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Dave Taylor Profile picture
Dave Taylor
@taylorda01
Lead Practitioner (0.8), Leeds. Improving golfer (0.2), 14.0. Former world's youngest person, 1986. 16th year in schools, 1st in current (2023-'24).
Mar 26 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
I also took a little time to note down some big things... Teach kids the right maths. Year 8 calculating using numbers in standard form because they're 13 is not the way. I recently took on a class who, when dividing numbers in standard form, couldn't divide 7 by 2 (6.1, apparently). Get prerequisites nailed before you move them on.
Mar 26 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
I took a little time to make a few notes on some little things that I think make a massive difference. Know pupils' names. Greet them by name with a smile, no matter how badly their last lesson went.
Say Hi on the corridors, and be approachable.
We're on the same team.
Nov 10, 2023 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
Curriculum... a thread 🧵

Since 2017 I've thought a lot about curriculum. In my sixteen years in the classroom, I've followed schemes of learning based on textbooks, from exam boards and 'for our kids'. Most of them (most... the one which had Pythagoras before squares and roots stands out) had a decent sequence for learning mathematics. The problem was that they never seemed to get the job done.
Nov 4, 2023 • 20 tweets • 3 min read
I think that my least favourite thing in the maths work room is when someone doesn't put the whole ream of paper in the photocopier.
My second least favourite thing is when someone says USE MINI WHITEBOARDS without giving any further instruction.
A long(ish) thread 🧵... I can think of a few uses of mini whiteboards which are sub-optimal, such as:
- using them as plates
- using them as a 'steel chair' and whacking your mate over the head
- using them to doodle
- using them instead of an exercise book
May 20, 2023 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
I thought that the OCR Higher Maths P4 yesterday was nice and accessible, whilst being suitably challenging for the more able pupils. Here are a couple of notable absences that I'll be directing my 11s to over the next few weeks.
Mar 6, 2023 • 15 tweets • 4 min read
Teaching year 10 higher attainers last week.
Solving 2x + 2 > 8 (or something), and G writes 2x = 6, x = 3.
Me: "That's not right mate. x isn't equal to 3. What does that sign in the question mean? What is it?" G: "It's a crocodile."
I slam my hand on the desk and everyone stops working. G laughs as I walk to the front with a smile on my face to write the question on the board.
Jun 25, 2022 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
🧵BACKWARD FADING: For me, THE key role of BF worked examples in lessons is to develop problem solving strategies in pupils. Generic problem solving strategies aren't necessarily helpful, and a lot of domain-specific knowledge is needed.
Let's look at what this looks like... A novel idea is introduced to pupils after checking prereq. knowledge is good-to-go. The idea is shared in full, and understanding checked with mini-whiteboards. This will take a few goes - me, them, then me, then them, to the point that pupils can replicate the new idea in full.
Jun 23, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
This week's releases bring up the big FIVE-OH for BACKWARD FADED MATHS activities available at taylorda01.weebly.com.

This kind of achievement would bring polite applause from all around at Headingley! It's #mathsconf29 on Saturday, and because I'm in Kettering presenting on Backward Fading, I've decided that the activities I'll share are by me. The first of which is 'Expected Values Using Probability'... Image
Nov 28, 2021 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
tes.com/news/gcses-pup…

Why is every answer to education problems 'More money' instead of 'As a society, let's reform how we view and support education'? "My Year 9s aren't doing their homework"
Oct 16, 2021 • 17 tweets • 6 min read
In my @LaSalleEd #mathsconf27 session today, I talked about @AQAMaths and their Level 2 Further Maths qualification, amongst other things.

Here's a short version of what you might have missed: Students who we deem as 'secondary ready' are probably able to achieve a grade 2 or 3 at GCSE. Higher attainers definitely capable of a grade 4 or 5.
Jan 12, 2021 • 16 tweets • 5 min read
I've been thinking a lot about how to get over the issues highlighted in the image below.
After just four weeks, if you're massing, students are performing at a level less than half of what they were.
So... how can I get spacing right? Image I've started planning differently to how I used to. I'll use 'Fractions' as an example, with all of my lessons in the same .notebook file rather than individual objectives. This helps me to space out ideas and concepts in the exercises I set. 'Fractions' has 140 slides.