What will I be learning?

The flyer I was sent gives a very clear indication of what will be studied on the MA (Maths Ed). There are six modules and a dissertation. These cover things like AFL, ICT, leadership and management, and the evolution of mathematical thinking. It all sounds very exciting!


I went to the website and created a wordle of the MA (Maths ED) page. I was interested to see if anything stood out.

WORDLE created from the course page on the University website

Here's the results:




You can clearly see the strongest words are 'mathematics' and 'education'.


For me, that sounds perfect!

So this is where it begins....again!

I say again, because a little over a year ago, I tried my hand at blogging. I felt that I had a story to tell, and that it would be a cathartic experience to write it down.


'Twas not to be.


My blog (which was about the change from much loved school to very much disliked Academy) was making me UNHAPPY! I felt bad writing down my tales, to the point that I avoided writing it at all!


Eventually I took the decision to delete the entire blog. I have no doubt that this was the right decision. Immediately I felt better. I decided to concentrate on the mini-blog (ie twitter) and a wonderful year of tweeting it has been.


But now, I'm trying my hand at blogging again. This is not really for public consumption, and I certainly don't intend on putting myself 'out there' (for now, at least) but I feel that it will be beneficial for me to record the next two years of my life in some way.


So why now?


I am hoping to get my masters degree (MA in Mathematics Education) and today I posted the application form........finally!


I first heard about this particular course in May. It was suggested to me that I should go for it, as this is likely to be the last chance to get a mathematics specific masters degree in education. (From now on, the subsidised qualifications are likely to be generic education.)


I had expressed my interest several times for this course, but never got an answer as to whether the school would support me in both time and money.


Finally, on the last day of the summer term, I got the good news. My school will support me! Thank you, school!


The university had been notified to expect several late applications (there are three of us in the department going for it) and the endorsement from SLT was faxed off asap.


My HoD had kindly sorted all of this, and had even left signed application forms secreted away in our classrooms for us to collect over the summer. I went in to school the very first day of the holidays to pick mine up with the intention of sending it off that day.

We've had three weeks now of the holidays, and I only took out the form today. I think I subconsciously kept avoiding it because I didn't know what to write for my personal statement. When it came to it, I think I gave good enough reason for wanting to embark on the course, and it occured to me today that the only reason they want a personal statement at all is to see if our written English is up to scratch!


So, a few printer problems and a trip to the Post Office for recorded delivery later, here goes me becoming a university student again!