Teaching A level Mathematics (TAM)
Various locationsOverview
Teaching A level Mathematics (TAM) is a sustained professional development course, designed to support the development of teaching skills and subject knowledge of teachers new to teaching AS/A level Mathematics.
TAM features:
- six course days, spread over 8 months, devoted to deepening subject knowledge, developing teaching approaches and reflecting on classroom practice
- a formative lesson observation conducted by a subject specialist
- textbooks to support your studies
- access to online teaching and learning resources
Aims
- Develop your confidence with the concepts in AS/A level Mathematics
- Deliver more engaging and relevant maths lessons, with improved progress through differentiated learning
Who will benefit from attending?
The Teaching A level Mathematics (TAM) course has been designed to support teachers of GCSE Mathematics who wish to teach A level Mathematics for the first time. However, many teachers with experience of teaching A level Mathematics have enrolled on the course, often on the recommendation of colleagues who have completed TAM, in order to deepen their subject knowledge and gain new ideas for teaching.
Course days
In 2020-21 we will again be running ten TAM courses around England. There will be courses hosted in venues in Birmingham, Exeter, London, Manchester, Sheffield and York. Select from the table below to view details of the group running nearest to you.
There are multiple groups running in London and Birmingham. You can directly apply to your preferred group in London; if you apply to Birmingham, you will be able to select a preference of which start date you would like. We aim to allocate participants according to their preference as much as possible but ultimately it will depend on the range of applications received. Please note that your start date may change, depending on which group you are allocated.
| Group | Start date | Address | Go to this event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham A |
11 November 2020 | The Priory Rooms, 40 Bull Street, Birmingham, B4 6AF | |
| Birmingham B |
24 November 2020 | The Priory Rooms, 40 Bull Street, Birmingham, B4 6AF | |
| Exeter | 20 November 2020 | Mercure Exeter Southgate Hotel, Southernhay East, Exeter, EX1 1QF | |
| London A | 2 December 2020 | Fox Primary School, Kensington Place, London, W8 7PP | |
| London B |
19 November 2020 | NCVO, Society Building, 8 All Saints Street, London, N1 9RL | |
| London C | 24 November 2020 | St Cecilias Church of England School, Sutherland Grove, London, SW18 5JR - TBC | |
| London D |
4 December 2020 | St Marylebone CE School, Sixth Form site, 14 Blandford Street, London, W1U 4AZ | |
| Manchester | 27 November 2020 | Manchester Meeting Place, University of Manchester, Sackville Street Campus, Manchester, M1 3AL | |
| Sheffield | 2 December 2020 | Sheffield Hallam University, 133 Charles Street, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield, S1 2ND | |
| York | 17 November 2020 | The National STEM Centre, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD | |
All our venues are chosen to be central locations which are accessible by public transport and we encourage you to consider using public transport where possible. You may choose to have an overnight stay, particularly when attending pairs of days. You will need to organise this yourself and should be able to find suitable accommodation nearby.
All venues follow the same pattern of study days as shown in the table below. All days run from 1000-1600.
| Day | Format | When? |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A single weekday | July |
| 2 | A single weekday | September |
| 3 & 4 | Two consecutive weekdays | November/December |
| 5 & 6 | Two consecutive weekdays | March |
| 7 & 8 | Two consecutive weekdays | June |
Eligibility
In order to participate in TAM, you must be teaching in a state-funded school or college in England.
In addition, applicants must have a minimum of two hours or two lessons per week of AS/A level or IB Mathematics on their timetable for the whole academic year. This teaching should include the teaching of some pure maths content within AS/A/IB level Mathematics (i.e. not only statistics and/or mechanics content). The teaching must be timetabled lessons to an entire class and the applicant must be the member of staff who has sole responsibility for planning and teaching this content and these lessons every week. Please note that small group tutorials, revision groups or team teaching are not acceptable.
Please see our criteria for offering places document for more information.
Cost
The course fee for TAM is £600. The fee covers the course days, two years access to MEIs online Integral resources, including additional extensive course materials, and textbooks covering A level Mathematics content. Every year we have responded to the requests of participants and offered additional support to meet their needs in areas such as the effective use of dynamic geometry and anticipate that such events would again be planned during 2020-21.
If you are working in a state-funded school or college, participation in this course attracts a reimbursement of course fees plus £400, subject to engagement and completion of the course.
Schools and colleges located within Priority Areas are eligible to receive a further subsidy of £200 to support staff cover and travel costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
The course is primarily designed for teachers who require support in order to teach A level Mathematics for the first time and would otherwise not teach at this level. However, many course participants in the position described in the question say that they have benefited from the course, having gained deeper insights and that their A level teaching has become far more effective.
Over the 10 months of the course (incorporating a summer holiday for private study), you will be expected to learn the content of A level maths with various elements of support including website resources and email support. The amount of time this takes will depend largely on how challenging you find this material.
At the start of the course, you will know which topics will be covered on each course day. In advance of each course day there will be suggested work to help you prepare for the day in the form of working through part of a textbook chapter, looking at online resources or reading an article to stimulate your thinking. On a typical course day there will be three maths sessions (focussing on the pure maths content of A level maths and with a specific focus such as use of questioning, use of ICT, insights through multiple representations, differentiation, group work, assessment, etc). In addition there will be at least one session when the group reflects on the experience and how it can be adapted for use in your own classrooms. For some course days, participants are required to prepare short presentations to describe to a small group of peers the impact of a resource or teaching approach on their students.
If you no longer meet the teaching requirements as outlined in the eligibility section or 'criteria for offering places' document then you will need to withdraw from the course immediately.
You are able to complete the TAM Certificate. The elements which comprise the TAM Certificate are actively participating in all course days, completing two school-based lesson observations and completing two maths assignments. The two maths assignments are based on exam-style questions. These are requested by the participant and emailed out on the requested day. The participant then has seven days to complete the assignment before returning it in the post to the marker.
Key Facts
Event ref:
#7292
Audience:
Teachers
Curriculum focus:
A level Mathematics
Mathematical focus:
Pure
Event format:
Sustained Professional Development
Event length:
8 months
Study days:
6
Region:
National
Start date:
Wed 11th Nov 2020
Course times:
10:00 - 16:00
Fee:
£600
Queries?
If you have any queries about this event, please do not hesitate to contact:
Teacher Support Admin Team
[email protected]
01225 716494
The AMSP, through MEI, holds the NCETM CPD Standard
