(developing thinking in algebra)

If you have any questions about any of your assignments then you should ask your tutor or you could post a message on the module forum. The tutors are all running tutorials that deal with this (and other) assignments.

This TMA (as with others) is an opportunity for you to show your tutor that you have read and engaged with the module material. So, wherever possible refer to the core textbook and say how ideas in it fitted with what you did, noticed or felt.

Make sure you reference materials correctly. There is advice on the ME625 website. You also need to look at the marking criteria. This will show you what your tutors are looking for. Your tutor will give marks for each question part.

Look at the Pass 1 to Pass 4 marking criteria, which are cumulative. This means that to get a Pass 2 you also have to satisfy the criteria for Pass 3 and Pass 4. Before you start this TMA, read the feedback your tutor wrote on your PT3 for TMA01 and also the comments on your script.

You should structure your TMA in the same way as the questions, for example 1a, 1b etc. This will help you to check that you have answered all parts of the questions.

Do not ‘throw’ a list of module ideas at your TMA! The ideas you use should be relevant to the questions you are answering. You should aim to show why you used these module ideas, how you used them and what impact you think they had.

At the end of every question put the word count.

Question 1 (1000 words) – 50 marks

This question is about you as a learner.

Select a total of two mathematics tasks from Chapters 5, 6, 7 and 8. You cannot choose tasks from the same chapter. You must work on these tasks yourself and send in your work with your TMA as supporting evidence in an appendix.

There are three parts to this question: 1a has 10 marks with 200 words; 1b has 20 marks with 400 words and 1c has 20 marks with 400 words. You need to answer all 3 parts of this question.

Question 1a is descriptive where you explain how you did the tasks but you must also explain why you did them the way you did.

For Question 1b, you need to explain how you used generalising. You must also explain how you used another module idea in addition to generalising when you were working on the tasks. It is unlikely that you will notice these while you are doing the tasks. Give yourself time to reflect on the way you did the tasks.

Question 1c involves reflective writing. Again you need to give yourself time to think about the way you did the tasks. You also need to explain why you did them in a particular way and link this to module ideas. If you used ICT you could include it here.

Question 2 (1000 words) – 50 marks

This question is about you planning to use an algebraic task with your learner(s). You are not required to use the task with your learner(s) for this question.

There are twoparts to this question: 2a has 15 marks with 300 words; 2b has 35 marks with 700 words. You need to answer both parts of this question.

For Question 2a, you need to choose a page of algebraic tasks or exercises. These can come from anywhere. You must consider how the exercises or tasks on the page offer your learner(s) opportunities to specialise and generalise. Only consider one page in order to keep your ideas focused.

For Question 2b, you must make an alternative page which might include the use of ICT that covers the same content as the page from Question 2a.You must explain how the alternative page uses generalising and at least one other ME625 module idea. Do not try to include too many module ideas. You must explain how your alternative page will enhance your learners’ understanding of generality. It is important that you consider how your learner(s) might work on the alternative page.

You will need to include the original page and your alternative version. These can be annotated to show use of module ideas.