Taking full advantage of the fine weather, our Year 9 Maths students were presented with the task of counting all the clover flowers on the Main House lower terrace. The initial plan had been to count daisies but the ever active gardeners had mown my specimens.
The group was divided into 3 teams, provided with metre sticks and had then to work out a method of counting. The groups needed to use initiative, cooperation, problem solving and all to a fixed time limit. Most worked out fairly early on that counting every flower on the terrace was not going to be achievable in the single lesson and that some system of averages and randomisation was needed for the most representative results. Each group submitted a solution including method, a scale drawing (quote of the day “is your foot a foot”), calculations and proposed improvements.
Overall a great afternoon in the sunshine, learning about statistics and working cooperatively. We could get used to taking full advantage of the fine weather!
Peter Walsh, Teacher of Maths