Engaging Students, Developing Confidence, Promoting Independence

How do we develop positive attitudes towards mathematics and learning mathematics?

- Use a wide range of tasks and resources - Enthusiastic teachers, with a 'can do' positive attitude - Plenty of opportunities for students to experience success - Hands-on approaches to learning - Use real life examples and explore links with other subjects - Offer positive role models of mathematicians - Maths Clubs - e.g. older students mentoring younger students - Posters publicising maths - Share learning with parents (e.g. maths evenings to encourage positive attitudes amongst parents) - 'Make it enjoyable': Maths challenges, competitions, puzzles of the month, celebrate achievements How do we develop confident learners who are able to work independently and willing to take risks?

- Acknowledge all contributions positively, encourage learning from mistakes, welcome wrong answers as the springboard to new understanding - Use positive language - Encourage independent and small group research - Value different approaches to solving problems How do we develop good communicators - good at listening, speaking and working purposefully in groups?

- Plan lessons which focus on group work - Set 'group-worthy' tasks that offer plenty to talk about - Set a rule that groups are not 'allowed' to move on until all the students understand - Allow time for presentation of findings - Set the rule: "Don't ask the teacher - ask at least three other students first" - Teachers take a step back and ask students to explain to the class their methods and reasoning - Teachers question the answers, rather than answer the questions - Mix up groups - expect students to take on a variety of roles and work with a variety of people - Ask students to prepare tests and answers for younger age group - Ask students to make a podcast or film on a given topic How do we develop students who have appropriate strategies when they get stuck?

Engaging Students, Developing Confidence, Promoting Independence

- Offer higher-order, open ended tasks to get students used to being 'stuck' - Encourage students to explain their difficulty to the rest of the class - vocalise the problem, "say it out loud". Follow-up with an open discussion of the options available - Offer easy access to a variety of resources - Offer tasks in which students have to identify and correct errors and encourage similar reflection on their own work - Create a culture in which 'thinking outside the box' is valued How do we develop lessons that maintain the complexity whilst making the mathematics accessible?

- Gradually increase the complexity of tasks - Give plenty of time to engage in and 'solve' problems - the process is more important than the answer - Use investigational tasks which can be accessed by everyone but can have different levels of outcome - low threshold, high ceiling tasks - Be positive about any steps students take towards solving the problem, however small - Present tasks in different formats - Encourage a supportive environment in which students work together, discuss ideas and turn to each other for help How do we develop students' ability to make connections (e.g. see/utilise different aspects of mathematics in one context, see applications in other areas)?

- "Where have we seen this before?" - Present problems that can use many areas of maths - Present open problems which allow students to ask their own questions and develop the need to learn something new - Present problems based on real life and cross curricular contexts - Invite outside speakers and professionals to discuss the use of maths in their jobs How do we develop critical learners who value and utilise differences (e.g. different approaches/ routes to solution)?

- Encourage group work, peer assessment, rotation feedback, discussion - Change the composition of groups regularly - Ask key questions: What are the strengths and weaknesses of this method? When might you use this method? - Encourage contributions from all the students - Require students to explain their solution - Emphasise method rather than outcome - Bring students together for mini-plenaries to share and compare approaches - Set problems which can be solved in a variety of ways