If we want children to be confident mathematicians, we must get parents on board

Game-based learning and real life contexts can help to improve children's maths skills says Joy Deep Nath, co-founder of early years and primary maths resource SplashLearn

Maths is not always the most popular subject in the primary curriculum and some of this is down to parents’ mathematical anxiety. When children hear their parents speak negatively about maths, it can be particularly challenging for teachers to engage children and encourage them to develop a real mastery and passion for the subject.

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Gamifying the Grind for Reluctant Maths Students

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      string(5552) "Ten minute daily practice improves  memory of mathsRachel Dunsmore was teaching at Manor C of E Academy in York, part of the Hope Learning Trust when they started to roll out iPads so that every single child had their own device for maths lessons. She was delighted with the technology but felt their potential significantly exceeded their use.‘I was becoming increasingly aware of the educational discussions around memory and in particular the impact of retrieval practice on long-term memory,’ she said. ‘This was something that the iPads could administer far more effectively than I could. Furthermore, all the results could be recorded allowing spaced practice to be incorporated on a personalised basis. It struck me that the potential impact on progress was phenomenal.’One incident set her on track to create her own app. She wasrevisiting the topic of straight line graphs with all year groups and foundthat most pupils could not remember what ‘gradient’ meant, let alone find one. Thismeant going back to basics all over again to reinforce both concepts and thelanguage of maths.Creating a secondary maths app from scratchRachel had a clear concept for the app. It was to make surelearners retained their prior knowledge of maths so they could move on withoutconstantly going over old ground. It has taken three years so far, has 15000 questions and hasbeen produced with support from technology experts, cognitive scientists andexperienced maths teachers.With stalwart support from such a band of professionals, bringing the app to market should have been a straightforward process, but for a long time it was impossible to find an app designer who shared her views. Many were intent on producing something which was enjoyable and fun, rather than a serious educational tool but as Rachel pointed out, ‘If children want fun then they are going to play FIFA or Fortnite. We were never going to be able to make an educational App that could compete with computer games and there is a real danger of dumbing down the educational content if one tries. Also, it is important from a learning perspective that children are able to attend to the maths and that cannot happen if there are busy screen animations such as exploding chickens.’The app has 10 Levels covering all the topics for KS3 and KS4. Each session has 12 questions, is a finite task and should take no more than 10 minutes. The simple dashboard means that pupils can track both their progress using an attainment measure and also their effort using a daily streak counter and XP (experience points – 1 for every correct answer). Exploiting the power of digital technology While many apps focus on gamification, assessment andrewards, these were not key elements for Rachel. Her starting point was theintelligence of the software. ‘I had always started lessons with 10 quickquestions to gets students tuned into maths thinking and refresh their memory.Many teachers do. The trouble is that often we focus on recently taught topics.Pupils have not had time to forget these and they are in the forefront of ourminds too so the questions are not necessarily recapping what is needed, and ofcourse, what each pupil needs will be different.’Arc Maths tracks pupils’ knowledge and personalises the content it offers them, choosing different items from its question bank. This means it is providing in-built differentiation which saves a considerable amount to teacher time; pupils don’t waste time practising what they already know and only skills or knowledge that has been forgotten is revisited on a systematic basis, with increasing time lapses until it passes into long-term memory.Computers and phone screens are not ideally suited to maths: indices and standard form require superscript, differentiating between the multiple sign and the variable x is tricky and then there are symbols such as pi π and square root signs that do not feature on a standard keyboard at all. Arc Maths uses powerful handwriting technology and now children can use a stylus or their finger to write formulae and fractions in a way that they can’t using a computer or phone keyboard.Handwriting software means pupils can write maths symbols‘It is amazing,’ said Rachel. ‘It can decipher even theworst handwriting and can recognise complex algebraic expressions. Thanks tothis software, we have been able to move beyond multiple-choice questions andstudents can input answers in a way that more closely resembles theirschoolwork.’A year 10 pupil said: ‘This app is ten times better, it’s somuch easier to use. The graphics are clear and I like being able to write myanswers with my finger, it’s so much easier not having a keyboard. The app haslevels you can work towards and I find the space for working out my answerreally helpful.’ Focusing on memory and mathematics While there is a considerable body of research about memorybut the theory is often divorced from classroom practice but this was fundamentalto Arc Maths and Rachel has benefited from advice from the Department ofPsychology at the University of YorkSilke Goebel, a senior lecturer in the department who leadsthe Numerical Cognition Lab, said:‘Right from the start Rachel was interested in designing theapp based on scientific evidence – the app is based on the principle ofretrieval practice. 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Developing A Retrieval Practice Maths App That Helps Pupils Retain The Core Skills Needed To Succeed At GCSE

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      string(196) "How can we motivate students who are behind in maths to up their game? Christine Edge-Sayer shows how a new play-based approach is inspiring excellence in students who were previously struggling. "
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      string(5619) "Gamification or ‘game-based learning’ put simply, means using elements of play to help children learn. This can include point-scoring, competing against other pupils, rules and rewards for success. While hardly a new concept, the constant evolution of the online world means that game-based learning is taking on new and increasingly innovative approaches to help engage pupils in learning. In many cases, online, game-based resources are used to engage often reluctant learners with topics or subjects they may struggle to learn through more traditional teaching techniques. In this article, we look at how employing gamification with SEND students helped to motivate children and increase their confidence in Maths, a subject which many had previously considered a subject they ‘just couldn’t do’… Shaping Exceptional Futures Bebington High School is a specialist sports college based in Wirral in North West England. The school’s vision is to ‘shape exceptional futures’, which it achieves through the values representedin sport: leadership, perseverance, fair play, teamwork and loyalty. The school encourages all within its community, including parents, to gain leadership and coaching awards, opening up further opportunities for students, and it prides itself on its position in the community. As the only non-faith and non-grammar school in the area, Bebington High has a high proportion of pupils qualifying for free school meals, in addition to several EAL and SEND students.Motivating for Maths ExcellenceAs Assistant SENCO and Head of Resourced-Base Provision at Bebington High, I was keen to find a solution that would help engage students with moderate learning difficulties to be more motivated in their maths learning. We already had an additional literacy programme in place to work alongside the English curriculum and we wanted to replicate its success with our maths programme.  One of the main challenges we face with our students is a lack of confidence in their maths abilities. Many of them become trapped in the fixed mindset of not being able to ‘do maths’, often due to not having mastered the fundamental concepts earlier in their school careers. This leads to a subsequent lack of motivation and difficulty engaging them in trying to improve. Another challenge was in finding a solution which would allow us to set work at an emergent level, but with an interface which didn’t immediately alert students to the fact they were working at a lower level—and risk knocking their confidence further. We also wanted the solution to be learner-led so students could take charge of their own development.Meeting the ChallengesWe began using Mathletics, an online game-based resource, in June 2018 to reinforce knowledge from maths lessons, ensuring that key concepts were deeply embedded and students had adequate opportunities to practise the methods they’d been taught during class. Using a game-based resource allows us to repeat activities and view results in real-time, which is hugely useful for engaging reluctant learners. Mathletics is a curriculum-mapped, adaptive learning solution for KS1–3. Computer algorithms within the software orchestrate the interaction with the learner and deliver customised resources to meet the needs of each child. This enables them to progress at their own pace and take ownership of their learning. Pupils can also visually track their progress—a function that empowers users to feel confident and motivated to think critically, make choices, seek help when required and reflect on their own learning.From a teaching point of view, having an online resource which is fully learner-led allows us to start some students on the online resource while delivering further teaching or one-on-one guidance to students still struggling with basic concepts. The software is highly personalised, which helps us to deliver differentiated learning to all our students with the handy placement quiz ensuring they start at the correct level. As the resource is reward-based, we really find all our students from year 7–11 enjoy using it. Not only are they motivated when using the software, but they work hard to get their set work done so that they can choose to go on Live Mathletics, the 60-second mental maths game. Strengthening Concepts and ConfidenceSince introducing the individualised, game-based learning, we have seen a huge improvement in students’ maths, particularly with the strengthening of mental methods. It has also helped increase students’ motivation to learn. Even those who are more difficult to engage enjoy the IT-based sessions where they’re able to learn through playing on an engaging interface. Personally, I have noticed an increased confidence in Maths lessons as I deliver these across the year groups in our department. As Mathletics is highly personalised, it enables me to set work appropriate to their ability, without alerting them to the fact they’re working at a level below the national standard. This allows them to improve their understanding of basic concepts and set off on the correct path to more advanced mathematics. From a teaching point-of-view, the resource allows me to set work and view students’ progress to see if they understand the concept fully when working independently. Topics are clearly broken down, making it quick and easy to set work and saving valuable time on planning and marking.What’s Next?One of the areas we’re keen to develop is to increase parents’ engagement"
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Special Needs

Raising Maths Standards Through Play

20 Sep 2019

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