Sharing best practice D g yourway tomaths success Dig your way to maths successi


Do you know how much wood you would need to build a garden shed?While most of us would head to our local DIY shop, students at Sydenham School have been finding out the link between building a shed and Pythagoras’ Theorem (it’s all about angles and quadrangles, apparently). Seliat Agboola, a Teach First recruit, has developed a ‘math pit’. Her winning idea places students in challenging, unfamiliar situations in which they must strategise to solve a real world maths problem to get themselves out of the ‘pit’. Seliat’s proj


of teaching students who were failing to respond to challenge and had an unnecessary low expectation of themselves. She wanted to create a solution that would reengage students with their education, allow them to see how maths was relevant to their lives – and would also help develop their softer skills.


Whilst researching a CPD session for teachers, Seliat stumbled across James Nottingham’s learning pit theory. “His idea is that you place students in really difficult situations and observe how they climb their way out,” explains Seliat. Back in Seliat’s classroom, she realised that students are used to having lessons targeted at their ability with teachers on hand to help if they struggle. “I decided that I needed to adopt a motivational stance during lessons to get


everyone on board,” she reveals. During an initial pilot run of herMath Pit project, she asked students to build a shed. Seliat discovered that she had to find a way of bridging the gap between encouraging students to work


independently and their natural instinct to rely on the classroom teacher to answer any questions


them find their own Seliat introduced about the build.


solution. The cards can only hint cards that would help


be requested by one member of the team who must also feedback to the rest of the class at the end of the task. The role allows individuals to not only extend their knowledge of maths, but also develop their public speaking skills.


The idea has started to have an impact on oject was borne out of her experience


students. “At first, even my higher abi lity students did not like the idea of digging themselves out of a pit and at one point, had all but given up on the task,” says Seliat. “To their credit, they persevered and are starting to show signs of being able to work independently and have even started setting themselves their own challenges and asking my advice.”


TheMath Pit project will be rolled out as a competition for schools in London with plans afoot for a national event.


The Let Teachers SHINE competition is run by the education charity, SHINE and is supported by Capita SIMS. For more information, please visit www.capita-sims.co.uk/shine


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2. Ensure that gaps in knowledge are systematically addressed


2. Ensure that gaps in knowledge are systematically addressed


It is important that connections within the curriculum are made explicit when students are covering the material. Revisit


prerequisite knowledge and contextualise the material you are teaching them.


3. Develop students' ability to become independent learners


ty


but they need to we may want to


own success.


Nurture your students’ intellectual curiosity and build up their resilience. As teachers, we may want to 'do it all for them', but they need to be able to carve their own success.


be able to carve their 'do it all for them',


Students are much more likely to remember content they can relate to .


3. Develop students' ability to become independent learners


Nurture your students’ intellectual curiosity and build up their resilience. As teachers,


It is important that connections within the curriculum are made explicit when students are covering the material. Revisit prerequisite knowledge and contextualise the material you are teaching them. Students are much more likely to remember content they can relate to.


Top Tips Top Tips


So what do teachers need to think about when looking at ways of raising the attainment


the knowledge a raising aspiration


So what do teachers need to think about when looking at ways of raising the attainment


of disadvantaged students? Seliat’s top tips reveal that it’s not just about focusing on s. Students must be given nd skills that they need to


be successful.


1. Establish a culture of high expectations


1. Establish a culture of high expectations


Students usually reflect their own teacher's expectations. So, develop their ability to embrace and treat mistakes as meaningful learning opportunities. In my classroom, the best learning often takes place as a result of the non-judgemental exploration o f misconceptions and mistakes.


Students usually reflect their own teacher's expectations. So, develop their ability to embrace and treat mistakes as meaningful learning opportunities. In my classroom, the best learning often takes place as a result of the non-judgemental exploration of misconceptions and mistakes.


of disadvantaged students? Seliat’s top tips reveal that it’s not just about focusing on raising aspirations. Students must be given the knowledge and skills that they need to be successful.


Sharing best practic e


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