mathematics

Teaching for mastery: The pros and cons

Written by Jo Lees Jo has taught and led mathematics in primary and secondary settings. She is a former member of ACME and is on the MA committee for CPD. In her current post, apart from co-authoring The Shanghai Maths Project for Collins, Jo leads a large local authority… Read More

Explaining a mastery approach to parents/carers

Every new generation of parents must scratch their heads when their children show them their maths homework, with methods of teaching and learning mathematics going through more changes than any other subject. Over the past fifty years there has been rote learning, then ‘new maths’, discovery learning, set theory and… Read More

Cultivating Curiosity

At the end of last year I was asked to speak at The Educational Collaborative for International Schools (ECIS) Educators Conference in Copenhagen. The theme of the conference was Cultivating Curiosity, not just from the viewpoint of inquiry as a catalyst for learning, but also in trying to… Read More

How to…prepare for the new times tables test

In January, the UK Government announced plans to test every pupil in England on their times tables before leaving primary school. An effective way to prepare pupils for the new times tables tests is by using the new Collins' Times Tables Simulator Read More

How are you celebrating Pi Day?

We celebrate Pi day on March 14th as this date (3/14) in the American system gives the well known approximation to Pi of 3.14. π is a fantastically surprising number offering both the professional and amateur mathematician a feast of discovery opportunities. Let us remind ourselves of the… Read More

Packing for the holidays

The ‘travelling to relatives’ season is nearly upon us. With this comes the need to pack suitcases and make sure you can fit everything in without leaving any important Christmas items behind. Packing is a very logical mathematical exercise and when packing anything from suitcases, the boot of your car,… Read More

A Mathematical Rendezvous

Learning mathematics practically in the classroom is at the core of empowering an individual's understanding of the subject, writes Steve Humble. Read More

World Maths Day: 14th October 2015

World Maths Day is a fabulous way to celebrate the world of maths but there’ll be some for whom maths isn’t their favourite subject and a maths day may be their idea of torture. Planning World Maths Day to not just be a day of maths will help… Read More

Coding’s Back in Town – Let’s Use it to Inspire Maths

  For me utilising coding in mathematics lessons started in my first school job. I was asked, “as a maths person can you code?” “Yes” was my response and off I went. I began by teaching students how to write retro-games such as Space Invaders and Pac-Man as… Read More

The Magical Number Seven

  Newcastle University hosted the ‘Numbers Festival’ from 27th June to 5th July 2015 in a variety of venues in and around Newcastle. The main aim for the festival was to promote… Read More