ATM Noticeboard

Edexcel delivers Functional Skills

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:42:31 +0100

Edexcel one of the UK’s awarding bodies delivering the new qualifications in Functional Skills, has launched its latest piece of case study material, a short film looking at the progress of the pilot at Excelsior Academy in Newcastle.

The Functional Skills qualifications in Maths, English and ICT are part of the Government’s reform agenda for the 14-19 curriculum. Their fundamental purpose is to create a better skilled workforce, and they have been embraced by staff and learners at Excelsior, who have been teaching Functional Skills since September 2008.

The film can also be viewed on Edexcel’s Functional Skills YouTube Channel

Maths teaching resource for FS and KS1 levels

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:14:23 +0100

National Schools Partnership has developed a new Maths teaching resource for FS and KS1 levels.

Pounds and Pennies is a maths-led, cross-curricular resource developed to support teachers within the Foundation stage and KS1 curriculum framework. The resources include a brand new set of fun and engaging exercises to ignite an enthusiasm in pupils for discovering more about their extended family by exploring the family tree using maths and PSHE linked tasks.

These resources have been produced by teachers and contain strong curriculum links to help achieve your learning objectives.

Go to the website here

Make maths meaningful with NSPCC Number Day

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:08:53 +0100

The NSPCC has launched Number Day 2009, a maths-based initiatve which aims to raise £200,000.

Number Day – takes place on 4 December 2009 but teachers should register now at www.nspcc.org.uk/numberday for their Number Day fundraising pack which will be available on-line next term.

NSPCC Head of schools fundraising Denise Derbyshire said: “Number Day is a great opportunity for your pupils to have fun learning maths and at the same time raise money for the NSPCC and ChildLine. Number Day resources will feature a wealth of maths-based games and activities, all devised by professionals and tailored to meet the requirements of Key Stages 1 to 4. And the money pupils raise, through sponsorship from family and friends, will help the NSPCC and ChildLine make a real difference to children’s lives.”

Teachers should register here now

Share your Maths resources and win iPhones

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:56:23 +0100

TES Connect and the Association of Teachers of Mathematics are working together to help raise the standards of Mathematics teaching through the sharing of FREE quality resources.

In recognition of great ideas shared, TES Connect would like to award teachers with a number of fantastic prizes, including the newly launched iPhones and digital cameras.

Upload a maths resource between 10th July and 14th September 2009
Once you have uploaded your resource, email us with a link to your resource page

Competition details and upload page

Chartered Mathematics Teacher Designation is now available

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:49:57 +0100

On behalf of the Chartered Mathematics Teacher Registration Authority, the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications is delighted to announce that the Chartered Mathematics Teacher (CMathTeach) designation is now available.

The CMathTeach designation reflects the balance between teaching skills (pedagogy) and mathematics knowledge necessary for a professional teacher to educate and inspire today’s students. It will also identify those at the forefront of their profession and benchmark them at the same level as a Chartered Mathematician, Chartered Engineer, and Chartered Science Teacher etc.

To be eligible to apply for the CMathTeach designation, individuals must be a member of either the Institute or one of the other Organisations involved and demonstrate how they meet the competency based requirements, based on the majority of the Post Threshold Professional Standards for Teachers, for:

Pedagogy – a Masters-level qualification in pedagogy/education (equivalence route available);
Mathematics - an honours degree in which there is a minimum of 50% of the course in mathematics (equivalence route available);
Experience - at least four years experience of teaching mathematics following QTS, QTLS or equivalent, of which at least two are at an appropriate level of responsibility; and,
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) – individuals must make a commitment to a regular programme of CPD throughout their career.

In addition to the above, all applicants must agree to abide by the Institute’s Code of Professional Conduct for Chartered Mathematics Teachers.

There are many excellent mathematics teachers worthy of the CMathTeach designation, who may not have a Masters-level qualification in pedagogy/education and/or a first degree in mathematics. For such individuals equivalence routes are available for these requirements, so please check these before thinking that you do not meet the criteria.

Visit the CMathTeach web pages for more information

Mathematics teaching in countries outside the UK

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:40:36 +0100

One of the themes of BCME7 relates to how mathematics is taught in countries outside the UK. Consequently the organising team is looking to make contact with serving teachers who can talk about their experiences of mathematics teaching in countries outside the UK. Although we have not developed a specific agenda we are hoping colleagues will be able to talk about what they have experienced – how mathematics teaching in another country is different from or similar to that found in the UK, how the experience impacted on their own teaching and so. We are not asking for polished and lengthy contributions but a willingness to share with others colleagues’ experiences.

Have you ever participated in a mathematics teacher exchange programme?
Did you spend part of a UK-based teacher training programme observing mathematics lessons in a country other than those of the UK?
Have you ever spent time, as a serving UK-based teacher, observing mathematics lessons in a country other than those of the UK?
Did you learn mathematics or learn to teach mathematics in a country other than those of the UK?

Lastly, even if you feel, for whatever reasons, you cannot contribute to the conference, Paul Andrews would like to hear from you in order to develop a data base of colleagues who have such experiences.

Paul Andrews would love to hear from you if you can answer yes to any of the questions above

UK Mathematical Societies' support for new Maths A-level

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:37:12 +0100

The UK’s learned and professional societies for mathematics today underlined their support for a new A-level aimed at students who want to be able to apply mathematical methods rather than focus on mathematical theory.

The London Mathematical Society (LMS) and the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) do not support a report published today by a group of academics who criticised the proposed Use of Mathematics A-level. Instead, the societies believe the new A-level would create new opportunities enabling more students to carry on with their mathematical studies beyond the age of 16 by offering a route which reflects their interests and abilities.

Professor Alice Rogers, Vice President of the LMS, said, “This report overlooks those pupils who could benefit from carrying on with mathematics after GCSE, but who would struggle with A-level. The LMS and IMA believe that it is better to provide a separate qualification rather than risk diluting A-level to accommodate these pupils.

Free Dawkins DVD for all secondary schools

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:34:27 +0100

Free Dawkins DVD for all secondary schools to celebrate Darwin 200.

Every school in England and Wales is to receive a free DVD of ‘Growing Up in the Universe’, Professor Richard Dawkins’ 1991 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures for children. The DVD is being distributed by the BHA with funding from the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of ‘On the Origin of Species’, which both fall in 2009.

More details here...

The new GCSE programmes of study...

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:43:40 +0100

The new secondary mathematics programmes of study place a renewed emphasis on problem solving, functionality and mathematical thinking. GCSE mathematics will change to enable the new elements in the key stage 4 programme of study to be assessed.

Read the full QCA PDF here

Maths at the British Science Festival...

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:00:24 +0100

The British Science Festival (formerly the BA Festival of Science) is one of Europe's largest science festivals, taking place each September. The Festival is in a different location in the UK each year, bringing you the latest in science, technology and engineering.

The week long, jam-packed programme offers the biggest celebration of science, engineering and technology in Europe. Loads of events for everyone: talks, plays, debates, hands-on activities and more. This year the Festival is hosted by the University of Surrey in Guildford from 05-10 Sep 09 with events taking place across Surrey.

The Festival will be joining in the national celebrations of Darwin200 marking 200 years since the birth of Charles Darwin by exploring his scientific ideas and the impacts they made.

2009 is also the International Year of Astronomy when you can also expect us to be reaching for the stars with an exciting and inspiring programme for families, adults and school children.

Mathematics Related events include:

The Magic of Computer Science - 13:00, Sat 05 Sep 09

A clever conjuring show which challenges the audience to work out how the tricks are done. Performed by Peter McOwan, professor of computer science at Queen Mary University of London

Mathematics and Meltdown: How Financial Systems Collapse - 15:00, Sat 05 Sep 09

How do we model what goes on in the City when the structures are changing so rapidly. What is the role of statistics in modelling the speculation and high levels of interdependency across markets today?

From Flapping Birds to Space Telescopes: The Modern Science of Origami - 13:30, Sun 06 Sep 09

Robert Lang, an artist and expert on the mathematics of origami shows how its theorems illuminated long-standing mathematical questions and have solved practical engineering problems which even have applications in space

Why do journalists love stupid equations? - 18:00, Sun 06 Sep 09

Simon Singh, journalist and documentary maker, asks why the press are suckers for pseudo-mathematical formulas which PR companies cynically use to create quick and easy news stories (Presidential lecture)

Chaos in Climate: An Inconvenient Truth? - 09:15, Tue 08 Sep 09

Being able to make sense of the chaos in weather and climate is one of our greatest triumphs. Ian Roulstone and Lucia Elghali, from the University of Surrey's show how mathematical modelling is also helping us to devise strategies for adapting to a changing climate.

Fly Me to the Moon - 09:15, Thu 10 Sep 09

Going back to the moon is the latest focus for space travel. But new mission designs mean sophisticated new mathematical techniques will be needed. Explore with Mark Roberts and Phil Palmer from the University of Surrey.

For more information go to the British Science Festival website

See the events on our Event Calendar

ACME Welcomes Pair of Mathematics GCSEs

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 23:00:24 +0100

ACME Welcomes Ofqual Approval of Pair of Mathematics GCSEs.

The Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education (ACME) welcomes the decision by the independent regulator Ofqual to approve the criteria for a pair of linked mathematics GCSEs. This represents the negotiation of a major hurdle on the road to full introduction, and means that piloting of the pair can now proceed from 2010.

The decision follows six months of intensive work by ACME in close collaboration with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) and awarding bodies to develop a pair of GCSEs which would fulfil the outstanding recommendation of Professor Adrian Smith’s 2004 report ‘Making Mathematics Count’. This report argued strongly for a double award in mathematics at GCSE level since the amount of effort required to obtain a single GCSE in mathematics was comparable to that for achieving two awards in English or Science.

Maths champion Julia Higgins interview

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 23:00:24 +0100

Testing times for maths teachers: they face a bombardment of government initiatives and Conservative challenges over where exactly Britain’s pupils stand in international maths tables. Coming up are a new GCSE to start in September, a new double GCSE in 2010, new maths components for 14-19 diplomas, and a maths specialist in every primary school within 10 years. Just the moment for the Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education (Acme) to bring on a big hitter.

Dame Julia Higgins smiles with a hint of mischief. “It’s been an extremely steep learning curve,” she says. “But everyone said, ‘Julia will be very good at that’. And I use a lot of mathematics in my work, so I thought I would take it on.”

Read full interview at The Guardian

Recruitment for One-to-One Tutors programme

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 23:00:24 +0100

One-to-One Tutors programme is a nationwide initiative aimed at supporting pupil progress in English and Mathematics at Key Stages 2 and 3 and, in National Challenge schools, to pupils in Key Stage 4. The aim of the scheme is to ensure that the right support is in place for all children, regardless of class or social background. Children who are eligible will receive ten one-hour sessions of highly tailored one-to-one tuition with a teacher to improve their skills.

Essentially, the aim of having One-to-One Tutors is to help children who need it the most and may not normally have access to extra learning support in this context. The TDA is responsible for recruiting more than 100,000 teachers across the country with QTS for the scheme.

As long as the teacher has QTS they are eligible to take part. Tutors will be paid for twelve hours per child - ten hours of lessons and two for planning. They will work closely with the child’s teacher to develop a program for lessons, and the time and location that the tuition takes place is flexible.

More information on website...

Primary maths conference: New curriculum, new opportunities

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 23:00:24 +0100

Primary maths has hit the headlines several times this year through the Williams review, the Rose review and the KS2 SATS debate. The importance of mathematical understanding is emphasised in the new primary curriculum and this conference offers opportunities to really explore what this looks like in practice, from a variety of angles but with an eye firmly on the realities of the classroom. All the speakers are nationally recognised speakers and practitioners who are keen to share their passion for teaching and learning primary maths.

Contributors and workshops run by: Mike Askew; Tandi Clausen-May; Jill Mansergh; Liz Meenan; Cherri Moseley; Mike Ollerton; Liz Woodham; Bob Vertes; Helen Williams; Lynne McClure.

The conference will be at the Institute of Education, London on 25 Nov 09.

More details will be here when they are finalised.

Dance Equation - Dance and Maths workshops for schools

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 23:00:24 +0100

A Professional Dance Company offering fun and physical workshops that combine dance and maths delivered in schools.

Professional dance expertise and creative research and development.

Suitable for infant, primary, secondary and special school students, teachers, maths co-ordinators and teaching assistants, community and youth groups, arts and education organisations.

Dance Equation’s main aims are to encourage people to be creative, learn and communicate through dance. Rebecca’s work ethos has always supported these three elements and she was very clear when forming Dance Equation that this would be the grounding to all the work of the company.

Combining Dance and maths is a specialist area that Rebecca has brought to Dance Equation. Since 2004, her interest and expertise have led her to work intensively with professional dancers, young people, teachers and mathematicians to investigate the affinities between the two.

Dance Equation have received funding and support from many organisations including: Creative Partnerships, Nottingham University, Arts Council England, Dance4 (National Dance Agency), Nottingham City Council, Gedling Borough Council, Melton Borough Council, Leicestershire County Council, ABC Arts, Positive Activities for Young People, Keys to Success Partnership, and many schools.

Dance Equation website

CPD programme for non-specialist teachers of maths

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 23:00:24 +0100

The new Mathematics Development Programme for Teachers (MDPT) enables teachers without a maths A-level or maths initial teacher training (ITT) specialism to teach mathematics more effectively.

The course is designed to develop participants’ subject and pedagogical knowledge and help them teach maths to learners aged 11-19 with more confidence, expertise and enthusiasm.

The course is free for participants and the TDA will fund supply cover for participating schools. Teachers meeting eligibility criteria (including the achievement of 40 credits at H level) will receive a Â£5,000 incentive on completion of their course.

The course structure and length is flexible and reflects the needs of individual participants. It comprises a mix of face-to-face tuition and in-school development, and runs for up to 40 days, spread over an intensive summer start and the following academic year. The course offers academic accreditation at honours level, with the option of taking some masters level credits.

The MDPT was developed by the TDA in close consultation with the maths community. It has been successfully piloted in three regions over the last two years and will be available across England from summer 2009.

Full details available here...

Bridges Banff: Mathematics, Music, Art, Architecture, Culture

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 23:00:24 +0100

A collaborative effort by Banff International Research Station. Bridges: Mathematical Connections in Art, Music, and Science.

The Banff Centre, Alberta, Canada - July 26-29, 2009

The Bridges Conferences, running annually since 1998, bring together practicing mathematicians, scientists, artists, educators, musicians, writers, computer scientists, sculptors, dancers, weavers, and model builders in a lively atmosphere of exchange and mutual encouragement. Important components of these conferences, in addition to formal presentations, are hands-on workshops, gallery displays of visual art, working sessions with artists who are crossing the mathematics-arts boundaries, and musical/theatrical events in the evenings.

More information here..

Football maths

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 23:00:24 +0100

The Plus sports page will be regularly updated with stories exploring the maths in sports, from analysing scoring statistics to planning the perfect strategy.

We start off by looking at — what else? — football. Being the manager of a Premier League football club may seem like one of the most glamorous jobs in the world — with the fame comes fortune and the opportunity to travel (well, to Hull, Wigan and Portsmouth anyway). However, as far as job security goes, football managers live on the edge. Their terms can be terminated almost on a whim by their club’s owner, and they live and die by their team’s results.

It would seem that there is no way to predict how long their tenures will be. However, a collection of researchers from the UK, Singapore and the US have found that there may be a strong mathematical trend underlying how long football managers stay in their jobs.

More at +Plus

Maths Models International Conference

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 23:00:24 +0100

The Mathematics Education into the 21st Century Project and The University of Applied Sciences (FH), Dresden (Germany) have just finalised the Second Announcement for our 10th International Conference: ‘Models in Developing Mathematics Education’, Sep 11-17, 2009 in Dresden, Saxony, Germany in cooperation with the Saxony Ministry of Education. International Organisers: Dr. Alan Rogerson, Coordinator of the Mathematics in Society Project (Poland) and Prof. Fayez Mina, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University (Egypt). Chair of the Local Organising Committee: Prof. Dr. Ludwig Paditz, Dresden University of Applied Sciences.

Conference website

Email contact

Maths event calendar with mapping...

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 23:00:24 +0100

You might want to look at the ATM Mathematics Events calendar here...

Events can be submitted using the form linked from the same page.

Submitted events should include a Google friendly address in order to feed the map which can be seen beneath the Calendar itself. To check a Google friendly address go to Google Maps and test the address in the map search box.

ATM Mathematics Events calendar here...

Contribute your views on STEM Agenda...

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 23:00:24 +0100

The STEM Advisory Forum is an opportunity for all those interested in the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics to contribute their views on the STEM agenda. The views expressed on this website will be used to help inform the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills in taking forward the Government’s STEM agenda.

More info here...

Launch content includes a piece by Sir Peter Williams on the primary maths review and the latest STEM Progress Report from DCSF.

Talk about this here at the Forum

Bowland Maths materials are now live...

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 23:00:24 +0100

Bowland Maths makes maths fun for pupils aged 11-14. The aim is to help change pupils' views of maths by increasing their motivation and enjoyment, which should help increase their confidence and their competence. A second aim is to help teach maths in a different way.

The Bowland Maths materials look very different from most maths teaching materials. They consist of innovative case study problems, each taking 3-5 lessons, designed to develop thinking, reasoning and problem solving skills - as in the revised Key Stage 3 curriculum. Each case study is different, but all provide pupils and teachers with problems that are fun and engaging, while also being a rich maths experience. The case studies are not remotely like answering questions from a book.

Bowland Maths also includes Professional Development materials to help teachers with the skills needed for the case studies and for the new Programme of Study. There are five modules which cover the main pedagogical challenges for this type of investigative problem solving. Each module is activity based; it is built around problems similar to the case studies, but short enough to fit into a single lesson.

All these materials are available on the Bowland Player, which is free to UK schools from this website. Some users may have problems accessing interactive content online, so there is a DVD-ROM version, which also has better quality video, available free to schools in England.

Website here...

BCME call for proposals...

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 23:00:24 +0100

The next British Congress in Mathematics Education (BCME) takes place April 6-9 2010. BCME is an event timed to occur between the conferences of its international equivalent, ICME. The expectation is that all sections of mathematics and mathematical education will come together in a single conference to celebrate, enrich, refresh and build mathematical and pedagogical confidence and expertise and about five hundred delegates are expected to attend.

This is a call for research to be presented at the conference. Presentations could take two forms:

Full academic research or discussion papers. These may be up to eight pages long and should conform to the template of the British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics (BSRLM). See http://www.bsrlm.org.uk/infoforpresenters.html for details. These papers will be peer reviewed by members of the BSRLM. The deadline for submission of full papers for publication is 30th September 2009. Authors will be notified of reviewer feedback by the end of November 2009. Revised papers will need to be submitted by 15th January 2010. Papers will be included in the Informal Proceedings of the BSRLM and will be available on the BCME conference CD-ROM.

Short research reports. It is envisaged that these might report on small scale research projects (such as research done by teachers in their schools or research projects undertaken during a Masters course) and work-in-progress. To be considered for inclusion in the programme, you should submit an abstract of up to one page by 15th January 2010. There will be an opportunity to write up these reports as short research papers for the Informal Proceedings of the BSRLM.

Please submit all proposals by email

ICTs in developing pupils’ understanding of algebra...

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 23:00:24 +0100

The University of York, Department of Educational Studies has published a fourth systematic review of the literature report in mathematics education. It is

available on the EPPI Centre website.

This review looked at the use of ICTs in developing pupils’ understanding of algebraic ideas.

The review set out to find out how different software and hardware can be used to develop pupils’ understanding of functions.

Despite considerable investment in ICT, inspection evidence suggests that progress in mathematics is relatively weak. Many pupils find algebra particularly difficult. Teachers and policy makers need access to the best quality evidence of how ICT can be used in this aspect of mathematics.

More info...