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This page is intended to be a useful repository of articles and research for teachers, specifically related to education. Suggested contributions will be gladly received!
This page is intended to be a useful repository of articles and research for teachers, specifically related to education. Suggested contributions will be gladly received!
Fancy getting paid to do high-level maths with interesting people?
We are currently looking for a teacher to start with us, on a part time or full time basis, from September.
The school is an exceptionally wonderful place to try out teaching: the high proportion of outstanding mathematicians means that you will spend a lot of time teaching Further Maths, STEP, and so on.
Almost all of our Year 11 students achieve an A* (8 or 9) in Maths IGCSE, and we need staff who are willing to teach Further Maths and STEP. This advanced work would constitute a significant proportion of your timetable. We regularly win the regional rounds of the UKMT Team challenges, and our students do really well in Olympiads. We have been short-listed for the Times Educational Supplement Maths Department of the Year twice in a row.
The department is friendly and works well as a team, and we try our best to be innovative in our approaches – from decking out all of our classrooms with whiteboards for group-work, to running video projects with our students. There is a lot of work to do, country-wide, to get young women confident about going into STEM careers and I am determined that the department should lead the way.
The job proffers a number of practical advantages. The school has quick access into central London from the Jubilee and Northern lines, and some accommodation is available (but without the requirements of weekend and evening teaching as in boarding schools). Salaries are amongst the most generous in any private school in the country. We are experienced in inducting colleagues straight into the profession, and would be willing to fund an on-the-job PGCE if this would be of interest. There are plenty of opportunities for internal positions of responsibility, as well as for travel to our sister schools in South Korea and Dubai, and partner schools in Australia and the US.
Should you wish to chat informally, do get in touch with me at jtaylor-west@nlcs.org.uk. I may be able to pop to the University in the coming weeks – do let me know if this would suit you.
We are currently looking for a teacher to start with us, on a part time or full time basis, from September.
The school is an exceptionally wonderful place to try out teaching: the high proportion of outstanding mathematicians means that you will spend a lot of time teaching Further Maths, STEP, and so on.
Almost all of our Year 11 students achieve an A* (8 or 9) in Maths IGCSE, and we need staff who are willing to teach Further Maths and STEP. This advanced work would constitute a significant proportion of your timetable. We regularly win the regional rounds of the UKMT Team challenges, and our students do really well in Olympiads. We have been short-listed for the Times Educational Supplement Maths Department of the Year twice in a row.
The department is friendly and works well as a team, and we try our best to be innovative in our approaches – from decking out all of our classrooms with whiteboards for group-work, to running video projects with our students. There is a lot of work to do, country-wide, to get young women confident about going into STEM careers and I am determined that the department should lead the way.
The job proffers a number of practical advantages. The school has quick access into central London from the Jubilee and Northern lines, and some accommodation is available (but without the requirements of weekend and evening teaching as in boarding schools). Salaries are amongst the most generous in any private school in the country. We are experienced in inducting colleagues straight into the profession, and would be willing to fund an on-the-job PGCE if this would be of interest. There are plenty of opportunities for internal positions of responsibility, as well as for travel to our sister schools in South Korea and Dubai, and partner schools in Australia and the US.
Should you wish to chat informally, do get in touch with me at jtaylor-west@nlcs.org.uk. I may be able to pop to the University in the coming weeks – do let me know if this would suit you.
Educational research journalsWebsites we enjoyDan Meyer's blog always has some interesting ideas.
Interesting ArticlesRelational Understanding and Instrumental Understanding, Skemp (1976)
This article is a classic, cited all over the world of academia. Skemp introduces relational understanding as "knowing both what to do and why" (p. 89) and instrumental understanding as the ability to execute mathematical rules and procedures. Skemp asks "if it is accepted that these two categories are both well-fitted, by those pupils and teachers whose goals are respectively relational and instrumental understanding (by the pupil), two questions arise. First, does this matter? And second, is one kind better than the other?" (p. 89) Skemp admits his longstanding assumptions that relational understanding is better, but questions then when so many mathematics teachers and texts focus on instrumental understanding. With the perspectives and conflict made clear, Skemp admits that "I used to think that maths teachers were all teaching the same subject, some doing it better than others. I now believe that there are two effectively different subjects being taught under the same name, 'mathematics' (p. 91). Why Teach Mathematics? Ernest (2010) Mathematics as a Weapon in the Struggle, Gutstein (2012) "Africa Counts" and Ethnomathematics, Zaslavsky (1994) |
Lists of lists of articlesImproving Teaching website
Teacher head CEM Joining BELMAS for a year gives free membership and some journal access. Valuable books on TeachingMichael Marland's Craft of the Classroom is a concise and genuinely helpful resource for teachers who are just starting out, and without a PGCE.
Well being and teachingWe have recently been thinking a lot in the department about teacher well-being, and what steps can be taken going forward. This subsection is a repository of relevant articles and papers.
Looking After Teaching Wellbeing Staff Wellbeing From Mindtools.com: Time management mistakes and how to avoid them 11 ways to get more exercise Mindfulness in the workplace Women in LeadershipHarvard Business Review:
Creative problem solvingAdvice from a contributor! Sidney Parnes has written a number of very good books on the subject. Tudor Rickards is a good starting point. Michael Kirton’s work on Adaptors and Innovators is also helpful.
Strengthening the student toolboxStudy strategies to boost learning by John Dunlosky
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Videos
"Teaching is giving opportunities to students to discover things by themselves" - George Pólya
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Ken Robinson's inspiring talk on education and creativity.
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Tim Gowers on the Importance of Mathematics - a long, but deep and rewarding, lecture, from one of the top academics alive today. Food for thought for teachers.
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