Student book in mathematics

At my last school, the school policy was that students in Years Eight to Ten have a working platform for each subject. In high school, a large folder was accepted. In Mathematics, a work platform was considered more appropriate in the High School. Below are some suggestions I made to teachers in my Mathematics Department Handbook regarding how students set up their book work to get the maximum benefit for them.

What is also important to note here was that, at that time, in the higher mathematical syllables, there was a communication criterion as part of the general evaluation procedure. Therefore, it was important from the beginning of high school that students were taught how to communicate their mathematics effectively. The job tips in the book below were the beginning of that process.

Staking suggestions:

Although teachers may have their own ideas about getting started, the following are some ideas to consider:

1. Use a margin: it can be used for numbers of exercises, etc.

2. Write the date, the textbook references, that is, the page, the exercise number, the question. This helps students and teachers keep track of their work for review etc.

3. Pages can be classified in the following ways to facilitate logical layout.

(a) Divide the page into 3 sections: a narrow margin on the left; a small working column on the right and a larger section in the middle to show the logic schema.

(b) The second option is to divide the page in two halves to show the operation logically. Add a narrow margin to the left of each half. (This option would be useful in middle school classes where exercising is less burdensome than in upper classes.)

(c) In each case, the student would write the date; textbook page reference; and the exercise number at the top of the page. The number of the question being attempted will be placed in the margin.

(d) Lastly, the student would mark a line on the page below each completed question. (Some teachers often asked their students to underline the answer as well.)

4. Encourage students to work across the page rather than across the page. This makes checking easier.

5. Neatness is essential with special emphasis on numbers, symbols and algebraic terms to avoid errors in recognition that lead to incorrect answers.

The book work assessment was part of the assessment program in my school’s high school classes. Consequently, there were two important points involved in this evaluation. The first was that all work was verified and correct, while the second was that all work and explanations should be displayed logically and clearly.

It is important that teachers check progress in this area in Junior classes. It could be in a formal way (that is, taking the books from the whole class to check) or informally (that is, making a random selection of students’ work).

Teachers were expected to date and initial the books as they viewed them and to offer written and verbal advice to the student on their progress.

One last comment: Below, for your consideration, is a notice about book work that I saw outside of a Junior class intended to encourage students to take their book work seriously.

Book work should always be presented in an orderly manner.

Take the time to write neatly and present your work correctly.

Be proud of the presentation of your written work.