The Complete Mathematics Conference is the UK's largest Maths Teacher conference, bringing together thousands of maths teachers each year, from primary, secondary, and FE to collaborate and learn from each other.
MathsConfMini is the perfect way to end the working week with easily digestible mathematics widsom from educators around the globe, plus you get to keep you Saturday clear for whatever you want! (perhaps nursing a sore head from the post-conf virtual meet up)
Workshops are delivered by expert maths teachers from all across the world, who have a voice, and want to share their love of maths (this could be you!).
To keep these virtual conference experiences as true as possible to our face to face conferences, throughout the day, we will have many different speakers running workshops at the same time, so you can pick the workshops that specifically relate to you. But fear not! The recordings of the entire conference will be available, for you to catch up on any you miss!
MathsConf is all about educators learning from each other, sharing what they've learnt in their classrooms or through their research. We welcome MathsConf workshops on a variety of topics from a variety of presenters - from primary to FE and beyond. Whether this will be your first time presenting or your tenth click the button below to get the ball started.
Submit your workshop proposalIf you have any questions, queries or concerns about presenting send us an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or contact us on twitter.
An insight into how I finally began to understand the steps required to teach effective fraction lessons, (including some of the representations and activities I used).
Simon has been a teacher for just over 10 years now and as recently as one month ago made the transition into further education to become a lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University. As a passionate mathematics teacher he has often found myself dreading the impending and inevitable time when each year he would be faced with teaching the topic fractions. That was until he took a different approach and stripped the topic back and broke it down into more conceptual chunks.
This session will explore how to take the theory of curriculum design and implement it in practice. The session will pay particular focus on the key role tasks play in the design of an effective curriculum in early secondary.
The session will also examine the role tasks play in helping to develop consistent approaches in a large department, while ensuring all pupils are given the opportunity to develop fluency, understanding and mathematical habits of mind.
Chris McGrane has been working in mathematics education for 15 years, having taught in four very different schools. He has previously led a department in developing pedagogy, the curriculum and improving attainment. Much of this work was centred on designing and adapting high-quality mathematical tasks. Chris is the lead author of 'Mathematical Tasks: The Bridge between Teaching and Learning'.
Chris has worked as a CPD consultant with La Salle Education, delivering CPD and training across Scotland, from Galashiels to Lerwick and everywhere else in between. However, the call of the classroom never left and Chris is now Principal Teacher of Mathematics in Scotland's largest school. Chris is also involved in running the Glasgow branch of the Association of Teachers of Mathematics (ATM) and runs the popular website startingpointsmaths.com.
In this workshop we will look at a variety of wonderful maths story books and consider how we could use them in the primary classroom to teach maths. From EYFS to Year 6, there will be something for everyone! Come along and get lost in a book.
"Hi, my name is Sara Tilley and I’m a primary maths consultant based in London. I’ve been in education for over 20 years and have a real passion for maths and encouraging all children to believe they can do it! I’m a massive fan of concrete and pictorial approaches, maths through story and making maths fun. I currently teach primary school children and do lots of training for adults in primary schools too. I’m a busy lady but I love it!"
The exam papers that should have been sat last summer finally saw the light of day in November with a higher than usual number of students entered in autumn. Andrew Taylor, AQA’s Head of Maths Curriculum will reflect on how these papers, and the students who sat them, performed. In this session he’ll share the key learnings and consider how this group is similar and different to a ‘normal’ November entry. As a group we’ll look at what these results can tell us about next summer and beyond, the individual questions that worked well or not so well and, for those of you using these papers as mocks, we’ll look at how your marking and analysis can be supported.
Andrew Taylor is Head of the mathematics curriculum team at AQA. Before joining AQA in 2001, he taught mathematics for 17 years and was Head of Faculty in large comprehensive schools in Cambridgeshire and Manchester. Andrew has been closely involved in the development and delivery of all AQA’s mathematics qualifications from Entry level through to further mathematics A level. In his current role, Andrew is responsible for ensuring teachers of all AQA maths qualifications are fully informed and supported and making sure that AQA’s qualifications and support meet the needs of teachers and reflect best practice and the latest developments in teaching, learning and assessment.
In designing a primary mathematics curriculum, I decided to 'farm out' all the statistics objectives to other subjects. They belonged in Science, in Geography and not in my precious maths time. Then I changed my mind.
Join me as I share why I think statistics in primary maths is vital for development in myriad concepts and have some great ideas to take away too.
After working as a maths lead in a primary school and teaching in KS2, Lisa was fortunate enough to take her passion for maths further. She spent a number of years working with over 100 schools across the UK with Mathematics Mastery, where she deepened her understanding and passion for maths. Since September she has started a new role with a Norfolk Trust, leading and developing maths in five primary schools. When not thinking about maths, she can be found binge watching TV or reading great children's fiction.
Up to 30% of the marks available in GCSE exams are for AO2 – “Reason, interpret and communicate mathematically”. But that isn’t why we should provide opportunities for reasoning. Reasoning is a fundamental skill in mathematics. Developing the ability to make deductions, construct a logical argument, show insight into situations and infer information from them is an essential part of learning mathematics. In this session Peter Mattock will explore the ways he provides opportunities for pupils to develop reasoning skills using resources from AQA and others.
Peter Mattock has been teaching mathematics in secondary schools since 2006 and leading maths departments since the beginning of 2011. Peter has been accredited as an NCETM Secondary Mathematics Professional Development Lead and a Mathematics Specialist Leader in Education. Peter is also one of the first secondary maths teachers to take part in the NCETM Secondary Mastery Specialist programme and now works as the Secondary Mastery Lead for East Midlands South Maths Hub. Peter’s book “Visible Maths: Using representations and structure to enhance mathematics teaching in schools” is available on the Crown House Publishing website, through www.amazon.co.uk or from your preferred local book shop.
This session is another chance to look at some pedagogy, maths curriculum and run through some more topics for which Autograph can be particularly effective.
Robert Smith and Douglas Butler have successfully delivered the online webinar courses for beginners, intermediate and advanced users of Autograph and will bring a flavour of the potential Autograph can have in the classroom. The courses have been recorded and are now all available online in the Complete Mathematics Teacher CPD courses.
Further thanks to La Salle Education, who have made the desktop version of Autograph free to download, and can be installed on your school computer, home computer, and across the school network.
There is often mention that Autograph is only for secondary and post 16 teachers, so Rob and Doug will be sure to include areas of the primary curriculum that can be taught using Autograph.
We hope to see you at the session: The 1, 2, 3 of Autograph
Robert J Smith is currently the Maths Community Lead for La Salle Education. Robert has helped to lead and organise several CPD, Masterclass and engaging mathematics opportunities for Teachers, Lecturers, Pupils (and their parents) and also those generally interested in Mathematics.
After a spell in industry, Douglas has taught secondary mathematics, co-authored Autograph and conducted 'TSM' workshops in the UK and abroad.
Speaking of artistic license:
Making Friends with Numbers
Questions like, “What are numbers?” have tormented philosophers for millennia, and yet this is also where the youngest children begin their journey in mathematics. As a result, teaching and learning early number is a surprisingly complex business, and one that all teachers of mathematics should understand in detail.
Full of practical ideas, this session will explain how children develop a sense of number and how teachers can ensure that their students have a positive relationship with mathematics from the very beginning of school.
Deputy Head of STEP TSA, MaST and maths SLE, Matt has spent 12 years in Primary developing teacher's and leader's expertise. For the last 5 years he has worked for STEP Academy Trust - a large Primary MAT with some of the very best mathematics outcomes for disadvantaged children in the UK. He currently writes, curates and delivers ITT, ECT and SL training programmes with Tom Garry and others at STEP TSA.
Christopher Such has worked in education for 14 years. In that time he has been a classroom teacher, intervention teacher, maths coordinator and senior leader, teaching students in every year group from age 4-16. He is also an education blogger, focusing on primary mathematics and literacy.
Everyone knows what a square is!
How much maths can you make from our understanding of a square?
This workshop looks at some tasks that involve squares and how much maths you can pack into tasks involving squares, including, amongst others... HCF and LCM, orders of operations, expressions and equations, quadratics, surds, ratio and proportion, sequences, similarity and much more!
Sam Blatherwick is Head of Maths at Ashby School in North West Leicestershire. He has been teaching maths for 11 years and has been Head of Maths for three years.
He blogs at logsandroots.wordpress.com
Circle theorems are much maligned (by teachers as well as students!). This is also, objectively* the best topic there is. (* well – maybe not ‘objectively’).
In this session we will explore some of the fundamental ideas behind circle theorems and some of the more esoteric things that crop up. We’ll look at why they are the best thing (arguably) about GCSE mathematics, and what we can do to help our students to show them a little love.
Mark is based at Comberton Village College, just outside Cambridge, where he teaches Year 6 through to Year 13. Mark spends part of his week teaching on the PGCE course at the Faculty of Education, half a day each week working for the Cambridge Maths Hub and for AMSP, but still finds the best bits are when exciting things happen in the classroom in school.
Equality is one of the most fundamental concepts in mathematics. This workshop will look at the equals sign, equality, equations, functions, inverse functions and other related ideas. Along with some Arabic terms from Al Khwarizmi's text.
The use of Cuisenaire rods and pictorial representations to help pupils understand the process of solving equations will also be shown. Hopefully giving you some tried and tested ideas to implement in your teaching.
Atul is a full time online maths and Science tutor. Teaching students all around the world virtually. He teaches a wide range of mathematics from number sense, skip counting to A Level maths. His passion is in helping low attaining students and those with Dyscalculia. He is also interested in education technology to aid and enhance teaching in a virtual environment.
Estimation gives us insight into students’ mathematical skills and problem solving. It’s more than just a wild guess.
Teaching students estimation skills helps build practical ways of working with mathematical situations.
Have you heard these before…”Why estimate when I can count? Why estimate when I can just measure?”
BUT - we estimate all the time in our daily lives.
-To determine if our answers are reasonable
-To calculate more quickly
-To understand when we need to estimate to make our lives easier
This workshop will explore active ways to engage primary students in meaningful estimation situations to build confidence and flexible ways of thinking.
“Estimation is a high-level skill that requires students to be able to conceptualize and mentally manipulate numbers”. (Van de Walle)
Vikki has been teaching in Canadian elementary schools for 17 years, as well as occasional part time university lecturer positions. She holds Masters degrees in Technology Integration and Leadership, as well as a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching Elementary Math. She is passionate about making learning active, fun, and engaging for all students - no matter what the topic. Vikki has worked as an elementary literacy and math mentor for several years. She believes that students can learn anything, given the right tools and the right environment. Her favourite work is in the classroom with students, and working with teachers to foster curiosity about learning. A seasoned presenter - Vikki aims to leave everyone she meets with practical ideas to take into the classroom as soon as possible.
Workshop description to follow
Mark is the UK's leading authority on teaching for mastery. He has trained over 2000 schools in mastery models for schooling in the UK and overseas.
A leading figure in mathematics education, Mark has led many large-scale government education initiatives, both in the UK and overseas. Mark was a Director at the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) and has also been a school leader, an Advanced Skills Teacher, a school inspector and a teacher trainer. He founded and was Chairman of the Teacher Development Trust.
Mark has extensive experience of mathematics teaching and learning across all age and ability groups, having taught students from age 3 to PhD!
Discover some of the most surprising and unexpected uses of virtual manipulatives: from “pentomino reptiles” to prime numbers or non-periodic tessellations.
We will be using number and fraction bars, algebra tiles, pattern blocks, construction tools, tangram, and more – and you can follow along in real time. Presented by the creator of Polypad, which has been used by millions of students all around the world.
Philipp is the founder and CEO of Mathigon, a free platform that is making online learning more interactive and engaging than ever before. Mathigon contains personalised courses, virtual manipulatives, games, activities, lesson plans and more. It has won numerous awards and has been called “a mathematical wonderland” in The Guardian. Philipp previously worked as software engineer at Google, and studied mathematics at Cambridge University.
This virtual workshop is an introduction to the most versatile, visual, concrete manipulative that will change the way you feel about using the CPA approach in KS1 and KS2. This 50 minute session will transform the way you teach the basic number sense.
You will be shocked and amazed at how this one tool can be the mess-free (COVID friendly) answer to children developing a deeper understanding of so many concepts. Join in on the rekenrek workshop and you too will be singing the praises of this simple tool.
Amy is a Canadian who moved to the UK to pursue her dream of spreading the word globally on using the rekenrek. She has been a Primary teacher for 17 years in Canada as well as at an International school in the Netherlands. She has a Masters degree in Education and has taught Bachelor of Education maths courses at Acadia University. Amy is an author, presenter, primary maths specialist, SLE and university professor. She has an infectious passion and enthusiasm for teaching and will keep you engaged and entertained throughout the presentation.
True mastery of any subject, particularly one as beautifully complex as mathematics, is borne of attention to detail, diligent preparation and a ton of elbow grease. Before a single child can realise our aspirations for them, we, as school leaders and teachers, must first be prepared to dedicate ourselves to laying the foundations so crucial for later success. This is particularly complex in primary schools, where subject generalists are the norm and teachers frequently lack confidence in teaching the subject.
In this session Kieran Mackle and Tom Garry will explore how we can prepare our teachers and schools to ensure that every child can achieve in mathematics, ensuring that the subject’s beauty is there for all to behold, without exception.
Kieran Mackle is a teacher, MaST (Primary Mathematics Specialist Teacher) and Specialist Leader of Education, who has worked with numerous schools, local authorities and training providers to deliver training and school-to-school support.
Upon the completion of his B.Ed. at St. Mary's University College, Belfast, Kieran moved to Medway to become a class teacher before taking on the leadership roles of assistant and deputy head teacher of schools in areas of high socio-economic deprivation.
In 2017 he was appointed Mathematics Specialist and Collaboration Lead across three Gravesham primary schools, spearheading a project funded by The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths', developed to enhance aspirations and outcomes of disadvantaged children through support for teachers in their mathematics professional development.
Tom Garry is a teacher and writer, originally from York. He has taught in the UK and Poland in both primary and secondary schools, and currently works as Head of a Teaching School in London. Tom is an NCETM accredited Professional Development Lead and Primary Mastery Specialist, and has written 'Mastery in Primary Mathematics' for Bloomsbury. Tom is also a Churchill Fellow, recently researching support for early-career teachers in the United States.
When maths teachers were surveyed to find out what topic they most enjoy teaching, quadratics came out top. It's no surprise that it's so popular. This wonderful topic is full of beautifully interconnected ideas. It takes us on a journey from the fundamentals of algebraic manipulation and graphical representations, right through to the complexities of calculus and optimisation.
In this workshop we will discuss some pedagogical ideas. We will consider how we can begin to deepen our students' understanding of quadratics throughout our teaching.
Jo is a maths teacher and Assistant Principal at Harris Academy Sutton. She writes the website resourceaholic.com where she shares teaching ideas and resources for secondary mathematics. Jo is a regular guest on Mr Barton's podcast and an enthusiastic collector of old maths textbooks.
Do you believe in the power of maths visuals to increase access and understanding in your class? Have you considered the ways visuals might limit student’s thinking, rather than unleash it?
Come discuss the ways visuals can build from student’s natural problem solving strategies and how to avoid undermining student efficacy.
Berkeley Everett is the creator of Math Flips and MathVisuals.wordpress.com. He facilitates professional development for the UCLA Mathematics Project, develops curriculum and digital tools for DragonBox, and speaks internationally on math fluency and visualization. His new website, BerkeleyEverett.com, helps you visualize the math you teach.
Berkeley Everett is the creator of Math Flips and Jennifer Schexnayder is a teacher educator with the UCLA Mathematics Project. She is passionate about keeping children’s ideas at the centre of maths instruction.
This workshop explores a range of open-ended tasks aimed to be accessible to pupils with a range of prior experiences in Mathematics. Planning tasks that are low entry, high ceiling can be challenging but can allow more pupils to engage in the learning experience.
This session will provide real-life tasks that can be adapted for use in both primary and secondary mathematics classrooms.
Roisin began her teaching career in the primary sector, with experience teaching every curricular area to pupils from Primary 1 to 7. She first worked with secondary pupils as a Principle Teacher of Numeracy working across 3 Glasgow Secondary schools. When this contract came to an end she successfully gained GTCS registration in Secondary Mathematics and has since been working as a class teacher in St Andrew's Academy, Paisley.
#MathsConfMini, following the success of #MathsConf23 and #MathsConf24 will be taking place virtually! So you can sit back in the comfort of your own home, join us online, and enjoy an evening listening to your fellow educators share their ideas, thoughts and innovations.
“ In the 59 years I've been on the planet, #mathsconf23 has been the best day of maths ed I've ever experienced. Thank you so much, one and all! Still on a high... ”
“ Amazing day, especially since I live overseas and can't attend these when they are in person events. The variety and quality of presentations is very impressive. The whole set up of the day was excellent, easy to move through the day and between sessions. ”
“ Thank you for an amazing day #mathsconf23 I have thoroughly enjoyed every single moment and have learnt an awful lot. Great work. ”
“ Thank you @LaSalleEd for a customarily slick and professionally-run virtual #MathsConf23–right up there with normal events. Brilliant day hearing loads of interesting stuff. ”
“ Some of the best professional learning you can get at an unbelievable price. Thank you for organising. ”