In May, the AMSP hosted a KS4 and two KS5 online network meetings. The agenda for the meetings was deliberately kept short so teachers could focus on their concerns for their students during these unique circumstances. Teachers appreciated this opportunity to talk to their colleagues and voice their concerns, and found some comfort in knowing these were often shared by others. The meetings were popular, and this online approach is likely to continue in the North West next year.
Generally, teachers felt that 50-70% of Year 12 students were engaging with online work, although a significant number were not engaging at all. Some sort of intervention is likely to be necessary as teachers “can’t re-teach everything”. Some felt that it may be worth re-organising groups to include those who have not worked during lockdown.
The meetings also gave us the opportunity to gather resources that have been used successfully. Although this should not be seen as an exhaustive list, it may contain “free” websites that could be very useful. It was felt wise to use a small number of websites, as it was “Important not to overload students by using too many different ones”.
There will be further AMSP network meetings before the summer, focusing on the current concerns of teachers and the types of support needed in the Autumn term.
Below is a list of resources that teachers participating in the network meetings said they have been using successfully:
- AMSP: free support during lockdown and access to a wide range of free on-demand and sustained professional development courses
- MEI: free resources ranging from enrichment to using ICT in the classroom
- Desmos Classroom: free resource where lessons can be quickly planned or chosen from a library, allowing students to work together or individually as desired
- Google Classroom: free web service developed for schools that aims to streamline the process of creating, distributing, and grading assignments
- Oak National Academy: free resources for Years 7-10 which provide a plan of video lessons and learning resources
- Maths Genie: free GCSE and A Level revision site with past papers, mark schemes and model answers to GCSE and A Level exam questions
- HegartyMaths: free old website which hosts all old videos and remains a place where students can learn and revise, and they also provide a wide variety of free YouTube videos to watch
- DrFrostMaths: free online platform, teaching resources, videos and a bank of exam questions
- Parallel Maths Project: free resource created by Dr Simon Singh, which has weekly maths challenges of material that goes beyond school maths: mystery and history, activities and oddities
- Haberdashers’ Adams: free YouTube videos covering a wide range of topics
- Padlet: free resource for sharing boards, documents, and webpages that are easy to read and fun to contribute to
- Edexcel Transition Material: free transition papers and mark schemes for pure maths in Year 12
- Maths Documentaries: free link to a variety of maths documentaries, particularly for enrichment
- Apps for creating instant PDFs from photos: Genius Scan, Microsoft Office Lens, iPhone email, PDF-XChange Editor
By Mike Baxter