Mathomat
Mathomat is a trademark used for a plastic stencil developed in Australia in 1969, and still widely used in Australian schools, mainly for early secondary school students.
The stencil combines numerous geometric shapes with the functions of a technical drawing set (rulers, set squares, protractor, and circle stencils to replace a compass). This combination of features, and the template's ability to be stored in a folder, encourages students to incorporate drawing into their studies. Teachers support its adoption because this encouragement fosters mental imagery, an important but challenging aspect of geometry learning.
History
The Mathomat template was invented in 1969 by Craig Young, who initially worked as an engineering tradesperson at the Government Aircraft Factories (GAF) in Melbourne before retraining as a mathematics teacher. He spent most of his career as head of mathematics at a Melbourne secondary school. Craig Young recognised the limitations of traditional mathematics drawing sets in classrooms—primarily students losing parts—and designed Mathomat as a superior alternative.
The template design was revised in 1999.
Manufacturing
The template utilized a then-new plastic, polycarbonate, which was strong and transparent enough to accommodate many shapes without breaking or tearing. The first template was exhibited in 1970 at a Melbourne mathematics conference, alongside lesson plan ideas; it was an immediate success, with many schools requiring students to purchase it.
Manufacturing of Mathomat was assumed in 1989 by the W&G drawing instrument company, which had a Melbourne factory for producing technical drawing instruments.
Support aids
W&G published a series of teacher resource books for Mathomat, authored by various teachers and academics interested in Mathomat as a teaching tool.
References
- ↑ Groves, Susie; Grover, Peter (2008). Maths with Mathomat; a series of lesson plans for years 4 to 9 and beyond. Melbourne. ISBN 0 9586103 0 4. Search this book on
- ↑ Lewis, Steve; Marks, Ted (2006). Space and beyond with Mathomat: more than 100 investigations for years 4 to 9 and beyond (2nd ed.). Berwick, Victoria: Objective Learning Materials. p. 250. ISBN 0 9580905 7 2. Search this book on
- ↑ O'Connor, Michael (2016). Geometry and Beyond with the Mathomat template. Melbourne: Objective Learning Materials. p. 186. ISBN 978 0 9579405 5 0. Search this book on
- ↑ Young, Craig (2014). Mathomat. Instruction text book and units of work (2nd ed.). Melbourne: Objective Learning Materials. p. 116. ISBN 978 0 9941613 2 1. Search this book on
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