Making Your Own Sense

Reflections on maths, learning and maths learning support, by David K Butler

Seminars and workshops

Occasionally, I give seminar or workshops on maths or maths-related topics, where the focus is on the fun or interest of the maths.

Past seminars

A Spirit of Adventure

I gave this short keynote presentation at the October 2024 awards presentation evening for the South Australian Investigating Mathematics Competition, a competition for primary school and high school students involving investigating using mathematics and writing a report on this investigation.

The presentation used slides, digital objects and physical objects. The script of the presentaiton, the content of the slides and photos of the objects are contained in this document .

Playful and Joyful Maths

I gave this keynote presentation at the MAV Annual Conference in Decemeber 2017.

Abstract

I love maths. I derive great joy in finding the maths around me, talking about it, and solving problems I’ve never seen before. Yet I know not everyone experiences this kind of mathematical joy. Some find the concept of joy in maths a little alien. Some like maths but struggle to find joy in the maths they face daily. Some do have the joy but wonder how to help their friends, students and colleagues find it. I have come to realise that my own joy in maths has been created by a continual and concerted effort to play. I’ve organised more time to play with maths in my life, but also infused a playful attitude into the daily maths I do with students.

This session is about how to take a playful approach to your maths in order to find more joy. I’ll talk about what both joy and play feel like and how they make a difference to growth mindset. I’ll share my experiences running puzzle sessions and in providing maths learning support to thousands of students. You will get a chance to engage in some playful maths activities, and to find the play in maths that at first looks like hard work or like the ‘same old thing’. I hope that you will learn some strategies to be more playful and hence find more mathematical joy.

Prezi

To view the prezi from the seminar on Prezi.com, follow this link: Playful and Joyful Maths MAV Keynote on Prezi.com 

Further Resources

I (David) mentioned several puzzles and other resources in the presentation, and here are links to most of them. Note that you can find information about One Hundred Factrorial and about my mathematical art projects here on this webpage by clicking on the tabs. (Those puzzles that I don’t have links for, feel free to just take the pictures from the presentation.)

One Hundred Factorial: Playful and joyful maths

I gave this workshop at the MASA Annual Conference in April 2017, and also at TMC 17 in July 2017.

Abstract

In this session, we’ll explore what it means and what it feels like to engage in joyful play in maths, and how to encourage the atmosphere that allows for it. I’ll describe what I have learned at the puzzle and games group “One Hundred Factorial” over the last ten years, and give participants a chance to experience a bit of what I do there for themselves. Come prepared to play with some puzzles together.

Prezi

To view the prezi from the seminar on Prezi.com, follow this link: One Hundred Factorial: Playful and Joyful Maths on Prezi.com 

The Queen of Hearts plays Noughts and Crosses

I gave this workshop at the MASA Annual Conference in April 2017.

Abstract

In this session, we’ll explore the fascinating world of finite geometry through the medium of noughts and crosses and a deck of cards. The ideas here would be useful for extension of students at many different year levels and levels of maths skill.

Resources.

My favourite formula: ⌊ n!/e ⌉

I gave this seminar as part of the School of Mathematical Sciences Undergraduate Seminar Series in September 2014, and also again at the MASA conference in 2018.

Abstract

What is this formula? Why does it use those strangely mismatched brackets, and why does it use both factorial and the number e? What is it supposed to calculate? And why would someone love it so much that they put it on a t-shirt? In this seminar you will find out the answers to all of these questions, and also find out what derangements have to do with Taylor’s theorem.

Prezi

To view the prezi from the seminar on Prezi.com, follow this link: n factorial on e on Prezi.com 

Eigenvalue magic tricks

I gave this seminar as part of the School of Mathematical Sciences Undergraduate Seminar Series in August 2013.

Abstract

Eigenvalues are awesome, but students rarely get the chance to see just how supremely awesome they are. In this talk I’ll tell you some awesome truths about eigenvalues that you don’t get to see in first year, and show you their proofs, which happen to contain some of the most clever magic tricks in the whole of maths.

Prezi

To view the prezi from the seminar on Prezi.com, follow this link: Eigenvalue Magic Tricks on Prezi.com 

Handout

To download a pdf version of the handout, which contains more cool eigenvalue proofs than in the seminar, follow this link: Eigenvalue Information and Proofs handout 

Secrets of Alice in Wonderland

This live streaming show was presented by David Butler and Cobi Smith at the Royal Institution of Australia as part of Science Week 2012 and the Great Big Science Read project. 

Abstract

Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland is famous as a story that doesn’t make much sense — unless you know that the author was a mathematician. This part-performance, part-discussion introduces you to chapters of Alice in Wonderland with mathematical links. Mathematics is an evolving field of ideas now, as it was when Alice in Wonderland was written in the 19th century.

Prezi

To view the prezi from the seminar on Prezi.com, follow this link: Secrets of Alice in Wonderland on Prezi.com 

Video

To view the video of the seminar on YouTube, follow this link: Secrets of Alice in Wonderland on YouTube