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Welcome to the NCETM
The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics provides effective strategic leadership for mathematics-specific CPD. It aims to raise the professional status of all those engaged in the teaching of mathematics so that the mathematical potential of learners will be fully realised.
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Proof is at the heart of mathematics yet it is challenging to teach and to learn. On 9 June from 11:30 to 12:30 the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics will be holding an online panel discussion on the teaching and learning of proof. The discussion will be viewable online by clicking on a web link which will be visible on the NCETM portal homepage. All viewers will be able to interact with the discussion by emailing questions for the panel in advance or whilst watching.
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In January 2008 the candidate numbers for all four AS/A Level Mathematics specifications (in England) showed an increase of between 10% and 15%, compared to January 2007. If this represents a genuine increase in the number of students opting for mathematics post-16, it is incredibly good news. Your help in completing a short online survey about this would be very much appreciated.
Adult Learners' Week (17-23 May 2008) is the UK's largest and longest running learning campaign, now in its seventeenth year. Adult Learners' Week is an opportunity for you to make a difference by inspiring others to give learning a go. Whether you're an employer, a provider of learning or a potential partner there are many benefits to getting involved.
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In its report ‘World Class Skills’ the government accepted the challenging targets recommended by the Leitch report and set out its agenda for raising skills levels. The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) has been commissioned by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), to work with key partners to develop a National Numeracy for Employability Strategy.
Steve Pratchett, Senior Lecturer in Primary Geography at the College of St Mark & St John in Plymouth, has undertaken a number of activities combining Geography with mathematics in local primary schools, and written extensively about these and the learning that resulted from them.
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'Building motivation and attainment in mathematics', the series of free maths teacher meetings, is taking place again in Summer 2008, and registration is now open. These events are always very popular, so please do register for yourself and as many of your colleagues as you like.
This induction course is aimed at people who have started teaching mathematics in UK higher education institutions within the last three years, whether they are new graduates or coming from industry or from outside the UK.
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The NCETM has exemplified the TDA and LLUK Professional Standards – find out more about what these might look like for teachers of mathematics to support your career development.
The NCETM has developed a Mathematics Content Knowledge self-evaluation tool for teachers of mathematics in early years, Key Stages 1, 2, 3, 4 and KS5, and Adult Learners. Find out what you are confident with and discover other topics where you need to develop your understanding further.
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I missed last year’s ATM conference, whose theme was Functioning Mathematically. So I decided to attend the double session, three hours, on Functional Mathematics at this year’s joint conference, 'Joined Up Mathematics'.
I am writing this from France where the question I ponder every time I visit is "Why are the French so numerically literate?" You only need to open the local or National press to see detailed statistical information, graphs and financial data dripping off the pages.
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The NCETM grants scheme enables to award grants to support teacher research or teacher development projects associated with mathematics teaching and learning. Applications in the next round will be invited, it is anticipated that the application period will run from 9th June - 11th July 2008. Applications should be submitted to the NCETM directorate before the closing dates.
The NCETM awarded a grant of £5,120 to Wilberforce College, East Hull. The project started in January 2007 for the duration of 11 months. The project were considering the following questions, 'to what extent does making connections within mathematics aid the learning, and how does it do so?' and 'how does a lack of connections hinder learning?'. This project has now finished and their final report has been submitted to the NCETM.
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What do people think about the Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy focus in the new EYFS? Does it go far enough to develop early understanding of mathematical concepts?
I don't want to say to the students "so, to find the nth term you look at the difference and write down that number followed by n, then you adjust accordingly." It seems very easy to tell them how to do it without them developing any real understanding.
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Is mathematics a natural human endeavour? Do we all have innate mathematical ability? And how does our belief in this affect what we do in the classroom?
As teachers we sometimes think we are being helpful when we break a concept down into little parts - teach each part separately and then try and put the picture together at the end. This rarely works. People need to understand where they are going to stand a chance of getting there.
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