Chaos and fractals are topics that fascinate almost every mathematically curious student the moment they encounter them, yet finding a book that introduces the ideas properly without either dumbing them down or demanding graduate-level prerequisites is surprisingly difficult. Feldman’s Chaos and Fractals: An Elementary Introduction is one of the few that genuinely manages it. The…
Stephenson’s Mathematical Methods for Science Students has been around for decades, and there is a good reason it keeps getting recommended. It is one of those quietly reliable books that does exactly what it says on the cover, without fuss and without unnecessary padding. The book is aimed squarely at students in the physical sciences…
I’ve started thinking you can tell quite a lot about a school before the students even arrive. Just look at the INSET timetable. Seriously. That first week tells you what the school thinks teachers need. It tells you what they value. And, probably more importantly, it tells you how much they trust the people they…
Phone bans and locking systems may reduce visible phone use, but lasting change requires student agency, parental cooperation and a broader conversation about digital attention. Schools everywhere are searching for a solution to the smartphone problem. Yondr pouches, phone lockers, confiscation policies and campus-wide bans all promise something educators desperately need: classrooms in which students…
Martin Liebeck’s A Concise Introduction to Pure Mathematics is one of those books that manages to be genuinely rigorous without ever becoming intimidating. For students who are making their first serious contact with pure mathematics, that balance is everything, and Liebeck gets it right. The book covers a carefully chosen set of topics including logic…
School Leaders, IB Coordinators, and Heads of Mathematics: I believe one of the most important examinations for IB Diploma Mathematics students happens before they ever enter the Diploma Programme. As an IB Diploma Mathematics examiner, I often get asked what the most important mathematics exam is for a student. Most people expect me to say…
This is not your typical mathematics book, and that is precisely what makes it so valuable. Sofia Kovalevskaya was one of the most remarkable mathematicians of the nineteenth century, and this memoir offers a rare window into the life and mind of someone who fought extraordinary odds to pursue a discipline that, at the time,…
The recent decision by the IB to cancel examinations in parts of West Asia has triggered an important question. Not just for students, but for educators, school leaders, and policymakers. If grades can be awarded without final exams, do we really need them? At first glance, it feels like a moment of clarity. Students spend…
Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction offer a powerful framework for IB Mathematics teachers. Here is how to apply them alongside the Harkness Method in DP and MYP classrooms.