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
Jun 24, 2020
Jun 24, 2020
18 min
Melissa Molnar is a Canadian teacher who moved to London for experience and never quite left! She teaches Year 1 (though is currently in an EYFS bubble) and leads maths across her school and the larger school partnership. Melissa talks about her thinking behind planning the partnership’s home learning curriculum, the recovery curriculum and about her involvement in creating the NCETM Primary Lesson videos, and how she has used them since.
We hope that this interview, with others in the series, will generate ideas and allow listeners to reflect on what works best for their own situations.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion, recorded on 22 June 2020, are:
- Melissa Molnar, Y1 teacher and Maths Lead in Greenwich, London.
- Gwen Tresidder: NCETM Communications Manager
Episode chapters
- 00:06 – How home learning started
- 05:06 – Melissa’s working week
- 07:08 – Comparing what children do at home and at school
- 08:08 – Looking towards September
- 08:38 – Creating video lessons for NCETM
- 12:38 – Is teaching via video more difficult?
- 15:26 – Collaborative planning online
Useful links
Melissa tweets as @WoodhillMaths.
During the podcast, Melissa mentions:
Home learning packs from her school
Jun 11, 2020
Jun 11, 2020
18 min
Laura Behan talks about working in the EYFS keyworker bubble as the rest of her school opens up to Reception, Year 1 and Year 6. We hear about how the school has organised staff, children and the buildings, and how they are providing learning from home and support for the rest of the pupils.
We hope that this interview, and others, will generate ideas and allow listeners to reflect on what works best for their own situations.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion, recorded on 10 June 2020, are:
- Laura Behan, Year 2 teacher and Maths Lead at a primary school in Greater Manchester
- Gwen Tresidder: NCETM Communications Manager
Episode chapters
00:06 - Introduction to Laura's school
03:41 - How the phased re-opening started
05:14 - How bubbles work
08:21 - How much social distancing in bubbles
11:51 - What work has been sent home
13:06 - Evidence of pupils' lost learning
15:16 - Thoughts about start of autumn term
16:41 - Advice for schools still to start re-opening
Useful links
Laura tweets as @LauraBehan21. She runs a teacher resource website and blog, Teacher Tips, tweeting as @TeacherTipsUK .
During the podcast, Laura mentions:
May 26, 2020
May 26, 2020
14 min
Craig Tilstone talks about the difficulty of engagement in remote learning in an area with a low socio-economic profile. He talks about the decisions made and steps taken that have improved engagement in maths learning. And he gives an insight into the juggling act of doing all this while schooling his own children from home!
We hope that this interview, and others, will generate ideas and allow listeners to reflect on their own practice, remembering that different contexts require different approaches.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion, recorded on 20 May, are:
- Craig Tilstone, Maths Lead, SLE and Year 6 teacher at a Nottinghamshire primary school
- Gwen Tresidder: NCETM Communications Manager
Episode chapters
- 00:06 – Introduction, and Craig’s new working week
- 02:56 – What learning is being sent home
- 06:26 – What is producing the best engagement at home?
- 07:56 – Opening after half-term?
- 09:06 – Immediate needs for Year 6 pupils?
- 10:06 – Looking ahead to September
- 12:36 – Anything you’ve personally learnt during the lockdown period?
Useful links
Craig tweets as @CraigTilstone
During the podcast, Craig mentions:
White Rose Home Learning resources
Maths No Problem textbook scheme
During April and May 2020 the regular Tuesday night Twitter-based #mathscpdchat frequently discusses teachers’ approaches to remote teaching. Accounts of all these conversation can be found at: https://www.ncetm.org.uk/mathscpdchat.
May 21, 2020
May 21, 2020
16 min
Nick Edwards reflects on how his experience of supporting students through the Grenfell tragedy informed his school’s decision to provide regular video lessons for classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We hope that this interview, and others, will generate ideas and allow listeners to reflect on their own practice, remembering that different contexts require different approaches.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion, recorded on 19 May, are:
- Nick Edwards: Director of Maths working in a secondary school in West London
- Gwen Tresidder: NCETM Communications Manager
Episode chapters
- 00:06 – Introduction, and Nick’s new working week
- 02:12 – How Nick’s department prepared for remote teaching
- 06:06 – Mix of recorded and streamed videos/lessons?
- 07:011 – Description of school
- 08:57 – Level of student engagement
- 11:17 – Plans for helping kids who haven’t been engaging
- 12:36 – Thoughts about re-opening
- 13:44 – Has the Grenfell fire experience helped?
Useful links
During the podcast, Nick mentions:
Google learning platform (schools can now apply for funding to set up the Google learning platform or the Microsoft equivalent) and
May 15, 2020
May 15, 2020
15 min
The fourth of our conversations exploring how schools and teachers are managing the challenges of providing remote learning in maths, supporting students and looking after their own wellbeing during the COVID-19 school closures.
We hope that this interview, and others, will generate ideas and allow you to reflect on your own practice, remembering that different contexts will require different approaches.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion, recorded on 13 May, are:
- Dan Poulson, secondary head of maths at a rural 11-16 school in Lincolnshire
- Gwen Tresidder, NCETM Communications Manager
Episode chapters
- 00:06 – Introduction, and Dan’s new working week
- 02:21 – How Dan’s department prepared for remote teaching
- 03:46 – Which resources is Dan using
- 04:16 – Description of Dan’s school
- 09:16 – Plans for after May half-term break
- 10:31 – Thoughts about students coming back into school
- 13:56 – What has Dan learnt during this phase of school closures
Useful links
Dan mentions these three websites, used by his department
- Mathsbox – mathsbox.org.uk
- GCSEpod – gcsepod.com
- Hegarty Maths – hegartymaths.com
Find the other podcasts in this school closures-related series at https://www.ncetm.org.uk/resources/51240
May 14, 2020
May 14, 2020
16 min
The third of our conversations exploring how schools and teachers are managing the challenges of providing remote learning in maths, supporting students and looking after their own well-being during the Covid-19 school closures.
We hope that this interview, and others, will generate ideas and allow listeners to reflect on their own practice, remembering that different contexts will require different approaches.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion, recorded on 12 May, are:
- Laurie Luscombe: secondary maths teacher working in Oldham
- Gwen Tresidder: NCETM Communications Manager
Episode chapters
- 04:21 – How the maths department planned for remote teaching
- 07:01 – Engagement levels of students
- 09:26 – Exactly what maths work was sent home
- 12:06 – Getting a sense of students’ home life?
- 13:41 – Thoughts about when schools start to open
Useful Links
Laurie tweets as @mrluscombemaths
During April and May 2020 the regular Tuesday night Twitter-based #mathscpdchat frequently discussed teachers’ approaches to remote teaching. Accounts of all these conversation can be found at: https://www.ncetm.org.uk/mathscpdchat.
May 13, 2020
May 13, 2020
13 min
The second of our conversations exploring how schools and teachers are managing the challenges of providing remote learning in maths, supporting students and looking after their own well-being during the Covid-19 school closures.
We hope that this interview, and others, will generate ideas and allow listeners to reflect on their own practice, remembering that different contexts will require different approaches.
Show notes
Taking part in the discussion, recorded on 11 May, are:
- Jo Brown, primary teacher (Year 5), maths lead and maths SLE, working in a school in Kent
- Gwen Tresidder: NCETM Communications Manager
Episode chapters
- 00:00 – Introduction, and Jo’s working week
- 03:55 – How Jo approaches her maths teaching
- 06:10 – Engagement levels of pupils
- 09:43 – Feelings about schools’ phased return
- 11:17 - Lessons learned for the future
Useful links
The NCETM materials, mentioned by Jo: www.ncetm.org.uk/masterypd
During April and May 2020 the regular Tuesday night Twitter-based #mathscpdchat frequently discussed teachers’ approaches to remote teaching. Accounts of all these conversation can be found at: https://www.ncetm.org.uk/resources/51240
May 7, 2020
May 7, 2020
15 min
Since late March schools across England have been closed to most pupils due to the coronavirus pandemic. This podcast explores how schools and teachers are managing the challenges of providing remote learning in maths, supporting students and looking after their own well-being in an unprecedented situation.
Provision of mass remote learning is new to all teachers – where we might normally turn to research or a more experienced colleague, we are now all finding our way. We hope that this interview, and others that follow, will generate ideas and allow listeners to reflect on their own practice, remembering that different contexts will require different approaches.
Taking part in the discussion, recorded on 6 May, are:
- Kathryn Darwin: secondary maths teacher and second in department in a West Yorkshire school
- Gwen Tresidder: NCETM Communications Manager
Episode chapters
00:40 – Structure of working day at home
01:10 – Home learning decisions taken by school
3:00 – Engagement levels of students
6:40 – Feedback from students
7:10 – Looking ahead to when schools come back
13:33 – How every teacher’s situation is unique
Useful links
Kathryn tweets as @Arithmaticks
Her lesson videos are at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfadLE-L18II2megirK4zg/videos
Kathryn is one of the regular hosts on our Tuesday night CPD Twitter chat #mathscpdchat. At 13:45 she mentions this and #LockdownStaffRoom – an initiative she has taken to bring together a Twitter community in a live video ‘staffroom’ type conversation.
Mar 12, 2020
Mar 12, 2020
23 min
Creating time out of class for secondary teachers to engage in professional development activities, inside and outside their own school, can sometimes be difficult. This episode talks to two headteachers, from neighbouring schools in east London, who make it happen as a matter of policy. For several years, teachers from both schools have been released to take part in Maths Hubs activities, mainly in the area of teaching for mastery.
Show notes
The voices you’ll hear are:
- Steve McCormack, NCETM Communications team
- Andy Roberts, Headteacher, Riverside School, Barking
- Janis Davies, Headteacher, The Sydney Russell School, Dagenham
- Neel Khokhar, Mastery Specialist, Riverside School, Barking
- Emmanuel Nanor, Mastery Specialist, The Sydney Russell School, Dagenham
Episode chapters
- 00:00 – Introduction and school descriptions
- 02:40 – Broad rationale for engaging with Maths Hub
- 04:30 – Benefits of teachers being out of class
- 10:55 – Impacts visible to headteachers
- 15:10 – The maths teachers’ perspective
Call to action
If this podcast has sparked your interest, visit our Secondary Mastery Opportunities page to find out how your school can get involved with your local Maths Hub.
Nov 27, 2019
Nov 27, 2019
33 min
Jenny Laurie is a deputy head and maths teacher at The St Marylebone CE School in central London. The school was one of the very earliest to adopt a teaching for mastery approach in maths.
When two maths teachers visited Shanghai, they were particularly struck by the collaborative nature of curriculum planning there, and resolved to introduce a more collegiate way of planning at St Marylebone.
Initially something of a sceptic, Jenny explains why she has been completely won over by the changes they have made, and what she hopes this might mean for their GCSE results in 2020.
Episode chapters
- 00:52: The school and Jenny’s role
- 02:55: Why the school changed the way they taught maths
- 04:24: How the maths department used to work
- 05:05: How they decided to change
- 08:41: The first collaborative planning meeting (on fractions)
- 11:31: Deciding on a system of planning meetings
- 12:40: How is time for these meetings created now?
- 14:44: How collaborative planning saves time
- 15:17: How the planning sessions work
- 16:51: Retention and development of staff
- 17:42: Jenny’s development as a class teacher
- 19:55: Sending one teacher out of school for CPD
- 20:53: Not scripted lessons
- 21:36: When a planned lesson doesn’t work
- 22:58: The effects on students (engagement, results…)
- 25:34: What the data is showing about attainment of all students
- 26:55: Enabling staff to be excellent teachers
- 28:00: Other departments’ interest in collaborative planning
- 30:01: Jenny’s advice to other schools’ senior leaders