Mathematical Eye
Mathematical Eye is an ITV schools TV series from the 1980s and 1990s, covering Mathematics for secondary school pupils.
A practical mathematics series encouraging children to look at the world with a "mathematical eye" - in other words to see the application of maths in real-world situations.
The series presented film of mathematical problems, and then showed children in the classroom working on solving the problems - such as how much space one person needs on a beach (Area and Volume), where to put the stagger lines on an athletics track (Circles), and how much concrete is needed for a driveway (Measurement).
The Decimals episode featured the adventures of Joe Decimal - not a private eye but a Mathematical Eye - whose clients suffer from "decimal blindness" and other place-value related problems.
Episodes added to the series in later years such as Paper Engineering and Fun and Games were meant to extend the excitement of maths for pupils.
The series was designed for video recording and showing to pupils in chunks. Each episode was split into four sections, with the commentary bringing up a question for children to investigate at the end of each part.
Episodes
| # | Title | Broadcast |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Circles | 21 Sep 1988 |
| 2. | Decimals | 28 Sep 1988 |
| 3. | Lines and Networks | 5 Oct 1988 |
| 4. | Maps and Co-ordinates | 12 Oct 1988 |
| 5. | Measurement | 19 Oct 1988 |
| 6. | Near Enough | 2 Nov 1988 |
| 7. | Fibonacci and Prime Numbers | 9 Nov 1988 |
| 8. | Triangle and Square Numbers | 16 Nov 1988 |
| 9. | Statistics | 23 Nov 1988 |
| 10. | Working Things Out | 30 Nov 1988 |
| 11. | Area and Volume | 19 Jan 1990 |
| 12. | Equations and Formulae | 26 Jan 1990 |
| 13. | Fractions and Percentages | 2 Feb 1990 |
| 14. | Graphs | 9 Feb 1990 |
| 15. | Logic and Problem-Solving | 16 Feb 1990 |
| 16. | Numbers | 2 Mar 1990 |
| 17. | Probability | 9 Mar 1990 |
| 18. | Ratio and Scale | 16 Mar 1990 |
| 19. | Shapes and Angles | 23 Mar 1990 |
| 20. | Symmetry | 30 Mar 1990 |
| 21. | Number Patterns 1: Odd, Even and Prime | 11 Oct 1991 |
| 22. | Number Patterns 2: Triangles and Squares | 18 Oct 1991 |
| 23. | Number Patterns 3: Fibonacci and Others | 1 Nov 1991 |
| 24. | Codes | 22 Nov 1991 |
| 25. | Paper Engineering | 9 Oct 1992 |
| 26. | Calculating | 16 Oct 1992 |
| 27. | Fun and Games | 23 Oct 1992 |
| 28. | Information Technology | 12 Feb 1993 |
Credits
| Narrator | Ruth Pitt |
| Series adviser | Phil Gauron |
| Director | Michael Cocker |
| Written and produced by | Adam Hart-Davis |
Resources
Each term's programmes were accompanied by an A4 booklet of teacher's notes and a pack of pupil investigation sheets.
The notes gave lists of the themes covered in each programme, ideas for discussing each film item in the classroom, and details of the investigation sheets. The sheets were sold separately as an Investigations Pack at £3 for a set of 10 double-sided sheets.
The teacher's notes and pupils' investigations pack were written by Phil Gauron, Steve Guild, Alan Hornby and Liz Meenan.
A set of four computer programs, supporting the investigations from the first 10 programmes, was released in early 1989 at £11.50 each or £40.25 for all four. The programs were Mountain Rescue, Codecracker, Fooled by Numbers and Busroute.
A 128-page full-colour book written by Adam Hart-Davis was released to the general public through bookshops in 1989. The book follows the structure of the first 10 television programmes and was designed to be used in conjunction with the TV series. ISBN 0 044 48043 1 Search eBay listings Buy from Amazon
Sources & References
- ITN Source archive catalogue
- ITV Schools termly wallcharts, 1992-1993
- Times Educational Supplement television listings, 1991-1994
- Yorkshire Television (1988) Mathematical Eye Autumn term 1988 teacher's notes. Leeds: Yorkshire Television
- Yorkshire Television (1990a) Mathematical Eye Spring term 1990 teacher's notes. Leeds: Yorkshire Television
- Yorkshire Television (1990b) Mathematical Eye Autumn term 1990 teacher's notes. Leeds: Yorkshire Television
- Yorkshire Television (1991a) Mathematical Eye Spring term 1991 teacher's notes. Leeds: Yorkshire Television
- Yorkshire Television (1991b) Mathematical Eye Autumn term 1991 teacher's notes. Leeds: Yorkshire Television
- Yorkshire Television (1992) Mathematical Eye Spring term 1992 teacher's notes. Leeds: Yorkshire Television
- with thanks to Robin Carmody
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