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Making Mathematics fun, engaging and practical, so children have a chance to enjoy it

Making Mathematics fun, engaging and practical, so children have a chance to enjoy it

This week’s blog focuses on Mathematics, and in a fortnight’s time we will concentrate on English. We spent a lot of time last year thinking about Science as we opened up our new Science Hub facility – which the girls are utilising and enjoying on a daily basis – so we are now going to focus on these other key subjects, without which, of course, Science could not occur or be communicated!

Some of you might have had an experience of learning Mathematics which was a bit dry, or perhaps a bit more theoretical than you would have enjoyed. With our fantastically enthusiastic Mathematics teachers here at school we try to avoid these off-putting experiences by making sure that the subject comes to life for our students. Our teachers make Mathematics relevant for real life, and show how Mathematics is essential not just for some of the more obvious careers, but for a wide range of professions, pastimes, and in day to day life from finding the best mortgage to balancing the household budget.  

In the Junior School the class teachers are also keen to show the girls how Mathematics is ‘everywhere’ around us. For instance during the Junior School Mathematics Week last year, girls from Reception through to Year 6 spent time in the grounds and around the school discovering mathematics in use all around – from measuring trees and perimeters and estimating the number of leaves on trees in order to create maps of Coe Fen, to working out how much of their playtime was left. The Year 6 girls began investigating the Fibonacci sequence, evidence of which appears in nature – such as in a pair of snails’ shells found in a tree – and used the sequence to create their own spiral patterns. As Mr Matthew O’Reilly reflects:

“for too long Mathematics has been seen as a ‘difficult’ subject which you either get or don’t get – this negative view is outdated and by making Mathematics fun, engaging and practical, children have a chance to enjoy it! We should be asking children to work out the change at the shops, to count the number of red cars on a trip to school, or to entertain themselves by working out the five times table on a long car journey”.

This passion for teaching useful mathematics is further developed by the Senior School Mathematics department. Head of Mathematics, Mr Darren Kelly, advocates that one enormous part of the battle is won by the students “seeing that, as a Mathematics teacher, you enjoy it too.” One way in which Mr Kelly does this is by sharing relevant stories about his own extra-curricular mathematical challenges with his students. For instance, A Level groups study ‘conics’, in which the properties of cones intersecting with flat surfaces are investigated. Mr Kelly shared with the students his experience at a garden centre with his wife, when they were considering purchasing a water feature that used a cone to distribute the water. The girls were asked how they would have approached the problem of working out how much water would be used in the feature. Similarly, Mr Kelly explained to the girls the link between conics and the way satellite dishes function – as wherever the light hits on a satellite dish, it will be reflected back to the same point – the point where the wire is fixed, which is essential in that technology. Even with just one curriculum topic here are two very different examples of how, in life, an understanding of mathematical topics is incredibly useful.

Similar links are made with other topics, for instance at GCSE level the girls consider how sine and cosine waves are used in communication, for instance in voice recognition software; at A Level, the girls consider how important it is not to miscalculate eigenvalues in engineering, as this can lead to structures like bridges collapsing. Our Lower School students are fortunate each Spring Term to see first-hand one of the famous Enigma machines (the event takes place next week). Used by the German intelligence during World War II to communicate with troops in code, the impact of cracking the machine’s code was such that Alan Turing and his code-breaking team at Bletchley Park were able to reduce the length of the war by two years. During the half day Enigma workshop, students learn about code-breaking skills throughout history and attempt some code-breaking tasks of their own, inspiring them to consider whether they might be code-breakers of the future – MI5 and MI6 code-breakers have to start somewhere!

Outside of curriculum lessons and workshops, the Mathematics department is also expert at engaging the girls in thinking about Mathematics as an enjoyable pursuit – from the Puzzle of the Month (for which there is a prize for the best entry from Lower School, Middle School and Sixth Form, and girls have already submitted their own coded puzzles), to sharing their personal passions in assemblies (such as Mr Kelly’s interest in genetics: mathematics is essential for genetic research). Guests are also invited in to school to speak to the girls at careers events and in assemblies;  for instance, parent, Governor and supporter of girls in STEM, Professor Judith Driscoll, gave a talk about how important having Mathematics qualifications is for a career in industry. Some students are also to take advantage of fantastic opportunities to hear from representatives from a range of professions at talks such as the Maths Inspiration talk hosted at the University of Cambridge, and the Maths in Action talk hosted at the University of London’s Institute of Education.

We have a number of keen mathematicians in our current student body – for instance Upper Sixth student Kiki K. who has applied to study accounting and finance at university. More than simply being a sensible choice of degree, Kiki explains that her “joy of mathematics stems from its ability to transcend everyday life and amaze [her] with the wealth of wonders it provides”. And a number of our alumnae have gone on to pursue mathematics beyond the academic environment, for instance Kate Kham studied Further Mathematics at A Level and then completed a BSc in Maths with Statistics at the University of Bristol, before undertaking an MSc in Statistics and Applied Probability at the University of Nottingham, and now happily works as a Quantitative Analyst for Yuanta Securities in Thailand.

There are, of course, students who ‘dislike’ Mathematics, but they usually do so because they haven’t understood its connection to their lives, or performed badly in examinations, developing a mind-set that they simply cannot do Mathematics. As well as making Mathematics fun and relevant for the real world, we also need to remember to promote a ‘growth mind-set’ across our school community, especially in students who may have seen themselves as people who ‘can’t do Mathematics’. Mr Kelly explained one way that this can be played out by students and teachers in the classroom setting. Starting a lesson on the topic of ‘circle theorem’, Mr Kelly explained that “not all of us will be able to see the pattern”, and was immediately challenged by one student who inquired, “what happens to those of us who can’t see it?”. Mr Kelly rightly pointed out that there is no need for the student to have included herself in the group of people who wouldn’t be able to see the pattern, as they hadn’t even attempted it yet and, in fact, once the challenge had started, the student who had doubted herself could in fact see the pattern.

There are also times when people can’t see the pattern, or grasp the idea, or the explanation, in Mathematics as in all other pursuits. So this is when the Mathematics department’s support system comes into play. The department holds weekly surgeries for any students who would wish to go over areas with which they are currently struggling: one to one and small group support sessions are offered as needed for any students who would benefit from this. Additionally, from December through to May the department runs dedicated examination preparation sessions.

As the Prime Minister has been flying the flag for Mathematics this week, floating the idea of dedicated Mathematics centres for students over the age of 16 in an attempt to boost uptake at A Level, I would urge her to remember that children’s early experiences of the subject will impact their views about whether the subject is an enjoyable or interesting one – and so whether it’s one they wish to pursue beyond the compulsory stage. So by all means, we should dedicate funding to providing all students across the country with access to excellence in Mathematics at 16+, but first we need to make sure that children and young adults are not put off the subject as a result of arid and theory-based instruction!