AS Maths Masterclass

In this first masterclass, the focus of the lesson is that the students will take a key role in producing the formulae for the Arithmetic series themselves, rather than just being told what the formula is and then being expected to apply the formula. Prior to attending the lesson, it is expected that the learner is familiar with the concepts of series and sequence, that they can evaluate and formulate nth terms (in accordance with standard GCSE requirements), and that they have a basic working knowledge of the sigma notation for series...........

In this second masterclass, the students will appreciate the diverse applications of this ancient subject; the motivation of the learners is tackled by the lesson drawing on a large range of visual aids. Kinesthetic learning is utilised effectively through two IWB exercises, and the demonstration spreadsheet package serves to consolidate understanding of the trigonometrical graphs with their algebraic counterparts, albeit at the expense of the (unnecessary) CAST diagram.............

In this third masterclass, through experiment, the students will produce the formula for the derived function of a polynomial expression. The approach of this lesson is unmistakably student-centred with the learner experiencing a real sense of achievement as they test their predictions and prove their results from first principles...........

In this fourth masterclass the students will find areas under curves using the techniques of polynomial integration and proceed to find approximate areas by applying the trapezium rule. The focus of the lesson revolves around the true understanding of why definite integration works when we need to find exact areas under a curve. This fact is often overlooked in the modern curriculum, when the emphasis is all too often placed on “teaching the student to pass the test”..............

In the fifth and final masterclass in this series, the students will appreciate the role played by logarithms in today’s technological society. They will become competent at translating between the indicial and logarithmic forms and their ability to work confidently with logarithms to any base will prove an invaluable grounding for more advanced applications later in the course. The focus of the lesson revolves around the connection between the fundamental ideas of indices and the equivalent logarithmic form..............