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
Wednesday Dec 15, 2021
Introduction to the DfE KS3 Maths Guidance
Wednesday Dec 15, 2021
Wednesday Dec 15, 2021
Mathematics Guidance: Key Stage 3 was published by the DfE in September 2021, but how much have teachers and departments managed to read and familiarise themselves with it? And how can it be used to support teaching in secondary schools? This interview explores the guidance and how it might be used, with Carol Knights who led the writing of it, and Carrie Martin, who is beginning to use it with the schools in her MAT.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion are:
- Carol Knights, NCETM Director for secondary
- Carrie Martin, Senior Network Leader of Maths, Cabot Learning Federation, SW England
- Steve McCormack, NCETM Communications Director.
Episode Chapters
- 01:57 The structure of the guidance
- 02:25 The introductory section
- 03:42 The sample curriculum framework
- 05:40 What’s in the main body of the guidance
- 07:47 Making links to KS2
- 09:50 Ideas for use in the classroom
- 10:30 Using the guidance to review your KS3 curriculum
- 12:48 How the guidance is being used in Carrie’s MAT
- 14:25 Using the guidance without using the suggested sequencing of topics
- 22:10 Tips for navigating the guidance
- 23:04 How the guidance helps busy KS3 teachers know about KS2 maths.
Useful links
Information about the KS3 Guidance on the NCETM website
NCETM KS3 Mastery Professional Development Materials
NCETM exemplified Key Ideas: in PowerPoint files useful for the classroom
NCETM Checkpoints: Year 7 classroom activities to assess prior learning from KS2
Wednesday Oct 20, 2021
Teaching maths in a special school
Wednesday Oct 20, 2021
Wednesday Oct 20, 2021
In either a special school or a mainstream setting, no two pupils with special needs have the same abilities or difficulties. A secondary maths lead in a special school explains how she and her colleagues adapt maths teaching so that all pupils can engage and learn, and tells us about a Maths Hub Work Group which focuses on ways to teach maths to pupils with SEND.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion are:
- Sophie Cocker, secondary maths lead at Ravenshall School, a special school in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
- Beth Goodliff, NCETM Communications Manager.
Episode chapters
- 01:02 – The characteristics of the pupils at Ravenshall School and how these shape teaching
- 01:46 – Pupils’ starting points in the maths classroom
- 02:44 – Semi-formal classroom settings and finding ‘mathematical moments’
- 03:26 – What a maths lesson might look like, and cross-curricular maths activities
- 06:59 – Sophie’s experience of moving from a mainstream maths PGCE to teaching maths in a special school, and engaging with her local Maths Hub
- 10:16 – Making elements of teaching for mastery work in a special school
- 12:41 – The manipulatives and resources used
- 15:04 – Training other teachers in the school to teach maths
- 17:16 – Taking part in, and leading, a Work Group exploring maths teaching in special schools
- 22:02 – Plans for the Work Group this year
Useful links
- West Yorkshire Maths Hub
- Information about teaching for mastery on the NCETM website
- Information about the Maths Hubs Network across England and all the CPD opportunities Maths Hubs offer
Friday Oct 08, 2021
Embedding mastery in a primary school
Friday Oct 08, 2021
Friday Oct 08, 2021
Embedding teaching for mastery in a classroom and across a primary school takes time. In this episode two teachers tell how working with their Maths Hub has gradually led to improvements in maths learning across their schools.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion are:
- Ellie Kelly, Maths Lead and Y1/2 teacher at The Revel C of E Primary School, near Rugby
- Becky O’Neill, Assistant Principal and Maths Lead at Henry Hinde Infant School, near Rugby, and also Primary Teaching for Mastery Lead with Origin Maths Hub
- Steve McCormack, NCETM Communications Director.
Useful links
Information about teaching for mastery on the NCETM website
Information about the Maths Hubs Network across England and all the CPD opportunities they offer.
Tuesday Oct 05, 2021
Using Checkpoints in the Year 7 classroom
Tuesday Oct 05, 2021
Tuesday Oct 05, 2021
The new NCETM Checkpoints resources are designed to support Year 7 teachers in formatively assessing what mathematical understanding their students have brought from primary school. Four PowerPoint decks are already published, full of activities and supported by teacher guidance. The rest will be published over the course of the year.
This podcast episode discusses Checkpoints with Becky Donaldson, one of the authors, and Steph Kirk, a teacher using them with her Year 7 classes.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion are:
- Steph Kirk, Year 7 teacher and Curriculum Lead from Trinity Academy St. Edward’s in Barnsley
- Becky Donaldson, NCETM Assistant Director for Secondary
- Gwen Tresidder, NCETM Communications Manager
Episode chapters
- 00:42 – What is a Checkpoint?
- 02:50 – Steph Kirk – intro to her and her school
- 06:25 – Becky Donaldson – intro
- 07:52 – Steph: using Checkpoints in her classroom
- 12:30 – Becky: writing the Checkpoints activities
- 15:20 – What ‘algebra’ looks like in primary
- 16:20 – Checkpoints for CPD
- 17:53 – Steph: mapping Checkpoints to her own SoW
- 19:03 – ‘Dots’ Checkpoint 4, from Arithmetic procedures with integers and decimals (see below)
- 24:15 – ‘Arithmequick’ Checkpoint 15 from Expressions and equations
- 25:05 – The distributive law (The distributive law is addressed in Core Concept 1.4 of the NCETM Secondary Mastery Professional Development Materials)
- 27:07 – Unitising (Read more about unitising here: What is unitising, and why is it important? | NCETM)
- 34:58 – Shape balance, Checkpoint 2 from Expressions and equations
- 40:33 – Join a professional discussion about Checkpoints
Useful links
Becky tweets as @donaldson_maths and Steph tweets as @steph_mathsive
Checkpoints webpage, where you can download the PowerPoints and sign up for the seminars
Teachers can join a professional discussion about using the Checkpoints activities in our Basecamp community
NCETM Secondary Mastery Professional Development Materials
NCETM Primary Mastery Professional Development Materials
Steph mentions using double-sided counters and algebra tiles. Using mathematical representations at KS3 | NCETM offers more guidance with using these resources and others.
Monday Sep 06, 2021
Maths education books – reviewed and distilled
Monday Sep 06, 2021
Monday Sep 06, 2021
Lisa Coe reviews education books, alongside being primary maths lead for a MAT in the East of England. In this interview she talks about the maths books that she has found most useful, what she has learned from them and why she writes a blog to summarise their most useful points.
Many of the books she reads are written by secondary maths specialists, and she talks about what these can offer primary, as well as secondary teachers.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion are:
- Lisa Coe, Primary Maths Lead for the Inspiration Trust
- Gwen Tresidder, NCETM Communications Manager.
Episode chapters
- 00:58 - Lisa’s summer reading (novels)
- 02:10 - Lisa’s work as Maths Lead for five primary schools
- 04:08 - How Lisa started reviewing books
- 07:30 - ‘How I wish I’d taught maths’ - Craig Barton
- 09:11 - ‘Visible Maths’ - Peter Mattock (and also 20:40)
- 11:21 - What secondary books can offer primary teachers
- 12:11 - ‘Mathematical Tasks’ - Chris McGrane
- 13:54 - How Lisa finds the time to read
- 16:13 - Cover-to-cover, or dipping in?
- 17:02 - ‘Mathematical methods’ - Jo Morgan
- 18:33 - How reading fits in with other CPD
- 20:46 - Recommendations for new teachers or trainees
- 23:04 - ‘Thinking deeply about primary mathematics’ - Kieran Mackle
- 25:36 - Lisa’s next reads
Useful links
Lisa tweets as @Elsie2110. Her blog is at elsie2110.wordpress.com
Lisa talks about the following books:
A Little Life. Hanya Yanagihara. 2020
Mathematical Tasks: The Bridge Between Teaching and Learning. Chris McGrane. 2020
A Compendium of Mathematical Methods. Joanne Morgan. 2020
Thinking Deeply about Primary Mathematics. Kieran Mackle. 2020
Also, Kieran Mackle’s podcast: Thinking Deeply about Primary Education
Teaching Math With Examples. Michael Pershan. 2021
The Future of Teaching And The Myths That Hold It Back. Guy Claxton. 2021
Thursday Aug 26, 2021
Starting out with a new maths class
Thursday Aug 26, 2021
Thursday Aug 26, 2021
The first few lessons with a new class can be the most important. If rules, routines and relationships are established clearly, there's a good chance the year will go smoothly. In this podcast, teachers from three different secondary schools discuss what's worked well for them in the past.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion are:
- Adam Creen, head of post-16 maths at Salesian College in Surrey
- Dawn Denyer, Assistant Head, St Wilfrid's Catholic School, Crawley, West Sussex
- Mel Muldowney, maths teacher at North Bromsgrove High School in Worcestershire
- Steve McCormack, NCETM Communications Director
Useful links
- Mel tweets as @Just_Maths
- Dawn tweets as @mrsdenyer
- Adam tweets as @robotmaths
The free website mentioned by Adam, created by Simon Singh, can be found at parallel.org.uk.
You may also be interested in our feature with suggestions of resources and CPD opportunities that may be worth considering at the start of a new school year.
Thursday Jul 08, 2021
Remote teaching: the digital revolution?
Thursday Jul 08, 2021
Thursday Jul 08, 2021
Two tech-enthusiastic teachers discuss what’s been learned by remote teaching, and what still limits learning
This podcast was recorded in July 2021 in the final weeks of a very disrupted school year.
Over the past decade, Andy has been exploring the possibilities offered to maths teaching by ‘digital ink’ (being able to hand-write on a screen). He found this invaluable to his teaching during the two school closure periods, and we wanted to see what Kyle thought about his ideas. Kyle has appeared on the podcast previously: Remote teaching returns 1 – Kyle Evans and Kathryn Darwin | NCETM
Until March, Andy Lumley was teaching at Cheadle Hulme School in Stockport. Kyle Evans teaches and leads maths at Barton Peveril sixth form college near Southampton.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion are:
- Kyle Evans, Director of Maths and computer science at a large sixth form college near Southampton
- Andy Lumley, Learning Technology Lead, MEI
- Gwen Tresidder, NCETM Communications Manager.
Episode chapters
- 01:46 – Andy explains what he thinks technology can (and can’t) offer
- 02:56 – What is ‘digital ink’ and what does it offer
- 03:45 – Digital ink for teachers
- 06:26 – Digital ink for students
- 07:04 – What is being used at Kyle’s college
- 08:50 – Kyle’s hesitancy about replacing paper and pencil
- 10:51 – Should every student have a stylus?
- 12:01 – What would they keep from remote teaching?
- 17:03 – Student engagement online
Useful Links
Kyle tweets as @kyledevans. Andy tweets as @desire2undrstnd.
Tuesday May 18, 2021
Our Tuesday Twitter-based chats
Tuesday May 18, 2021
Tuesday May 18, 2021
Secondary maths teachers Gemma Scott and Kathryn Darwin both occasionally host the NCETM’s Tuesday evening Twitter-based chat under the hashtag #mathscpdchat. Why do they do it? Aren’t they busy enough as senior members of their maths departments? And why do they think these chats can provide powerful CPD for maths teachers, even those who don’t use Twitter?
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion are:
- Gemma Scott, head of maths at an 11-18 comprehensive near Hull
- Kathryn Darwin, second in department at an 11-16 comprehensive in West Yorkshire
- Steve McCormack, NCETM Communications Director.
Useful links
Gemma tweets as @DirectorMaths
Kathryn tweets as @Arithmaticks
Find all summaries of previous chats, and notices of upcoming chats, on our #mathscpdchat page.
You can find out more about the discussions in our feature article.
Three summaries mentioned in detail during the conversation can be found among the summaries, as follows:
- Grade descriptors – 20 April 2021
- Surds – 28 January 2020
- Reasoning – 8 January 2019.
Thursday Feb 11, 2021
Remote teaching returns 2 – Steph Elliot
Thursday Feb 11, 2021
Thursday Feb 11, 2021
Steph Elliot is Year 6 teacher and Maths Lead at a one-form entry school in Newcastle. When the country went into lockdown in January 2021, the school started to provide half an hour live input for each class every day. Steph talks about the advantages and difficulties of teaching live online lessons and shares some resources she has created. She also talks about her involvement with Maths Hub CPD through this period.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion are:
- Steph Elliot: Year 6 teacher and Maths Lead at a primary school in Newcastle
- Gwen Tresidder: NCETM Communications Manager
Episode chapters
- 00:56 – Steph’s school’s remote provision
- 03:06 – Live lessons in maths
- 07:54 – Successful lesson resources
- 09:44 – Supporting parents
- 13:06 – Pros and cons of live lessons
- 16:13 – Engaging in Maths Hub CPD at this time
Useful links
Steph tweets as @eenalol and has a blog: A little but a lot where you can find the resources she has created, and a variety of journals and blogs. The ‘Among Us’ resource that she mentions in the interview is posted on 28 January (2021) and the February maths calendar is posted on 26 January (2021).
During the interview, Steph mentions the following:
Wednesday Feb 03, 2021
Should more girls be taking A level Maths?
Wednesday Feb 03, 2021
Wednesday Feb 03, 2021
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion are:
- Louise Maule, Project Lead, Maths4Girls
- Enuma Afulukwe, Head of Maths, The Hemel Hempstead School
- Steve McCormack, NCETM Communications Director
Episode chapters
- 00:06 – Introduction and overview of Maths4Girls
- 02:26 – Why is this necessary?
- 06:06 – How do schools take part?
- 11:56 – One school’s experience
Useful links
Maths4Girls webpage: www.founders4schools.org.uk/educators/maths4girls
Twitter: @Founders4School
For more information, contact Louise Maule at louise.maule@founders4schools.org.uk