Engaging Maths Workshop for Infants: Mental Calculations, Problem Solving, and Attitudes

1. Maths Workshop Stanford Infants 29th January 2015

2. Outline of the Workshop • A little bit of maths! • Brief discussion of attitudes towards maths. • Emphasis on Mental Calculations • Progression of Mental Calculations • Use of Number lines • Problem Solving at Stanford Infants • A Short Film Showing Teaching and Learning of Maths. Year Group sessions in classrooms and an evaluation.

3. A Little Bit of Maths!

4. A little bit of maths… You have 2 containers. One holds 3 litre and the other, 5 litres. Both are unmarked. How will you measure out exactly 4 litres of water? You have an endless supply of water, you may refill as many times as you like and can throw contents away. You do not have a third container and the whole city is depending on you… You MUST be exact and cannot estimate…a drop too much or too less then BOOM! How will you do it?

5. Attitudes Towards Maths “Do you know anyone who feels neutral about maths? We suspect not. Indeed, we would go as far as to suggest that the majority of people either love it or hate it.” (Cockburn and Littler 2008) Students need…opportunities to play with numbers…and to develop ‘number sense’. (Jo Boaler, The Elephant in The Classroom Helping children learn and love maths. 2009)

6. What kind of mouse are you?

7. Research suggests that Maths is often rejected by girls during adolescence as they perceive it to be a masculine subject. With little choice offered to them prior to GCSE, many girls give up maths as soon as they can in favour of arts and humanities subjects. Girls sometimes feel uncomfortable in maths classrooms as they perceive the subject as being difficult. Those who choose to pursue their studies in maths need to have a well-developed sense of their own identity. Research carried out by Jo Boaler suggest that boys are more keen to reach an answer, whereas girls are more concerned in understanding the way in which an answer is reached.

8. The New National CurriculumImplemented in September 2014 Aims to ensure that all pupils: • Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics • Reason mathematically e.g. following a line of enquiry and developing a proof /justification using mathematical language • Can solve problems by applying their knowledge to a variety of routine and non-routine problems.

9. Some of the changes… • Emphasis on developing mental calculation strategies continues to be a key feature- now referred to as ‘fluency’. • Learning and acquisition of knowledge of number facts has a greater emphasis including division and multiplication facts which are introduced in Y2 now rather than Y3/4 • Expectations for the teaching of multiplication and division now begin in Reception ( taught initially through repeated addition and sharing) • Written calculation strategies are to be taught from Y3 (rather than Y4 onwards as originally promoted)

10. Mental Calculations • At Key Stage 1 there is an emphasis on developing mental calculation strategies. • The introduction of ‘formal’ written calculations is introduced and developed at Key Stage 2

11. How am I going to tackle this calculation? • We are aiming for children to ask themselves this question every time they are faced with a calculation no matter how large or difficult the numbers involved are. • Followed by further questions such as: - Can I do this in my head? - What is the approximate size of the answer? - What is the best calculation strategy to answer it? - Will I need to write part of the calculation down?

12. How would you tackle these sums? 45 45 45 -29-37- 6 Would you tackle them in the same way if they were presented like this? 45 – 29 45 – 37 45 – 6

13. How To Use A Number Line Number lines (sometimes referred to as empty Number lines) are used as a support for mental calculations (particularly in Y2) and don’t need to be drawn to scale. Some examples: 5 + 7 = ___ _____________________________________ 34 + 67 = ___ ______________________________________ 35 – 19 =___ ______________________________________

14. Problem Solving at Stanford

15. Problem solving is embedded in our daily math lessons Problems can fit the whole class (Low threshold , High ceiling ) as well as individuals. It is not simply used a extensions although the new National Curriculum states: pupils who grasp concepts rapidly should be challenged through being offered rich and sophisticated problems before any acceleration through new content.

16. Being stuck! ‘Everyone gets stuck. It cannot be avoided, and it should not be hidden. It is an honourable and positive state from which much can be learned.’ Mason, J., Burton. L. & Stacey, K., (2010) Thinking Mathematically (2nd Ed), Harlow: Pearson Education, p45.

17. Storytime!

18. Some websites you might like to explore … www.nrich.maths.org www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks1bitesize/numeracy www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/numberjacks/ www.bbc.co.uk/schools/numbertime/games www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/numeracywww.coolmath-games.com A selection of Apps – ‘Eggs on Legs’, ‘Squeebles’, Kids Academy 123, Number monster, Mr Thornes’ addition space station, Mr Thornes’ divide and conquer.

19. Ways that you can support your child at home: • Everyday maths – look for patterns, shopping, spotting numbers when out and about, make pairs of shoes/socks etc., group everyday objects e.g. buttons/dried pasta, count in 2,5,10 on the way to school…extending to 3s and 4s! Tell the time! • Practise learning times tables but not by chanting them…ask open ended questions e.g. the answer is 20, what could the question be? • Look at our website and download our ‘This is how we do it’ documents.

20. This is how we do it at Stanford: • www.stanfordinfants.co.uk

21. Play some games! • Board games are a wonderful way to support number learning, especially those that involve throwing dice. • Try: Stop The Bus ( Orchard Games) or Junior Monopoly for example. • Play cards…and darts! • At storytime – lots of children’s stories have maths ideas in them!

22. The End Year Group Workshops