Observatory for Mathematical Education’s Post

I am pleased to annouce our (with Guri A. Nortvedt and Danyal Farsani) publication in Educational Studies in Mathematics of the manuscript "Patterning strategies in grade 1 students with low and high number sense proficiency". Reporting on some of the findings on students' multimodal patterning in my doctoral work, we contribute to the discussion on how to include more students in mathematical tasks important for later mathematical competence.

🚫 Mathematics tests for 6-year-olds? Maybe it's time to... do nothing. With statutory KS1 assessments now gone, we have an opportunity to revolutionise how we approach mathematics education. But are we brave enough to seize it? This blog from ALTA Education Ltd director Kieran Mackle argues that the best replacement for these assessments might be no replacement at all. Radical? Perhaps. Necessary? Absolutely. Imagine seven years focused on rich, meaningful mathematics, free from arbitrary checklists. Sounds like a dream, right? But here's the kicker: if leaders aren't on board with "nothing," we might end up right back where we started—drowning in substandard assessments and missing the point entirely. What do you think? Are you ready to jump free from the assessment treadmill? Or are we too fixated on data to let go? Read the full article on the ALTA Education website, and let's hear your thoughts. https://lnkd.in/db6yxubq

In the #SundayDiaryy-Mathematical Thinking: From Classroom Operations to Real-World Applications If anything in its manifestation is truly magical, it is mathematics. How can our students and teachers remain untouched by the magic of mathematics? There is a very infamous saying in school: the result in mathematics is the result of the school. In other words, the percentage of students who manage to pass mathematics in a particular grade reflects the overall performance of that grade. Mathematics continues to be projected as a difficult subject, which ordinary students find challenging to deal with. This concern is echoed through various policy measures. The new education policy suggests that difficult subjects like mathematics should be taught during the morning hours in school. The CBSE allows students to choose a relatively lighter version of the course in grade 10, and distance education often helps students pass board exams without opting for math papers. While interacting with students, I find there is a total disconnect between mathematical thinking and mathematical operations. What children do in class are basically mathematical operations on numbers and symbols. Often, these appear as isolated exercises that have nothing to do with lived experiences. When asked how it’s going to help, the general response is, “Aage kam aayega” (It will be useful in the future), or more specifically, “Hisab kitab theek ho jayega!” (The accounts will be in order). None of these responses are even remotely connected to mathematical thinking. None of the students know or are told that the theorems they use to solve problems took years, sometimes several generations of mathematicians, to develop. It all begins with a trilogy of operations: observe, record, and analyze. Read more at https://lnkd.in/gwmhN_pJ

Worldwide, March 14 marks the International Day of Mathematics, commonly referred to as Pi Day due to the mathematical constant 𝜫 equating to 3.14. Despite mathematics' diverse and intriguing aspects, it often instills stress and apprehension in numerous students. Addressing this issue, The Free Press Journal engaged with Neelakantha Bhanu, "World’s Fastest Human Calculator," to explore strategies for enhancing mathematical engagement and alleviating student anxiety. ✍️ Simple Vishwakarma Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/dcCMizSt

This article is spot on. Many excellent mathematicians didn't get top grades in A-level maths. If you enjoy the subject and work reasonably hard you have every chance of success, whatever your A-level result!

This year, Mathematics at the University of Plymouth is first for student satisfaction in the Complete University Guide https://lnkd.in/eFnmte-Z

Some of the biggest challenges of our day (and future days) will be solved by those who see themselves as problem solvers who use math to address real world challenges that they are passionate about. Our teachers have the opportunity to unlock this kind of thinking and grow these kinds of mindsets in even our youngest learners. Let’s revolutionize the WHY behind learning math and help all learners see themselves as mathematicians who can change the world! #TransformingLearning 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

My latest piece in The Conversation UK on mathematics education in the UK. Given how central mathematics is to much of our modern world, it's important that ensure everyone, no matter their background, has the opportunity to study it. https://lnkd.in/gMsnYY4k

**Friendship and Mathphobia** In school, I was always afraid of mathematics. Even though I was good at it, I never enjoyed doing it and feared math tests. After school, I chose life sciences for two main reasons: my love for nature and my fear of mathematics. During my PhD days, I met many people from math backgrounds, and some of us became friends. Because of these friendships, we spent time together, talked about each other's work, and even read about each other's research. These informal interactions showed me a very different side of mathematics, something I had never experienced in school. Through my interactions with friends and getting to know mathematics through them, I overcame my mathphobia. So much so that this year, I attended a leading conference in mathematics education called the International Congress of Mathematics Education (ICME 15) happened in Sydney, Australia and also presented my work there. This experience has helped me focus my interest on studying the role of friendships in schools, especially in overcoming phobias of certain subjects or topics. I have some data, and along with another researcher friend, we have started analyzing it to test the hypothesis that friends help in learning and that learning contexts are good for developing friendships. My journey from fearing math to presenting at a mathematics education conference has been quite unexpected, and I owe much of it to the supportive friendships I formed along the way.

For us who work in the field of early mathematics this new systematic review paper by Douglas Clements and Julie Sarama (2024) is a must read. In this paper their review latest research related their model of learning trajectories in mathematics. I appreciate their work to validate and critically look the research done around their own model.