What is variationtheory.com all about?
Hello and welcome to my website.
This is my attempt to make practical use of a small element of
Variation Theory in my maths lessons.
The key principle underpinning the sequences of questions on the site is summed up by the following quote:
When certain aspects of a phenomenon vary when its other aspects are kept constant, those aspects that vary are discerned (Lo, Chik & Pang, 2006)
By holding constant as much as possible and varying one element, we can direct students’ attention to that element that has varied. Any change (or lack of) in the answer may then be attributed to the change in the element. Moreover, because each question or example is related to the one that preceded it, students are able to form expectations as to what the answer will be. I call this process
Reflect, Expect, Check, Explain. This can lead to significant moments of revelation and discussion when these expectations are not realised, compelling students to think more deeply about the processes invovled, instead of just cruising through a sequence of questions on autopilot.
My hope is that this site will grow into a community where teachers from all over the world can share their intelligently varied sequences of questions and examples on every mathematical topic under the sun, in much the same way as I try to do with
Diagnostic Questions,
SSDD Problems and
Maths Venns.
Since its launch, this website has come in for quite a bit of criticism. So if you are new to the site, I would strongly recommend reading through the pages below to get a better idea of what I am trying to do – and then at least you know what you are disagreeing with 😉
The five types of activity:
Activity type 1: Practice
Activity type 2: Rule
Activity type 3: Pattern
Activity type 4: Demonstration
Activity type 5: Spider
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I really hope you and your students enjoy this website
Craig Barton
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