If you were asked to quickly picture a mathematician in your mind, what would that person look like? How old would they be? What gender? And what about the colour of their skin?
To mark this year’s Black History Month, we consider how to best achieve Maths diversity, with the wisdom of Susan Okereke.
Do you remember reading and writing for pleasure during your school days? Perhaps your class had a cosy nook for devouring books during breaks – or maybe a teacher enthused you with the joy of making up your own stories just because. If so, you may not realise what a great springboard that was for later life.
Maths has the power to open a world of new doors and possibilities for students, but it’s also a subject where children and adults alike can lack confidence. This lack of confidence can go on to act as a barrier to engagement and progress in the subject, not to mention shape what careers young people choose to enter, or avoid.
If the past year has taught us anything, it’s that enabling learning for primary children through digital technology is hard without preparation. Schools that had invested in pedagogy, technology and partnerships have ridden the storms of lockdowns better and with less disruption.
Primary teachers have been amazingly adaptable and creative in their solutions. So much is normally built into the physical spaces and human interactions on top of the formal curriculum, that moving to online resources to deliver the curriculum while maintaining relationships with the children was a big ask.
As we find a way out of lockdown and the 21/22 academic year comes into view this is a good time to explore how to make digital provision a more natural part of school life by integrating the best aspects of our lockdown experiences.
In late 2020, a flurry of electrifying poems swept in to be judged for Pearson’s poetry competition on the subject of ‘Belonging’. Inspired by Imtiaz Dharker’s whirlwind exploration of confused identity, In Wales, Wanting To Be Italian (PDF, 211KB), and influenced by pieces from Pearson’s GCSE collection Belonging, British students from Years 9, 10 and 11 submitted a broad selection of brilliant verse.
Pearson Maths Advisers, Mark and Nicola, combine their 28 years of teaching experience to offer 10 tips and considerations for secondary teachers when it comes to teaching maths remotely.
Simon Holden-White, Senior Product Manager in the Primary Maths team at Pearson, reflects on new research into teachers' views on maths education amidst COVID-19 and shares some top tips for primary schools when teaching maths remotely this lockdown and beyond.
Here the NRICH Primary Team, one of our Power of Maths partners, share their top tips for primary teachers when it comes to remote maths teaching and learning.
With as many as 650,000 students off school and a growing number of schools facing closures in the new year due to Covid-19, digital learning has a significant role to play in education. And yet new research reveals the need for schools to receive greater support so that teachers can confidently and effectively deliver core subjects like maths remotely.
