Inquisitive Minds Mathematics Incursion

Last week, the Years 3-6 girls participated in a Mathematics incursion facilitated by Inquisitive Minds. Each year group enjoyed an 80 minute session filled with problem-solving challenges.

Led by experienced Mathematics teacher, Debbie, the girls warmed up with brainteasers which emphasised the importance of approaching problems strategically. Through Debbie’s explicit teaching of some useful problem-solving skills, the girls were able to add a few more strategies to their tool kits. And then the fun really started as the girls raced to complete as many problems as they could in the Relay Challenge. Working collaboratively with a partner, the girls used their Mathematics content knowledge together with their problem-solving skills to answer as many tricky Mathematics problems as they could. Each group had their own problem-solving kit with manipulatives like tiles and 2D shapes to help them explore possible solutions using these concrete materials.

While some questions might have initially looked easy, the girls soon realised that jumping to assumptions about what they thought the question was asking led to an incorrect response. Debbie spoke about the importance of taking time to carefully read and interpret problems before just racing in. By working in pairs, girls were able to articulate their interpretation of each problem with their partner and had the opportunity to debate and discuss solutions. Another important learning point was the need to double check answers! With each correct answer, the girls received a prized stamp on their Stamp Chart! The more stamps they collected the better! It was a joy to see every girl across Years 3-6 engaging in this incursion with so much energy and persistence.

Congratulations to the girls for making the most of this wonderful learning opportunity.

Here are some images from the Incursion: