PROGRAMME MARCH 2003                      Registration Form - print version

LEADING FOR LEARNING
25th-28th March 2003 at The Oxford Hotel, Oxford



 » Tuesday 25th March

• 02:30 pm : Registration
• 04:45 pm : Welcome
• 05:00 pm : Opening address: Professor Guy Claxton Graduate School of Education, Bristol Does Numeracy Contribute to Learnacy? Lessons that build learning power'Professor John Mason, Centre for Mathematics Education, The Open University
• 07:30 pm : Delegate Dinner

 » Wednesday 26th March

 - 09:15 - 10:30 am

• Lynn Churchman : HMI What can inspection evidence tells us about learning and teaching mathematics in primary schools?
• Neville Davies, Doreen Connor & Peter Holmes : RSS Centre for Statistical Education, Nottingham Trent University CensusAtSchool and Real Data Handling Projects
• Jenny Houssart : O.U. Seeds of Algebra

 - 11:15 am - 12:30 pm

• Frances Moule & Ann Parker : Shaldon Primary School Creating a learning institution - a school's perspective
• Lynn Churchman : HMI What can inspection evidence tell us about learning and teaching mathematics in secondary schools?
• Geoff Faux : Education Initiatives QCA Development - Geometry at KS3

 - Lynn Churchman :It is over 10 years since OFSTED was created as a result of the Education (Schools Inspection) Act 1992 and the inspection evidence base is more extensive than ever. HMI also has evidence from classrooms of the evaluation of the NNS in primary schools and the mathematics strand of the KS3 strategy in secondary schools. At a headline level, the story is one of improvement in recent years but what can inspection evidence tell us about teaching, learning and standards at a more detailed level and what issues does it raise?

 - Neville Davies :The RSS Centre for Statistical Education started the international CensusAtSchool project 'www.censusatschool.ntu.ac.uk' in 2000. The presentation will describe the outcomes of the project in the UK, South Africa and Australia and show the many benefits for schools, teachers and pupils when they take part. In the UK Phase 3 is running during 2002-2003 with the data being collected from pupils using web forms. The team will show that the data collected and the learning and teaching resources produced can provide an excellent framework to help teachers support students in data handling and statistics projects at GCSE levels and higher.

 - Jenny Houssart :The Seeds of Algebra project is a joint project between the Centre for Mathematical Education at the Open University and the Maths Tests Development Team at the QCA. The aim of the project is to look at the responses of 11 year olds to tasks which can be seen as pre-algebraic. The first phase of the project looked at the response of children to certain questions at KS2 National Curriculum Tests (Standard Attainment Tests). Further phases of the project are presenting children with different tasks in order to encourage them to demonstrate their mathematical powers.

 - Geoff Faux :QCA Development Group - Geometry at KS3. QCA has set up 4 development groups, 3 on geometry and 1 on algebra. The purpose of these groups is to undertake longer view development work in the comparative calm before any next round of activity to mould the curriculum in year n+1. Each group has a different brief. The focus of the Northern Geometry Group is to develop rich classroom activities that allow students to:- work at geometrical reasoning, engage with the idea of proof in geometry, work at both Euclidean and transformation geometry, and to meet adequate challenges

 » Wednesday 26th March : PUBLISHERS EXHIBITION
 - 12:00 noon - 5:00 pm

• Demonstrations and displays from leading publishers, educational and ICT suppliers

 - 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm

• Extending Ratio & Proportion Havering Inspection & Advisory Services: Glyn Bradley-Peat, Ros Coleridge, Sharon Scott We have been working on developing ideas to do with ratio and proportion starting from shape and space. We have used these paper-folding ideas with a variety of teachers including early years, KS3 and those concerned with transition
• I don't know what we are doing but we are doing a lot of it…' Barbara Allen, Centre for Mathematics Education The Open University Looking at mathematics teaching and learning from both teacher and pupil perspectives
• Technology in the Classroom: Creating an Abundance of Opportunities for Teachers & Learners William O Lacefield III, Tift College of Education, Mercer University, Atlanta. Tift College as a recipient of government funded PT3 grant (Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology') has designed programmes to encourage meaningful use of technology in schools and classrooms. This session will highlight the implementation and successes of these programmes as well as their impact upon teacher education faculty, preservice teachers and pupils of all ages.

 - 4.15pm - 5.30pm

• MicroSMILE Peter Wright. Using software to develop mathematical reasoning and problem solving. A chance to preview the latest software from Smile Mathematics including Investigations (summer 2002) and Probability (February 2003). A practical session focusing on using the software in the classroom, incorporating use of the interactive whiteboard and the teachers' notes.
• Circle Scribe Bill Harper Making Fun of Geometry with the Disk Compass A practical hands-on session giving delegates the chance to draw (and now cut) really accurate shapes like spirals, hearts, ovals, stars, polygons, cardioids, 6-petalled flowers, as well as the basic geometry constructions made easy and much safer with the disk compass. No manual dexterity required - just come and try for yourself and never have to draw round cups and plates again!
• Probability and randomness: pattern in variability Peter Johnston-Wilder, Centre for Mathematics Education, The Open University.Many people find probability interesting, yet it is difficult to teach. In this session delegates will participate in some simple activities to explore their ideas about probability and randomness. Discussion of the outcomes may lead to some tentative suggestions for why the topic is so difficult for learners.

 - 6.00pm - 6.30pm : ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - N.A.M.A.

 - 6.45pm - 7.30pm : CASIO Reception. ClassPad 300. ClassPad 300 is Casio's latest handheld innovation for mathematics education. This unique pen-driven device incorporates entry of expressions as they are written, dynamic geometry with functional graphing and eActivity.   ClassPad 300 is being premiered in the UK at the NAMA Conference by its creator Hideshi Fukaya, the inventor of the world's first graphic calculator the Casio fx-7000.

 - 7.45pm : Delegate Dinner

 » Thursday 27th March

 - 09:15 - 10:15 am : Updates from the QCA and the National Strategies represented by:

• QCA Alice Onion, Jack Abramsky, Richard Browne, Pam Wyllie, Paul Findlow, Caroline Attewell
• The National Strategies Carol Macintyre, Tim Coulson

 - 11:00 - 11:55 am : Discussion groups led by QCA and the National Strategies

1. Teaching, Learning and Assessment in KS3
2. KS3 Strategy Intervention
3. Foundation profile and KS1 tests
4. Mathematics qualifications
5. Primary developments

 - 12.00 noon - 12.30pm : Plenary closing session with QCA and National Strategies

 - 12.30pm - 1.15pm : Post 14 Maths Inquiry Prof Adrian Smith. The brief: "To make recommendations on changes to the curriculum qualifications and pedagogy for those aged 14 and over in schools, colleges and higher education institutions to enable those students to acquire the mathematical knowledge and skills necessary to meet the requirements of employers and of further and higher education"

 - 2.30pm - 3.30pm : NATIONAL SURVEY of Teachers of Mathematics feedback session led by GillianThumpston: Mathematics Teachers: their qualifications, training and recruitment. Feedback from the recent survey of Secondary School Mathematics Departments.

 - 6.45pm - 7.30pm : Woolly Thoughts Pat Ashforth & Steve Plummer. Pat & Steve are 'ordinary' Maths teachers but both have a background in Textiles. In addition to their day jobs they create wall hangings and other material artefacts. The completed items are used as a starting point for Maths teaching at many levels. Encouraging others to create their own pieces leads to insights into the practical and artistic use of Maths. 4 of their original wall hangings have been bought for the Mathematical Collection at the Science Museum.

 - 8.00 pm : Conference Dinner

 » Thursday 27th March

 - 9.15 - 10.30am : Liz Meenan Education Officer Channel 4 Television "Mathematics is …" If someone asked you to finish the sentence starting with 'Mathematics is …' how would you finish it? The session explores and illustrates various endings to this sentence.

 - 11.00am - 12.30pm : Professor John Mason Centre for Mathematics Education, The Open University Mathematics as a Constructive Enterprise. A traditional view of mathematics is as a collection of procedures to choose and to apply in appropriate contexts. An experimental view is of mathematics as a collection of methods for constructing mental and symbolic objects.

 - 12.30 pm : Conference Closes