Author Archives: Cathy Smith

This post is written by Ben Leslie, winner of the Stanley Collings prize in 2024. The Stanley Collings prize is awarded annually by the School of Mathematics and Statistics. The prize is awarded to the student who best combines innovation … Continue reading →

Why are multiple representations important when learning and doing mathematics? One of my favourite starter problems which I picked up as a secondary mathematics teacher involves a spider, a fly, and a room in the shape of a perfect cube. … Continue reading →

Vinay Kathotia, one of our lecturers in mathematics education, writes about his work with an educational charity in Udaipur. Nestled within the Aravalli hills, one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world, there lies a vivid example of the … Continue reading →

 Angie McConnell is a long-standing associate lecturer in Mathematics Education at The Open University. She has chaired several undergraduate and postgraduate modules, and is currently heading up ME620, Mathematical Thinking in Schools. Angie is retiring as a central academic this … Continue reading →

What happens when we put Maths into reverse? As a teacher, one of the things I appreciate most about the field of Mathematics Education is the number of simple and effective ‘big ideas’ that have been developed and shared by … Continue reading →

A personal viewpoint from Cathy Smith, Mathematics Education lead at the Open University. Ofqual and DfE are currently consulting about their proposals for giving students GCSE, AS and A level grades this summer, a change of plan from the problematic … Continue reading →

Generalising in Mathematics by Philip Higgins     One of the most revealing aspects of ME625 and ‘Developing Thinking in Algebra’ (Mason et al 2012) is that algebra is the search for the general rule and that this generality can … Continue reading →

Developing Thinking in Learning and Doing Geometry.   You might have thought the title of this blog is unnecessarily complicated! It is a hybrid of the names for the current Open University geometry module (Developing Thinking in Geometry) and the … Continue reading →

One of the lockdown conversations that has stuck in my mind was with a colleague whose 8-year old does not really want to go back to school. One of his reasons is a tribute to her homeschooling arrangements: he has … Continue reading →