The NCETM Maths Podcast, from the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics, invites teachers, maths experts and anyone with a passion for teaching maths to talk about topics that shine a light on great maths teaching. With ideas for classroom activities, inspirational stories of careers in maths, and lively debates on contemporary topics, the NCETM podcast has something for everyone. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Episodes
Tuesday Jul 04, 2023
Tuesday Jul 04, 2023
Two Secondary Mastery Specialists explain the benefits of mastery to them, their departments, and their students.
A transcript (PDF) of this episode is available to download.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion:
- Beth Goodliff, Senior Communications Manager at the NCETM
- Paula Kelly, Secondary Mastery Specialist, LLME, Maths PGCE tutor, and teacher at Fulford School in York
- Tom Lumley, Secondary Mastery Specialist, LLME, SCITT tutor, and teacher at South Hunsley School in East Yorkshire.
Episode chapters
- 00:17 – Introductions
- 01:50 – The decision to become a Mastery Specialist
- 02:33 – Benefits to you as a teacher and benefits to the department
- 07:38 – Changes that have taken place in the maths department
- 10:39 – How the department have been trained in teaching for mastery
- 18:51 – Benefits to a school of having an LLME
Useful links
Monday Jul 03, 2023
Monday Jul 03, 2023
A primary maths lead in an area of high social and economic deprivation explains how a mastery approach to teaching precise mathematical vocabulary is giving pupils in her school a voice.
A transcript (PDF) of this episode is available to download.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion:
- Julia Thomson, Communications Manager at the NCETM
- Victoria Moore, maths lead and Year 5 teacher, Usworth Colliery Primary School.
Episode chapters
- 00:06 – Introductions and school context
- 02:10 – How the school’s approach to teaching maths vocabulary has changed
- 03:40 – The purpose of using ambitious, higher-level maths vocabulary
- 05:32 – The approach to vocabulary across the school
- 07:00 – How staff have adapted to using higher-level maths vocabulary
- 09:59 – The impact on pupils
- 13:12 – Benefits of teaching maths vocabulary for higher attainers
- 16:00 – Explicit teaching of mathematical vocabulary
Useful links
Thursday Jun 08, 2023
Thursday Jun 08, 2023
We speak to Maths4Girls, who provide inspirational speakers and role models to talk to students about why girls can and should study maths.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion:
- Beth Goodliff, Senior Comms Manager at the NCETM
- Mina Gerowin, founder of Maths4Girls
- Alison Rowan McEwan, executive director at Founders4Schools
- Noshin Begum, marketing and comms lead for Maths4Girls
- Lou Hoskyns-Staples, Research and Innovation Work Group Lead for ‘Girls and STEM’.
Useful links
Wednesday Dec 14, 2022
Wednesday Dec 14, 2022
Every year the SHINE organisation gives grants to schools and individual teachers to develop ideas related to maths learning. We find out more about the grants and how the application system works. We also talk to to primary teachers about the projects they've received funding for.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion:
- Eleanor Heathcote, SHINE
- Roy Clutterbuck, Byron Wood Primary School, Sheffield
- Laura Jarvis, East Ward Primary School, Bury
- Steve McCormack, NCETM Communications Director
Useful links
Wednesday Oct 12, 2022
Wednesday Oct 12, 2022
In summer 2022, for the first time since 2019, large-scale GCSE exams took place in school and college halls and gyms. And, just like every year before the pandemic, they were marked externally. What have we learnt? In this discussion, representatives from the awarding bodies give feedback from the hundreds of thousands of papers that were marked.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion:
- Mark Heslop, Pearson/Edexcel
- Neil Ogden, OCR
- Andrew Taylor, AQA
- Steve McCormack, NCETM Communications Director
Episode chapters
- 00:08 Introductions and headline observations
- 04:15 Algebra
- 09:00 Higher tier questions and Advanced Information
- 17:45 Questions involving graphs and diagrams
- 22:40 Petrol prices, car number plates and ice cream cones (questions that raised a smile)
Useful links
For Edexcel, follow @EmporiumMaths on Twitter.
For OCR, go to their website.
For AQA, follow @AQAMaths on Twitter.
The NCETM shares information from all awarding bodies, the DfE, Ofqual and others via the Twitter account @NCETMQandC.
Thursday Sep 29, 2022
Thursday Sep 29, 2022
Hollie Burgess teaches maths to Year 6 at a one-form entry primary school in Rutland. She’s recently taken on the role of maths lead. But she hasn’t always found maths easy – in fact her experience of maths GCSE was tortuous and demoralising. In this conversation Hollie shares the insights her experience has given her, into what some of her pupils might be experiencing. And she encourages teachers to recognise the importance of children’s confidence and happiness in helping them to learn.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion:
- Hollie Burgess, Year 6 teacher and maths lead, Ketton Church of England School, Rutland
- Gwen Tresidder, NCETM Communications Manager.
Episode chapters
- 01:00 Introduction to Hollie and her school
- 03:55 Hollie’s maths story: primary and secondary school
- 10:33 Hollie’s maths story: post-16
- 15:10 Hollie’s maths story: university
- 16:20 Did you fear teaching maths?
- 17:58 How does your experience affect your classroom practice?
- 21:04 Tips for teachers who have never found maths difficult.
Useful links
Hollie tweets as @hollieteach.
At 02:58 Hollie mentions that her school is involved in Maths Hubs CPD in a Teaching for Mastery (Sustaining) Work Group with East Midlands South Maths Hub. Find out more by following the links.
Friday Sep 23, 2022
Friday Sep 23, 2022
Two authors talk about their new resources and suggest tips for addressing social issues through maths
There’s undoubtedly plenty of maths in climate change science. But how can teachers bring some of this real-life data into the classroom, allowing students to see maths as a tool to help interpret the world? Is this a maths teacher’s responsibility, or should they stick to more abstract maths? What is the best way to manage discussion on social (and potentially emotive) issues?
MEI and the Royal Meteorological Society have recently published four resources to support teachers in raising issues of climate science through maths lessons. They cover Trees for Net Zero, Trees and Carbon Capture, Extreme Weather, and EVolution of Vehicle Sales.
Alistair and Tom, two of the resource authors, talk about what they considered in creating the resources and how they hope teachers might use them with students in Key Stage 3 or Core Maths classes.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion:
- Alistair Bissell, AMSP Level 3 Maths Professional Development Coordinator
- Tom Rainbow, AMSP National Coordinator for Core Maths Professional Development
- Gwen Tresidder, NCETM Communications Manager.
Episode chapters
- 00:00 Introducing the speakers
- 01:22 Overview of the resources
- 02:52 What are maths teachers’ responsibilities for addressing social and political issues?
- 05:18 What are the benefits of addressing such issues?
- 06:45 How did you choose which aspects of climate change to focus on?
- 08:30 What will students learn?
- 14:10 Managing emotive issues and differences of opinion in the classroom
- 18:17 Maintaining balance
- 21:58 Digging into the maths.
Useful links
Alistair tweets as @comparagrams, Tom tweets as @CoreMathsTom – they would welcome feedback from teachers and students on use of these resources.
The Maths and Climate Change resources can be found on MEI's website.
Wednesday Aug 31, 2022
Wednesday Aug 31, 2022
A wide ranging conversation covering engagement, curriculum, classroom culture, and preparing students for maths beyond school
Susan Okereke is a secondary maths teacher in London, recently moving to St. Mark’s Academy in South London as Lead Practitioner in maths. She also leads Work Groups for the London SE Plus Maths Hub. Beyond that, she has developed a role as an independent ‘maths communicator’, aiming to make maths less frightening and more available to all, throughout their lives and not only during school. She does this through her podcast, blog, social media and public speaking.
In this conversation, Susan tells us about what she considers when faced with new classes, including creating the right environment, setting expectations, dealing with disruption and prioritising the classes and students she finds most challenging. She also gives her views on the difficulties with the current GCSE maths curriculum, particularly at Foundation level, what might better replace it and how powerful maths can be as a tool for social mobility
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion are:
- Susan Okereke, maths teacher and Lead Practitioner, St. Mark’s Academy, Mitcham, London
- Gwen Tresidder, NCETM Communications Manager
Episodes:
- 00:00 – Intro and background
- 03:46 – How teaching adult numeracy informs the way Susan now teaches secondary students
- 10:16 – GCSE Foundation maths curriculum ‘not fit for purpose’
- 15:41 – Susan talks about her role as a ‘maths communicator’
- 16:36 – Maths as a tool for social mobility: encouraging diversity and inclusion
- 21:28 – What Susan is thinking about with new classes in September
- 24:56 – The importance of learner engagement: creating an approach response in the brain
- 26:41 – Managing students who are not in the right state to learn
Useful links:
Susan tweets as @DoTheMathsThing
Susan’s website, Do the Maths Thing, contains links to all the projects Susan is currently involved in, and to her blog
Susan co-hosts the Maths Appeal podcast with Bobby Seagull.
Tuesday Jul 19, 2022
Tuesday Jul 19, 2022
How can a maths department and mentor best support their maths ECT?
Sarah Williams is one of 2021/22’s maths Early Career Teachers (ECTs), and Scott Gibson is her mentor, with two decades of experience teaching maths. We talk to them about how department collaborative planning procedures and open, approachable mentoring have made Sarah’s first year in teaching ‘fantastic’!
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion are:
- Sarah Williams, maths ECT at David Nieper Academy
- Scott Gibson, maths teacher at David Nieper Academy
- Gwen Tresidder, NCETM Communications Manager
Episodes:
- 01:06 – Introducing Sarah, Scott and their school
- 06:20 – Y7 maths project: Mini-olympics
- 07:26 – Teaching Y7 fractions/probability unit
- 10:41 – How department collaborative planning has been supportive
- 21:21 – The advantages of being a mature ECT
- 24:06 – Tips for new ECTs
- 25:09 – The mentoring role
- 27:31 – Advice for new mentors
Useful links:
Planning collaboratively and learning together as a department | NCETM (an article written in June 2022 about collaborative planning at David Nieper Academy, mentioned in the conversation)
Specialist Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics - Secondary Early Career Teachers | NCETM Details of a maths-specific CPD project run in Maths Hubs around the country, specifically for ECTs
A framework of standards to help early career teachers succeed at the start of their careers
Thursday Jun 30, 2022
Thursday Jun 30, 2022
NCETM’s Director for Primary tells us why she thinks teachers no longer need to provide different work for different children
Debbie Morgan, NCETM Director for Primary, has been considering the practice of differentiation in the primary maths classroom – specifically the practice of planning for different questioning and supplementary tasks for different groups of children, even where most of the lesson is taught to the whole class. Fresh from speaking at a number of summer conferences in 2022, Debbie explained her developing thinking to us on the podcast.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion:
- Debbie Morgan, NCETM Director for Primary
- Gwen Tresidder, NCETM Communications Manager
Episode chapters:
- 01:04 – Should there be any differentiation within a teaching for mastery approach?
- 04:41 – How can teachers cater for children who understand concepts more quickly?
- 14:19 – Can all children access these lessons, even those with SEND that affects their maths learning?
- 16:36 – How does whole class teaching work for children with gaps in schooling?
- 18:06 – Would you remove differentiation from an upper primary class that were new to a mastery approach?
- 20:11 – Does removing differentiation reduce teacher workload?
Useful links:
- Debbie tweets as @ThinkingMaths
- More about teaching for mastery can be found on the NCETM Teaching for mastery page
- To explore CPD opportunities in teaching for mastery, visit the Maths Hubs CPD page: What Maths Hubs are doing | NCETM, then use the ‘Primary’ filter.