school years. However finding appropriate tasks which help to develop and elicit such thinking continues to be a key pedagogical challenge. Further teachers need to be empowered to create as well as integrate CT tasks in their lessons. The talk attempts to suggest some exploratory tasks which provide the opportunities to engage in computational thinking and also lead to learning important mathematical concepts. It also attempts to highlight the pivotal role of technology in engaging students and in steering them towards computational thinking. Examples of tasks ranging from iteration and recursion in fractal constructions to exploration of chaos and simulation of queues and games which were conducted with secondary school students will be discussed.

03.30 PM - 05.00 PM

Room 1

Paper Folding

Paper Folding

Encouraging bright students

Geogebra Basic

Geogebra Intermediate

05.30 PM - 07.00 PM

Special Session

08.00 PM - 10.00 PM

Cultural Program & Banquet Dinner

09.00 AM - 10.00 AM

Topic-Representations of Negative and Positive Quantities on a Brahmaguptan Plane for Indias Primary Classes
Childrens fear of maths is often associated with the introduction of negative numbers. By way of example, asking adult non-mathematicians for the answer to negative seven minus negative four usually results in a wrong answer. However, asking the same question to 12-year-old children in the form What does seven negatives minus four negatives equal? usually results in a right answer. Why is the difference in comprehension so dramatic? In the problematic expression negative seven minus negative four the syntactic structure is adjective adjective verb adjective adjective. With the absence of a noun, the meaning of such maths for most children is lost. Instead, children (and adults) cling to rules memorised without meaning, such as two minuses make a plus. So, what can we do? The answer is simple. We return to 7th Century writings of India, where we discover the astronomer Brahmagupta documented adjective-noun style laws of sign, not for abstract numbers, but for positive quantities, negative quantities and zero. With this insight, we depict simple object-oriented representations of integer arithmetic involving positive and negative quantities. Such a quantitative pedagogy is concrete in nature, yet isomorphic to signed numbers. Therefore, a solid intuitive foundation of integer arithmetic can be laid. Upon this foundation which more abstract structures can be built. The integer teaching model that emerges is called the Brahmaguptan Plane.

10.00 AM - 11.00 AM

The terrain of mathematics is uneven: there are peaks to climb, but there are also pits we can fall into, and bends we cannot see around. Yet, exploring the unknown is as joyful and rewarding in mathematics as in treks. What the explorer needs are good quality, reliable maps, that help without denying her the pleasure in exploring. We need to build good guide maps for mathematical explorations as well, that suggest, hint and point to directions while letting students discover on their own. The talk will attempt to discuss such tentative guides.

11.30 AM - 12.30 PM

Systems that facilitate self-directed learning This presentation explores the authors personal journey in teaching math and traces her path from teacher controlled work toward beginning to implement student user driven learning strategies in math. It begins by spelling out the need for different math learning strategies and progresses to illustrate student user output which she has savored over the years. Finally, it emphasizes the importance of letting go. She culminates with an attempt to express the inspiration that directed her journey. This article is a re ection of her 16-year journey in learning to teach math to school children Her inquiry into a different system of math teaching started when she saw the way some children arrived in her classes with broken self-esteem due to their failure in learning the subject. She felt the need for a different math The way of joy! Her journey has spanned explorations into what works, how and why? She has worked on instilling skills of math, but focused more on developing a healthy attitude to math and ones relation with it. She has worked on building in children the emotional strength to face their aptitude as it is. Through this quest, she has created a system of math that uses multiple strategies of teaching. This presentation is an accumulation of few of the strategies.

01.30 PM - 02.30 PM

Theme 1

Theme 2

Theme 3

Theme 4