Our recent online Teacher Network meeting reminded me just how many resources there are on the AMSP website that provide help for promoting maths and showing how useful it is in lots of careers, in lots of different ways.
Rachel Beddoes, Girls Participation and Careers Coordinator, led the session which explored a selection of AMSP resources which can be used in the maths classroom as well as in a careers programme.
Every school should aim to meet the eight Gatsby Benchmarks:
- A stable careers programme.
- Learning from careers and labour market information.
- Addressing the needs of each student.
- Linking curriculum learning to careers.
- Encounters with employers and employees.
- Experiences of workplaces.
- Encounters with further and higher education.
- Personal guidance.
You may want to use our self-audit form as a starting point to help achieve these.
Also available on the AMSP website is a document which outlines how the AMSP can help your school to achieve those Gatsby Benchmarks through engaging with the activities and support that we offer.
Rachel shared lots of relevant ideas and activities linking to careers within maths. This included the AMSP’s Where maths meets… the world of work! videos which showcase the maths in different careers. Each video is also linked to one or more activities, so your students can get a real taste of what the career may entail. The videos are suitable for all students aged 11+. Each person that features tells their story from childhood right through to the present day. The videos are around five minutes long and have a few questions asked throughout, which make perfect places to pause and think about maths and careers with your students. The videos are grouped to focus on Core Maths, A level Mathematics, and A level Further Mathematics.
Another way to link careers with maths is to book your students onto one of our online Which Career? – Meet people working in different roles enrichment events. These events are designed to inform your Year 9-11 students about how maths is used in different careers and the importance of continuing to study maths after GCSE. Each event features three guests who talk about their careers and take questions from the attending students.
On our Dig Deeper – Resources webpage, you’ll find a range of resources that come highly recommended. There are short videos to inspire your students with maths and the careers it can lead to, posters and images that you can use to make a display of diverse STEM professionals, and links for students to explore independently. This is just a short list of the many resources and organisations that are out there to encourage young people (in particular young women) into STEM careers, degrees, and apprenticeships.
There are so many resources and organisations that want to help young people realise that STEM could be for them. If you’re interested in further resources, you can download our summary with relevant links and descriptions.