2014 Champion Spotlight: Fingal Community College
Teachers, students and administrators accepting the first place prize for total skills mastered in the secondary division at the 2014 MATHletes National Championship
Today’s guest post comes from Sharon McGrath principal at Fingal Community College in Swords, Co. Dublin, who talks about the impact of that MATHletes & Khan Academy have had on the school.
MATHletes at Fingal CC
Fingal Community College are the 2014 MATHletes Challenge National Champions. The Challenge transformed the teaching and learning of mathematics in our school and made maths ‘cool’, fun and engaging.That’s no mean feat!
This innovative way to engage students in learning maths was introduced to Fingal Community College initially on a small scale by an single teacher in to her 2nd year maths class. The eagerness and enthusiasm of these 2nd year students was infectious and very quickly students in other classes and other year groups wanted to participate!
The maths teachers in Fingal CC quickly saw the potential of the MATHletes Challenge and grabbed the opportunity to promote the initiative among all Junior Cycle classes.The energy and enthusiasm of the teachers was the single most important factor in the success of the initiative. This zeal transferred to parents and students, and the entire project became was a remarkable example of all stakeholders working closely together towards a common goal.
The teaching and learning of maths in Fingal CC has been monumentally transformed by our involvement in the MATHletes Challenge. Self assessment and independent learning are key skills that Khan Academy fosters, and the fun and engaging nature of the competition made it a uniquely rewarding experience for all involved.
Benefits for StudentsIn Khan Academy students can practise maths at their own pace using the adaptive assessment environment. Students can make use of the extensive library of content, including interactive challenges, assessments, and videos from any computer with access to …Read More
2014 Champion Spotlight: Coláiste Bhaile Chláir
Coláiste Bhaile Chláir, MATHletes Challenge 2014 points per eligible student category winners in the Secondary Division from Co. Galway accepting their championship cup at the National finals in May.
Coláiste Bhaile Chláir was a new school for the 2013-14 year, with only 1st year students. All 160 CBC students participated in the Challenge – making it one of the few schools to have 100% participation, and helping catapult them up the leaderboards in the points per eligible student competition. CBC volunteered to host the MATHletes Connaught finals, and 11 of their student progressed to the National Championship in Dublin. Jake Larkin came in 3rd in Ireland for 1st years.
CBC teacher Gareth Callan and 2nd year student Jake Larkin talk about using Khan Academy at CBC and competing in the MATHletes Challenge.
listen to ‘Champion spotlight: Coláiste Bhaile Chláir’ on audioBoom(function() { var po = document.createElement(“script”); po.type = “text/javascript”; po.async = true; po.src = “https://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/cdn/embed.js”; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();A teacher perspective: Gareth Callan
What was one of your most memorable moments of the MATHletes Challenge?
‘We were proud to host the Connaught finals (at CBC). Students and parents were willing to give up their Saturday morning and travel great distances in some cases to compete.’How do you use Khan Academy in your class?
‘Khan Academy provided instant feedback to both me as a teacher and to my students’. It was great for students who wanted an extra bit of practice at a topic and students who wanted to fine-tune their skills. It allowed students to move at their own pace, and access it from anywhere as long as they had a device.’What advice do you have to teachers who are new to Khan Academy?
‘Khan Academy & MATHletes don’t have to be a stand alone lesson – you can give it so students who are struggling, …Read More