Liz Price, AC for Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton
This academic year, the AMSP has worked with the Salop and Herefordshire and the North Mids and Peak Maths Hubs to host several Work Groups at the Wolverhampton Science Park. The groups look at a diverse range of Level 3 topics, including Developing A level Teaching (led by Martin Withington and Richard Stakes), Challenging Topics at GCSE (led by Vanessa Brown) and Exploring the Explicit Teaching of Problem Solving Skills (led by Christine Watson). Teachers from all over the West Midlands have engaged with these Work Groups. They have been challenged to re-think and enhance their teaching practices; they go away to try out these new techniques in the classroom, then return to feedback and reflect about the difference in student responses.
Christine Watson has developed the use of different methodologies of problem solving in the classroom, while Vanessa Brown has encouraged teachers to become more familiar with different ways to express topics and develop the use of manipulatives. Martin Withington and Richard Stakes have encouraged the use of technology in the A level classroom, introducing teachers to many different technologies that are available.
The work of the AMSP complements the work of Maths Hubs, together offering long-term sustained Work Group activity or short, focused sessions across secondary and post-16 mathematics. Find out more about the Hubs by visiting their websites: