Nine months into delivering the novel GCSE too I'm starting to wonder if these reforms are going to work. The Government wants to heighten standards in maths pedagogy then that England tin 'win the global PISA race'. But global league tabular array say-so is non our country's alone aim. The Government is also trying to growth the character too quantity of students taking maths at H5N1 level. This, apparently, volition brand the solid ground 'more productive' too growth our students' earning potential. These aims hit non sit down good amongst teachers, but nosotros all concord that in that place is room for improvement inward maths education. We desire what's best for our students, too for hereafter generations.
The Government's mechanisms for raising standards inward mathematics pedagogy are:
1. Supporting teachers to improve the character of teaching.
2. Increasing the amount of fourth dimension spent teaching maths.
3. Increasing the amount of content on the GCSE specification.
4. Increasing the degree of challenge inward GCSE exams.
So is it working?
Quality of teaching
The best means to heighten standards inward mathematics pedagogy is to improve the teaching inward classrooms across the country. Although there's lots of bright teaching, if you lot facial expression at the bigger painting present we're genuinely seeing a lowering of teaching standards every bit schools choke to a greater extent than too to a greater extent than desperate to recruit. Vast numbers of students are existence taught by teachers who lack the champaign of study noesis to instruct maths effectively. There's also many classrooms where behavior management comes earlier maths. Sad but true. The electrical flow landscape is non conducive to skillful teaching.
Many of us discovery that our busy teaching timetable oftentimes gets inward the means of preparing high character lessons. The alone maiden that would genuinely brand whatever meaning departure to the character of teaching across the solid ground would last a reduction inward contact time, giving teachers to a greater extent than chance to prepare their champaign of study noesis too pedagogy. Of course, a reduction inward contact fourth dimension volition never occur because of the costs involved.
The Government has made some investment inward the Maths Hubs initiative, and a number of hubs are doing fantastic work, but it's definitely non enough. Not yesteryear a long way.
As Anne Watson says, reported inward today's Schools' Week article, in that place has been “little back upwardly provided for this real radical shift of focus inward teaching".
Timetable allocation
I welcomed the Government's drive to growth the amount of fourth dimension spent teaching maths, which was incentivised yesteryear double weighting maths on Progress 8. But about schools possess got non adjusted their timetables. This has resulted inward a huge mismatch inward teaching fourth dimension across the country, amongst students inward about schools getting five hours a calendar week compared to three hours a calendar week inward others. This disparity genuinely adds upwardly across the course of instruction of a schoolhouse year. It's a maths education lottery for children.
New content
I taught Linked Pair GCSE this year, every bit purpose of a airplane pilot inward which students accept 4 exams, leading to 2 GCSEs inward maths. My students were taught a lot more content than students inward most other schools. So did learning more topics inward Linked Pair hit amend mathematicians? I don't intend so. Just because my cast tin calculate AER too (on a skillful day) approximate the expanse nether a curve, it doesn't hateful that they are amend prepared for H5N1 degree maths than your class.
If nosotros desire our students to last amend prepared to embark on H5N1 degree maths, nosotros desire them to last fluent amongst algebra, indices, fractions too surds. Strong reasoning too work solving skills are of import too. Adding novel GCSE content similar frequency trees too iteration doesn't accomplish this.
The worst matter near the GCSE reforms, inward my opinion, is the growth inward breadth when inward fact all nosotros needed was to a greater extent than depth. We already had also many topics on the GCSE syllabus too straight off nosotros possess got fifty-fifty more.
Harder exams
Making GCSE exams harder is alone an effective machinery for improving the character of maths pedagogy if it is accompanied yesteryear a corresponding shift inward teaching quality.
Vanessa Pittard of the Department for Education says, “As a solid ground too civilisation nosotros hit withdraw to reform our whole approach to mathematics, our expectations, our teaching, our attitudes to maths”.
This huge cultural shift won't occur overnight. It sure enough won't occur yesteryear side yesteryear side summer. It's going to withdraw investment, strong leadership too patience.
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