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Department Members

  • Ms Higgins

  • Ms O Hanrahan

  • Ms Ferrick

  • Mr Mc Carville

  • Mr Kieran

  • Ms Irwin

  • Ms Mc Kevitt

  • ​Mr Duffy

Junior Cycle Mathematics

The aim of junior cycle mathematics is to provide relevant and challenging opportunities for all students to become mathematically proficient so that they can cope with the mathematical challenges of daily life and enable them to continue their study of mathematics in senior cycle and beyond. In this specification, mathematical proficiency is conceptualised not as a one-dimensional trait but as having five interconnected and interwoven components:

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  • conceptual understanding—comprehension of mathematical concepts, operations, and relations

  • procedural fluency—skill in carrying out procedures flexibly, accurately, efficiently, and appropriately

  • strategic competence—ability to formulate, represent, and solve mathematical problems in both familiar and unfamiliar contexts

  • adaptive reasoning—capacity for logical thought, reflection, explanation, justification and communication

  • productive disposition—habitual inclination to see mathematics as sensible, useful, and worthwhile, coupled with a belief in diligence, perseverance and one’s own efficacy. 

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Over the three years of junior cycle, students will be provided with many opportunities to enjoy and learn mathematics. Students will complete two classroom based assessments The Classroom-Based Assessments, lnk to the priorities for learning and teaching in mathematics, with a particular emphasis on problem solving and communicating. Through the Classroom-Based Assessments students will develop and demonstrate their mathematical proficiency by actively engaging in practical and authentic learning experiences. The Classroom-Based Assessments will be carried out by all students, and will be marked at a common level. The teacher’s judgement of their mathematical attainment will be recorded for subject learning and assessment review, as well as for the school’s reporting to parents and students on the Profile of Achievement Document. 

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The Assessment Task is a written task completed by students during class time, which is not marked by the class teacher, but is sent to the State Examinations Commission for marking. It will be allocated 10% of the marks used to determine the grade awarded by the SEC. The Assessment Task is specified by the NCCA and is related to the learning outcomes on which the second Classroom-Based Assessment is based. The content and format of the Assessment Task may vary from year to year.

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Leaving Certificate Mathematics

Leaving Certificate Mathematics aims to develop mathematical knowledge, skills and understanding needed for continuing education, life, and work. By teaching mathematics in contexts that allow learners to see connections within mathematics, between mathematics and other subjects and between mathematics and its applications to real life, it is envisaged that learners will develop a flexible, disciplined way of thinking and the enthusiasm to search for creative solutions.

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The objectives of Leaving Certificate Mathematics are that learners develop

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  • the ability to recall relevant mathematical facts

  • instrumental understanding ("knowing how") and necessary psychomotor skills (skills of physical co-ordination)

  • relational understanding ("knowing why")

  • the ability to apply their mathematical knowledge and skill to solve problems in familiar and unfamiliar contexts

  • analytical and creative powers in mathematics, an appreciation of mathematics and its uses and a positive disposition towards mathematics. 

 

Two terminal Leaving Certificate examination papers, both 2.5hours

Applied Mathematics

Our Lady’s offers students to take Applied Math for leaving cert outside of school hours. This usually involves two 1 hour classes at 8am each week before school starts. 

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Leaving Certificate Applied Mathematics aims to develop the learner’s capacity to use mathematics to model real-world problems. By focusing on all aspects of the problem-solving cycle it is envisaged that learners will move beyond calculating procedures and gain experience in asking appropriate questions, formulating mathematical representations of problems, and interpreting and verifying results. Through Applied Mathematics, students should learn to appreciate the extent to which mathematics is relevant in everyday life, generating engagement and interest in the process. It is anticipated that digital technology will be used as a learning tool in some aspects of this course.

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Applied Mathematics is assessed at two levels, Ordinary level and Higher level, by means of two assessment components: a modelling project, and an examination paper.

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Both components of assessment reflect the relationship between the application of skills and the theoretical content of the specification.

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