Explore approaches to key topics fractions in KS3 and at GCSE
What is involved?
Feedback from teachers, along with GCSE exam analysis, indicates there are key areas of the curriculum that students find challenging. Work Groups in this project deconstruct and analyse these areas and devise effective approaches to them, to achieve a more coherent learning journey through the secondary years.
Work Groups will follow a workshop – school-based work cycle. Teachers will identify and analyse a key topic area, work collaboratively to develop pedagogical approaches to it, and evaluate and discuss it after teaching.
The topic selected for this work group is fractions, though the skills developed should be transferable to any other topic area.
Who can take part?
Participants should be secondary school maths teachers. Individuals or, ideally, pairs of teachers from a department participate, and will work with other members of their department at appropriate points. The project also offers an entry point into developing mastery approaches, or could support a department already involved in the Teaching for Mastery Programme.
Benefits
- Your students will gain a deeper understanding of the mathematics and pedagogy associated with fractions.
- You will develop a deeper insight into the maths that underpins learning of ideas associated with fractions through unpicking and analysing the topic.
- You will identify misconceptions and plan a series of lessons to support students in this topic area.
- You and your department will unpick and analyse the topic to inform collaborative planning and develop schemes of work.
- The group will also look at how students can apply their knowledge of fractions to solve problems.
