{"id":167,"date":"2018-05-01T23:53:57","date_gmt":"2018-05-01T22:53:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/MathEd\/?p=167"},"modified":"2018-05-02T17:56:04","modified_gmt":"2018-05-02T16:56:04","slug":"year-9-mathematical-resilience-day-at-the-open-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/MathEd\/index.php\/2018\/05\/01\/year-9-mathematical-resilience-day-at-the-open-university\/","title":{"rendered":"Year 9 Mathematical Resilience Day at the Open University"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Friday 9th March, we hosted the very first Open University Mathematical Resilience Day for students in year 9 in the Hub Theatre on campus. The day was aimed primarily at girls with a focus on building their mathematical resilience. Students from schools in and around Milton Keynes were invited to attend the event, which was funded by a grant from the London Mathematical Society (you can find out more about the LMS here: https:\/\/www.lms.ac.uk\/).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Throughout the day, our focus was to support students to develop as resilient learners, through working together and discussing strategies to help them when they found the mathematics challenging. Alongside working on mathematical problems, we\u00a0discussed three key aspects of mathematical resilience:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Growth zone model<\/li>\n
  2. Growth learning theory<\/li>\n
  3. Growing mathematical resilience<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The students started the day by completed an attitude to learning questionnaire, based on\u00a0the\u00a0Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales, encouraging them to think about the way they think about learning.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    1. Growth Zone model<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Clare introduced the Growth Zone model, a concept introduced in her work on mathematical anxiety and mathematical resilience<\/p>\n

    In the GREEN<\/strong> zone you are comfortable. You might be consolidating some ideas but you are not learning.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

    In the YELLOW<\/strong> (or amber) zone you are learning<\/strong>, but learning feels risky and a bit uncomfortable, there are barriers to overcome, there is some struggle and you have to perserve to be able to “get it”. Stay here as long as you can, you will learn more that way, but don’t stay too long.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

    In the RED<\/strong> zone the risks feel too great, you feel unsafe and anxious. The barriers feel too much, you just cannot do this. You need help<\/strong>. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Working on some\u00a0mathematical\u00a0problems using the Growth Zone model<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    The girls were encouraged to use their “growth zone” models throughout the day to chart how they felt about each activity and to help them to talk about their feelings in relation to the mathematics they were doing.<\/p>\n

    You might like to have a go at the\u00a0task below yourself. If you do, why not chart your feelings using the Growth Zone model shown above?<\/p>\n

    Task: 9 coloured cube<\/strong>\"\"<\/p>\n

    If you have 27 cubes,\u00a03 each of nine colours (e.g. 3 yellow, 3 blue etc).<\/p>\n

    Can you make a 3 by 3 by 3 cubes so that each face contains exactly one of each colour?<\/p>\n

    The image\u00a0above\u00a0shows a cube with two faces that meet this criteria, but unfortunately on the third face there are two green cubes and two black cubes, so this is not a solution.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    You can find this task, and other similar problems here: Nrich.org.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    2. Growth Learning theory\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Clare explained that, according to Growth Learning theory, there are two ways in which people think that they learn:<\/p>\n

    1.Fixed Theory of Learning<\/b>: <\/b>I can only learn just so much, no matter what help and support I get I really won\u2019t make much progress in maths<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    2.Growth Theory of Learning:<\/b> I have the confidence that I can develop mathematical skills. I know that everyone can learn more mathematics with effort from themselves and support from others and that includes me<\/b>.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Neuro-science tells us that the brain grows every time you use it \u2013 it makes more synapses and connections but if you don\u2019t use it those connections are pruned. Grow your brain!<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    “Being Stuck is an honourable<\/span>\u00a0state”<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    John Mason, Emiritus professor at the Open University, wrote in 2014: \u201cEveryone <\/i>gets stuck sometimes, and it can be frustrating, even debilitating rather than stimulating. However, being stuck is an honourable and useful state because that is when it is possible to learn about mathematics, about mathematical thinking, and about <\/i>oneself\u201d<\/i>.<\/p>\n

    We discussed the importance of “being stuck” in mathematics and talked about the fact that even very successful mathematicians get stuck sometimes. For instance, world-famous mathematician Andrew Wiles, who gained fame by solving a nearly 400-year-old, previously “unsolvable” problem: Fermat\u2019s Last Theorem, recently spoke in an interview about the “state of being stuck”. In this interview, Andrew Wiles was asked what advice he would\u00a0give to the general public about mathematics, his answer was “accepting\u00a0the state of being stuck.<\/p>\n

    Having identified that “being stuck” would be inevitable at some point and reflecting on the way they worked together, the girls created “STUCK” posters, which were filled with advice for themselves and others, including “Don’t give up”, “Teamwork is key” and “keep practising”.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    One group came up with an acrostic poem to help students when they are STUCK:<\/p>\n