NRICH Ambassadors from the Archimedes and Cambridge Maths Hubs came to the Centre for Mathematical Sciences on January 11 2017 for the first day of three together. (The two remaining dates are Thursday 23rd March and Tuesday 27th June.)
In Session 1, Fran invited the Ambassadors to note down reasons for embarking on this programme and to share them with the NRICH team, should they wish. Click on the links below to read these responses:
We shared ideas for networking opportunities, which included:
Social media (NB you can follow NRICH on @nrichmaths)
Cross-phase
'Teach Meets'
Whole staff meetings but also smaller, more focused, group meetings (e.g. just EYFS colleagues)
Links with trainee teachers
For Sessions 2 and 3, we split into two groups, primary and secondary, to do some mathematics together.
Resources for Primary Ambassadors are available here.
Resources for Secondary Ambassadors are available here.
In Session 4, we reconvened as a whole group and Fran invited questions.
Q1: Could you (we?) add some differentiated versions of some resources? Response: All tasks have a 'Teachers' Resources' section which includes ideas for supporting and extending learners. However, if you develop your own adaptations then please do share them with NRICH as we can publish your ideas on the site so that more teachers benefit.
Q2: I've never had the confidence to teach NRICH in an observation (Ofsted, HMI, Head) as I fear they don't understand what it is or what I'm trying to achieve. How can I overcome this? Response: The Teachers' Resources section of each task includes a 'Why do this problem?' section, which will help you to narrow down the purpose for using the task and therefore justify its inclusion in your lesson.
Q3: Often, less work is recorded in books. We can photograph students' work but this can be difficult technically. Any ideas? Response: If you don't have access to a tablet for taking photos, it is fine to take them on your own phone as long as the photo does not include students themselves. Platforms such as Tapestry are used widely in EYFS settings, which enable photos to be shared with parents and have comment facilities. One participant mentioned using an app called 'seesaw' which
he had found very helpful.
Q4: As an NRICH lover, how can I convince my year 6 teacher that the activities are, or can be, as valuable to include in maths lessons even though the pressure is to teacher for the SATs? [This question could well apply to teachers of any exam year] Response: There is evidence that the skills developed when working on problem-solving tasks collaboratively stand learners in good stead when they problem solve individually. In her book 'Experiencing school mathematics: Traditional and reform
approaches to teaching and their impact on student learning', Jo Boaler reports on her research with two schools, one of which taught mathematics in a traditional way and the other which had a more progressive approach to the subject (such as having mixed ability classes, open ended projects and offering students choice of task). The students in the more progressive school scored higher
on national exams and higher than the national average and in this school there were no differences in achievement for different genders, social classes or ethnic groups. Interestingly, a follow-up study found that the students from the progressive school were in jobs that were significantly higher in terms of social class. Follow-up interviews with ten from each school showed
different approaches to mathematics knowledge and knowledge use throughout life. (See Jo Boaler's YouCubed website.)
Ambassadors were invited to complete the following 'teacher takeaway' before we meet again on 23 March:
Try a task from today in the classroom
Share this with at least one colleague (for example within school, a work group, a staff meeting, with an NQT during team planning etc.)
Choose some recommended reading to share next time - something that has affected your practice in the classroom.