Brian Fitzsimons, St Mary’s High School, Downpatrick
Ken Houston, University of Ulster
Introduction
The purpose of this article is to share some ideas on the use of spreadsheets
in the teaching of GCSE mathematics and to inform the reader of the availability
of a software package (Mac or PC) which can be obtained from the first
author (BF) for the price of a disc plus postage.
The resource provided is a simplified guide to getting started with
spreadsheets together with some simple applications. Our survey of teachers
indicated that they would welcome a self-instructional pupil workbook on
getting started, which would also be useful to teachers themselves. The
survey indicated that teachers’ main criticism of currently available materials
on the use of spreadsheets is that the manuals go into far too much detail
to start with, and most non IT teachers find this daunting and off putting.
The principal reasons for providing a spreadsheet learning resource
are
P : Play with the tools in their own time
U : Use them in their own work
R : Recommend them to pupils, often via project work
I : Integrate them gradually into their teaching
A : Assess their effectiveness and hence fine tune their usage.
The Guide
The learning guide we have produced is designed so that a learner (teacher
or pupil) with no knowledge of spreadsheets should be able to understand
the text with all terminology explained. It will start with very simple
exercises about spreadsheets before the learner actually switches on the
computer, increasing in difficulty as the text develops. Later graphical
representations and investigations will be included.
The materials were tested by a selection of 15 to 20 pupils from mixed
ability classes. The brighter pupils found the text very easy to follow
and required no assistance until they came to the section on investigations.
It was also observed that less able pupils did encounter problems but in
most cases this was because they did not progress as instructed but jumped
around between topics.
The contents of the learning guide are
Explaining spreadsheets
Words to remember
Selecting a call
Menu bar
Using the S icon to calculate the total
Inserting a new row/column
Printing
Calculating average
Two decimal places
Delete row/column
Displaying formulae
Changing the column width
Replicate
Chart selection
The Investigations
Ten investigations are included
A Digit Investigation
Examination Results
Mortgage Payments
HCF and LCM
Solving Quadratic Equations
Maximum Volume of a Box
Doubling the Area
Angles and Polygons
Number patterns
Running Totals
The first of these, A Digit Investigation is given here as an example
A Digit Investigation
1. In separate cells enter two digits between 1 and 9 inclusive.
3. Calculate the total of the numbers you have made.
4. Divide this total by 11.
5. Find the sum of the digits.
6. Compare the results of steps 4 and 5 and comment on your findings.
7. Repeat steps 1 to 6 at least four times.
8. What if step 1 was changed to
(i) enter three digits ….?
(ii) enter four digits …..?
9. (i) Describe what you think is happening and predict what will happen if step 1 is
changed to ‘enter five digits….’.
(ii) Check and see if your prediction is correct.
10. Explain what would happen for any chosen number of digits. (If in doubt try it.)
11. Investigate further by changing step 1 to ‘enter three digits between 1 and 9 inclusive’.
12. Change step 2 to ‘Use them to enter all the possible three digit
numbers’.
The text of the entire tutorial book and spreadsheet templates for the
investigations are available on a floppy disc (in Mac or PC format) from
Brian Fitzsimons (magee@unite.co.uk). . The guide and the spreadsheets
were written with Microsoft Works 4.0 in mind, but the ideas easily transfer
to Excel, Claris Works or other spreadsheets.
Let us know how you get on!
Acknowledgement
This work is the basis of Brian Fitzsimmons’ MSc Thesis "IT in the teaching of mathematics to GCSE level", University of Ulster, 1997.