Maths Circles and Open Ended Problems - Workshop for Educators

The University of Edinburgh runs events called "Edinburgh Maths Circles": free sessions either in-person or online where children aged 5 to 16 enjoy learning mathematics with a range of fun problems and other hands-on mathematical activities.

T he in-person Maths Circles are free drop-in sessions where children aged 5-16 and their families can have a go at stimulating mathematical activities. The online Maths Circles are one hour long events for 7-14 years old and their families. Children have a chance to tackle a variety of mathematical problems guided by University of Edinburgh staff and students.

Children are encouraged to behave as little mathematicians as they make conjectures, explore and explain possible solutions to open ended questions.

Most of the activities we use during our Maths Circles are courtesy of nRich (https://nrich.maths.org/)

Further details can be found at: https://www.maths.ed.ac.uk/school-of-mathematics/outreach/maths-circle

Both face to face and virtual Maths Circles have proven to be really popular. Each virtual Maths Circle attracts an average of 90 children (plus parents), with both children and parents giving really positive feedback. Below are some selected quotes from participants

"My son does not like Maths at school, but he really enjoys these activities"

"Encourages children to think differently"

"It is very interactive and gives us an opportunity to make Maths fun"

“It is a fun way to view another side of Math!”

Teacher development workshop

During this workshop, we will give teachers and educators an introduction to what (both virtually and in-person) a Maths Circle is. We will explore some of the resources together, discuss how they can be used in the classroom, and how they can help children to develop curiosity and mathematical thinking.

The workshop is open to all Scottish primary and secondary maths teachers, and to all educators with an interest in mathematics. No previous knowledge will be assumed. During the workshop we will mostly explore activities aimed at 7-12 year olds; however, the style and approach to the problems can be adapted to all age groups.

After the workshop, participants will be able to borrow from us a box containing a selection of hands-on resources. Moreover, some of our students will be very happy to visit your school, either in-person or virtually, and explore some of the problems and resources in your classroom.

If you have attended one of our teacher workshops in the past, please note that we will use different problems this time, hence you can attend again and still see something new.

Please read and abide by the Code of Conduct for this event, which can be found here.

Further information about our upcoming events and resources can be found at: https://www.maths.ed.ac.uk/school-of-mathematics/outreach

PLEASE NOTE:

By registering to the workshop you are giving the University consent to hold and process this data about you, under data protection regulations, for the purpose of running this event.

Data about your School and postcode will be used by the School of Mathematics at the University of Edinburgh to analyse the demographics of participants, and may be anonimysed and published in the future (appearing in University reports, Education, Mathematics or Science Communication Journals/Conferences, for example). Other data may be stored by the University of Edinburgh for up to five years, and used for the purpose of evaluating the event. The University will not share any personal data with third parties. If you would like your data to be deleted from our datastore, please email francesca.iezzi@ed.ac.uk.

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