'Keen bean' students catch maths book errors
The Education Minister has thanked "keen bean" students for picking up errors in Ministry of Education-funded maths resources.
Eighteen errors were spotted and fixed in new maths resources, including incorrect sums, a wrong number labelled in te reo Māori, and incorrectly saying "triangles" instead of "rectangles" in an answer.
In one case, an answer to a problem in a Year 4 workbook was listed as 1024, and had to be changed to the correct answer of 19,875.
In another workbook, the number four in te reo Māori (whā) was incorrectly written as two (rua).
Erica Stanford said she "wouldn't overblow it," as there was, on average, half a mistake per book.
"Those little eagle-eyed, keen bean students around the country who are now doing an hour a day of mathematics, picked them up and we've fixed them," she said.
Photo: Supplied via RNZ
Stanford said it was not unusual to have errors in books, and they may have been there for a while as they were existing resources.
"You find it quite often in books, and it's not just these maths books, you'll find the odd error here and there."
The errors were immediately changed online, and would be fixed in re-prints for next year's release.
Photo: Supplied via RNZ
A Ministry of Education bulletin sent to school leaders said the ministry was aware of the errors.
"Our resource providers regularly review their print and digital resources to correct any errors that have been reported, and to ensure accuracy," it said.
The ministry asked schools to contact it if they found any errors, including typos.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
15,000 pupils compete to become maths 'rock stars'
By Adam Burns of RNZ The education minister was a keen observer as thousands of school pupils from around the country were put through their mathematical paces. About 15,000 students, between the ages of 7 and 13, took part in the Times Tables Rock Stars Mathematics competition on Thursday morning. The event consisted of two corresponding 30-minute questionnaires across the North and South islands, involving about 300 schools. Education Minister Erica Stanford and South Island Minister James Meagher watched competition proceedings at Christchurch's Somerfield Te Kura Wairepo. School principal Meagan Kelly said her students were "very focused" ahead of the competition. "This is the second Rock Star competition that we've done, so they're pretty keen, they're pretty well practised, and they do love it," she said. "That sense of competition is really amazing, so they really enjoy that." The UK-based competition has been touring the world. Underlining the high-pressure nature of proceedings, the event was live-streamed over YouTube. The times table competition was also rejuvenating old rote learning techniques, Kelly said. "There is a bit of a revival in that we want them to have all of these facts locked into their brains, so it makes maths later on, a little bit easier for them as things get more complex." Ten-year-old Haval said he was put to the ultimate test. "I'm not at my best today. I'm usually 70 to 80 questions a minute, now I'm 40 to 50." Other pupils RNZ spoke to explained the competition was both "exciting, challenging, and nerve-wracking". Stanford and Meagher were later strapped to their devices, their math skills were put under scrutiny in the ultimate North-South battle, as several pupils watched on. "We've got a South Island representative here in Minister James Meagher, I'm representing the North Island. But maths is the winner on the day right," Stanford said. It is understood Stanford earned bragging rights over her junior minister. Although it was all fun and games on Thursday, problem-solving of a different kind has been needed by Stanford. Eighteen errors were discovered in brand new ministry-funded maths resources. Mistakes include incorrect sums, a wrong number labelled in te reo Māori, and incorrectly saying "triangles" instead of "rectangles" in an answer. Speaking to reporters, Stanford defended the failure, explaining the sector had moved fast. "There was a very small handful of errors found by keen-bean mathematicians, good on them," she said. "These are existing resources and it was likely they were there for some time. "Actually we've been responsive, receptive. We've gone out to the classrooms and the schools and said if you find anything we'll fix it immediately, which we have.
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Concerns raised over AI scribe tools for doctors
Major concerns have been raised about the security of private patient information in New Zealand after new research found 40% of the doctors surveyed are using AI scribes to take patient notes. Lead researcher and University of Otago (Wellington) primary healthcare and general practice bioethicist Professor Angela Ballantyne said AI was being rapidly taken up by primary care practices to transcribe patient notes during consultations, despite ongoing challenges with their legal and ethical oversight, data security, patient consent, and the impact on the doctor-patient relationship. "Most AI-scribes rely on international cloud-based platforms — often privately owned and controlled — for processing and storing data, which raises questions about where data is stored, who has access to it, and how it can be protected from cyber threats. "There are also Aotearoa-specific data governance issues that need to be recognised and resolved — particularly around Māori data sovereignty." Prof Ballantyne said 197 health providers working in primary care were surveyed in February and March 2024, providing a snapshot in time of the use of AI-scribes in clinical practice. Most of the respondents were GPs, but others included nurses, nurse practitioners, rural emergency care providers and practice managers. Of those surveyed, 40% reported using AI-scribes to take patient notes. Only 66% had read the terms and conditions on the use of the software, and 59% reported seeking patient consent, she said. Most of those surveyed who used AI scribes found them helpful, and 47% estimated it saved them between 30 minutes and two hours a day by using it in every consultation. However, "a significant minority" said the software did not save time overall because it took so long to edit and correct AI-generated notes, she said. "[Doctors] need to be vigilant about checking patient notes for accuracy. "However, as many survey respondents noted, carefully checking each AI-generated clinical note eats into, and sometimes negates any time savings." Many had concerns about the accuracy, completeness and conciseness of the patient notes produced by AI-scribes, and some were concerned about its inability to understand New Zealand accents or vocabulary and te reo Māori. Others using an AI scribe felt it enabled them to focus more on their patients and build better engagement and rapport through more eye contact and active listening. But there was concern among those surveyed about whether the use of an AI-scribe complied with New Zealand's ethical and legal frameworks. Prof Ballantyne said it could not be assumed that patients consented to their use. "Patients should be given the right to opt out of the use of AI and still access care, and adequate training and guidelines must be put in place for health providers." In July, the National Artificial Intelligence and Algorithm Expert Advisory Group at Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora endorsed two ambient AI scribe tools — Heidi Health and iMedX, for use by its clinicians in New Zealand. Prof Ballantyne said the Medical Council of New Zealand was expected to release guidance about the use of AI in health later this year, which was likely to require patients to give consent to the use of AI transcription tools. And there was still a need to track and evaluate the impact of AI tools on clinical practice and patient interactions, she said.
RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
15,000 students compete in Times Tables Rock Stars Mathematics competition
The education minister was a keen observer as thousands of school pupils around the country were put through their mathematical paces. About 15,000 students, between the ages of 7 and 13, took part in the Times Tables Rock Stars Mathematics competition on Thursday morning. The event consisted of two corresponding 30-minute questionnaires across the North and South islands, involving about 300 schools. James Meagher and Erica Stanford competing against each other and putting their maths skills to the test. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Education Minister Erica Stanford and South Island Minister James Meagher watched competition proceedings at Christchurch's Somerfield Te Kura Wairepo. School principal Meagan Kelly said her students were "very focused" ahead of the competition. "This is the second Rock Star competition that we've done, so they're pretty keen, they're pretty well practised, and they do love it," she said. "That sense of competition is really amazing, so they really enjoy that." Students at Christchurch's Somerfield Te Kura Wairepo competing in the maths competition. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon The UK-based competition has been touring the world. Underlining the high-pressure nature of proceedings, the event was live-streamed over YouTube. The times table competition was also rejuvenating old rote learning techniques, Kelly said. "There is a bit of a revival in that we want them to have all of these facts locked into their brains, so it makes maths later on, a little bit easier for them as things get more complex." Ten-year-old Haval said he was put to the ultimate test. "I'm not at my best today. I'm usually 70 to 80 questions a minute, now I'm 40 to 50." Other pupils RNZ spoke to explained the competition was both "exciting, challenging, and nerve-wracking". Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Stanford and Meagher were later strapped to their devices, their math skills were put under scrutiny in the ultimate North-South battle, as several pupils watched on. "We've got a South Island representative here in Minister James Meagher, I'm representing the North Island. But maths is the winner on the day right," Stanford said. It is understood Stanford earned bragging rights over her junior minister. Although it was all fun and games on Thursday, problem-solving of a different kind has been needed by Stanford. Eighteen errors were discovered in brand new ministry-funded maths resources. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Mistakes include incorrect sums, a wrong number labelled in te reo Māori, and incorrectly saying "triangles" instead of "rectangles" in an answer. Speaking to reporters, Stanford defended the failure, explaining the sector had moved fast. "There was a very small handful of errors found by keen-bean mathematicians, good on them," she said. "These are existing resources and it was likely they were there for some time. "Actually we've been responsive, receptive. We've gone out to the classrooms and the schools and said if you find anything we'll fix it immediately, which we have. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
