Cambridge IGCSE International Mathematics (0607) Extended (3rd Edition) Revision Guide

Ngoc Vo

Ngoc Vo completed a Bachelor of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Adelaide, majoring in Statistics and Applied Mathematics. Her Mathematical interests include regression analysis, Bayesian statistics, and statistical computing. Ngoc has been working at Haese Mathematics as a proof reader and writer since 2016.

What drew you to the field of mathematics?

Originally, I planned to study engineering at university, but after a few weeks I quickly realised that it wasn't for me. So I switched to a mathematics degree at the first available opportunity. I didn't really have a plan to major in statistics, but as I continued my studies I found myself growing more fond of the discipline. The mathematical rigor in proving distributional results and how they link to real-world data -- it all just seemed to click.

What are some interesting things that you get to do at work?

As the resident statistician here at Haese Mathematics, I get the pleasure of writing new statistics chapters and related material. Statistics has always been a challenging subject to both teach and learn, however it doesn't always have to be that way. To bridge that gap, I like to try and include as many historical notes, activities, and investigations as I can to make it as engaging as possible. The reasons why we do things, and the people behind them are often important things we forget to talk about. Statistics, and of course mathematics, doesn't just exist within the pages of your textbook or even the syllabus. There's so much breadth and depth to these disciplines, most of the time we just barely scratch the surface.

What interests you outside mathematics?

In my free time I like studying good typography and brushing up on my TeX skills to become the next TeXpert. On the less technical side of things, I also enjoy scrapbooking, painting, and making the occasional card.

Michael Mampusti

Michael completed a Bachelor of Mathematics (Advanced) at the University of Wollongong. He studied fractal substitution tilings as part of his Honours in Pure Mathematics, and finished a PhD in operator algebraic dynamical systems in 2019.

Throughout his time at university, Michael was employed as a tutorial leader for a number of mathematics subjects. He enjoyed teaching a wide variety of students and helping them throughout their respective degrees. The transition into the education sector was therefore a natural move for him after graduating from university. Michael has worked at Haese Mathematics as a mathematician and proofreader since 2019.

Outside of work, Michael enjoys practicing music, playing video games, and getting destroyed by the competition in the local squash scene.

Mark Humphries

Mark has a Bachelor of Science (Honours), majoring in Pure Mathematics, and a Bachelor of Economics, both of which were completed at the University of Adelaide. He studied public key cryptography for his Honours in Pure Mathematics. He started with the company in 2006, and is currently the writing manager for Haese Mathematics.

What got you interested in mathematics? How did that lead to working at Haese Mathematics?

I have always enjoyed the structure and style of mathematics. It has a precision that I enjoy. I spend an inordinate amount of my leisure time reading about mathematics, in fact! To be fair, I tend to do more reading about the history of mathematics and how various mathematical and logic puzzles work, so it is somewhat different from what I do at work.

How did I end up at Haese Mathematics?

I was undertaking a PhD, and I realised that what I really wanted to do was put my knowledge to use. I wanted to pass on to others all this interesting stuff about mathematics. I emailed Haese Mathematics (Haese and Harris Publications as they were known back then), stating that I was interested in working for them. As it happened, their success with the first series of International Baccalaureate books meant that they were looking to hire more people at the time. I consider myself quite lucky!

What are some interesting things that you get to do at work?

On an everyday basis, it’s a challenge (but a fun one!) to devise interesting questions for the books. I want students to have questions that pique their curiosity and get them thinking about mathematics in a different way. I prefer to write questions that require students to demonstrate that they understand a concept, rather than relying on rote memorisation.

When a new or revised syllabus is released for a curriculum that we write for, a lot of work goes into devising a structure for the book that addresses the syllabus. The process of identifying what concepts need to be taught, organising those concepts into an order that makes sense from a teaching standpoint, and finally sourcing and writing the material that addresses those concepts is very involved – but so rewarding when you hold the finished product in your hands, straight from the printer.

What interests you outside mathematics?

Apart from the aforementioned recreational mathematics activities, I play a little guitar, and I enjoy playing badminton and basketball on a social level.