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Good for me

Maths is Brussels sprouts. Good for me. but YUCK!. What do you do?. I’m a maths teacher. I am hopeless at maths!. I can’t read!. Doing maths is an emotional practice. During secondary school, many students become more negative about maths.

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Good for me

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  1. Maths is Brussels sprouts. Good for me but YUCK!

  2. What do you do?

  3. I’m a maths teacher.

  4. I am hopeless at maths!

  5. I can’t read!

  6. Doing maths is an emotional practice. During secondary school, many students become more negative about maths. Many students are reluctant to take maths beyond the compulsory years.

  7. Year 10

  8. Year 11 5 no longer participating in academic stream

  9. Year 12 16 no longer participating in academic stream

  10. Year 12

  11. Similar ageSimilar backgroundsSimilar classroom communities YETEach student had a unique journey through mathematics with unique learning experiences and outcomes. BECAUSEEach student had a unique relationship with mathematics

  12. Relationship with mathematics • Views of maths • Feelings about maths • Perception of ability • Mathematical knowledge • Habits of engagement

  13. school Students’ Views of Maths • Mathematics is a unique subject • Strict rules to be learnt • Only one answer • Cumulative nature • Mostly individual work • Unchanging classroom routines

  14. Mathematics is a unique subject • Important • I know you need to know this (Sean) • Maths is just a subject I do in school to help in later life when I have a job (Saskia) … ish

  15. 19 out of 31 students drew stereotypic nerdy males. There were only 9 boys in the class.

  16. Mathematics is a unique subject • Difficulty • Maths [is] harder and you have to think more than in other subjects. It’s all thinky … it’s too fancy (Bridget) • There’s just a lot to it. There’s a lot more than other subjects (Debbie) • It’s real difficult sometimes to memorise all the different things (Angela)

  17. Mathematics is a unique subject • Visual nature • You sort of look over every now and then to see what they’re up to (Connor).

  18. Mathematics is a unique subject • Boredom

  19. Katrina: The worst thing about the maths is the boredom. Doing textbook work, doing stuff on the whiteboard. • Alasdair: Copying down irrelevant notes • Katrina: Even copying down relevant notes is boring. The teacher comes into the room and says…right, here’s a new topic, write these notes and turn to page 37 and do 1,3,5,7. • Alasdair: [Excited] That’s the one! That’s exactly it. That hit the nail right on the head. That is maths.

  20. Relationship with mathematics • Views of maths • Feelings about maths • Perception of ability • Mathematical knowledge • Habits of engagement

  21. I feel happy and good about maths. It is my favourite subject (Colin) It’s pretty much middle of the road. Don’t really care that much. It’s just there (Paul) Maths is poos Brussel sprouts I would leave it on my plate A cold, wet, windy day A crusty old bus A turkey (Ruth) I hate maths! (Tracey)

  22. The majority of students disliked mathematics. Maths is different from other subjects because so many people don’t like it (Amanda).

  23. Many of the students became more negative about mathematics during their journey. The transition from primary school to secondary school was particularly difficult. In primary school it was just enjoyable to do ... not how it is now … kind of hard … it’s just bookwork and stuff now (Paul).

  24. Disliking mathematics… • Affected students’ engagement In maths I don’t really pay attention that much compared to art and stuff because I enjoy those subjects (Nicola)

  25. Disliking mathematics… • Led tostudents having negative feelings in each mathematical situation. I feel bad about maths so I just look at the question and think uugh (Amanda)

  26. Disliking mathematics… • Affected students’ decisions to continue in mathematics and pursue career goals I’d rather choose a different subject because I like other subjects better (Jennifer) I used to want to do something in tourism but then I found out like it was mostly mathematics. I thought it was like sort of helping people (Corrina)

  27. Relationship with mathematics • Views of maths • Feelings about maths • Perception of ability • Mathematical knowledge • Habits of engagement

  28. I’m quite good at maths (Angela) I am like bad at [maths]. Always knew it as like my worst subject … it was sort of a belief I guess (Corrina)

  29. Classmates Doing Perception of ability Family Teachers Class placement

  30. Evidence of ability Expectations 1 Feelings Motivation to engage

  31. Relationship with mathematics • Views of maths • Feelings about maths • Perception of ability • Mathematical knowledge • Habits of engagement

  32. I know maths. I understand it (Colin) I need definite steps of how to do a task that I learn off by heart so I can really understand it (Robyn) I wouldn’t even know my times tables (Ruth)

  33. Relationship with mathematics • Views of maths • Feelings about maths • Perception of ability • Mathematical knowledge • Habits of engagement

  34. Habits of engagement • Pathways of engagement • Engagement skills Communication, Cooperation, Utilisation of feelings Perseverance, Intimacy, Integrity, Independence, Reflection

  35. Relationship with mathematics • Views of maths • Feelings about maths • Perception of ability • Mathematical knowledge • Habits of engagement

  36. Relationship with mathematics • Views of maths • Feelings about maths • Perception of ability • Mathematical knowledge • Habits of engagement

  37. Relationship with mathematics Context of the moment Engagement in a mathematical task Unique learning experience and outcomes

  38. Vulnerable Students Thriving Students Disliked mathematics Unconvinced of importance of mathematics Did not feel confident in their ability Had ineffective engagement skills Had tenuous motivational factors Remembered rules “off by heart” Enjoyed mathematics Viewed mathematics as an important life skill Felt confident in their ability Had effective engagement skills Had multiple motivational factors Understood rules and their alternatives

  39. Teachers • Teachers influence students’ • Views of mathematics • Feelings about mathematics • Understanding of what constitutes knowledge, learning, and teaching • Expectations and perceptions of ability

  40. Teachers • Teachers help to construct • The routines of the mathematics class • Social norms • Help and help-seeking norms • Seating arrangements

  41. Vulnerable Thriving ?

  42. Get to know the students well • Teachers just need to get to know us better (Robyn) • It’s not just our maths they need to get to know, it’s how we feel about our maths … Even if we like maths or not. They need to care about us and maths (Ruth) • Just talk to the students about maths and other stuff (Bridget) • Metaphor work - Draw a mathematician - Autobiography-Personal journey graph - Journal – Draw a picture

  43. Reflect on the routines of the classroom • Please! Some variety! (Alasdair) • Reflect on • the structure of the lessons • the tasks assigned • the way content is introduced

  44. Be explicit about the importance of engaging in mathematics • People who can't be bothered trying, are doomed to fail at maths (Katrina) • We learn maths by doing it (Ben) • Help students to recognise and act on feelings of confusion and worry when working on mathematical tasks. • Encourage students to develop effective engagement skills

  45. Accept and harness students’ social needsMoira likes being social and that’s more important to her than doing her work(Mrs Brown) Ben works well in class despite social nature(Mr Carter) We need to be social. It’s the puberty thing. That’s where the focus of school is (Saskia) Maths, it’s a subject where talking helps you more than when you talk in English(Ann)

  46. Find ways students can socialise AND use each other as resources and emotional support. • Who a student sits near affects • how they feel about mathematics • their level of engagement • Design seating plans so that the students are not disrupted by and are comfortable with the classmates they are sitting near.

  47. Conclusions • Students have complex relationships with mathematics. • These relationships change over time as students experience mathematics. • Most mathematics students are vulnerable • Teachers are an important influence on students’ relationships with mathematics.

  48. Thriving Student Vulnerable Student • Get to know students well. • Reflect on the routines of the classroom. • Be explicit about the importance of engagement. • Accept and harness students’ social needs. • Design seating plans.

  49. It is heartening that we, as teachers, are able to improve students’ mathematical journeys. It is heartening that the subject of mathematics lends itself so beautifully to this task.

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