Post-16 GCSE Resits - Cambridge Maths Hub

Supporting Post-16 GCSE Resit

–A project exploring effective ways of teaching key content to GCSE resit students

Work Groups in this project will explore effective ways of teaching key content to GCSE resit students, and working with teachers of post-16 resit GCSE. Participants will, through collaboration and experimentation, deepen their knowledge and understanding of the curriculum demands of GCSE Maths and their awareness of pedagogical approaches that best support students taking GCSE for the second time.

Participants’ departments will, through shared good practice, become more effective at teaching GCSE resit, for example by wider and more confident use of teaching approaches such as bar modelling, multiplicative reasoning or realistic contextualisation. Work Group activity will also be influenced by understanding the unfolding support that will be required for transition to the post-16 environment with awarded grades rather than exam results.

Who can take part?

This project is for teachers of post-16 GCSE Maths resit and/or any head of department where post-16 GCSE Maths resit is taught. Participants may be based in FE colleges, sixth form colleges, schools with post-16 provision or other post-16 settings.

Important information for potential participants:

The Education and Training Foundation has confirmed that all Centres for Excellence (CfE) and their network institutions who are involved in the national trials being run by the CfE can now be involved in this Work Group at an institutional level, as long as the individual trial teachers are not participating in the Work Group nor its associated work in their department.

What is involved?

There will be seven online sessions, either trying out classroom activities, or reflecting on their use in the classroom. There will be three tasks to try out with classes in between the sessions. All the strategies will be suitable for online learning and this will be a key feature of the Work Group this year.

Participants should attend all the scheduled sessions and commit to trialling the classroom tasks. Participants ideally would be representing their institution and working with colleagues in between Work Group attendance.

What will you learn?

Participants and their departments will:

improve their awareness of key concepts and themes relevant to the context of GCSE resit
increase their awareness of appropriate pedagogies to help students make connections and deepen understanding
share approaches to planning and delivery of key concepts with the Work Group and with departmental colleagues
develop teaching and learning approaches and pedagogy to promote engagement of students
work towards increased localised support and collaboration between 11-16 schools, FE colleges, sixth form colleges and 11-18 schools.

What is the cost?

The Supporting Post-16 GCSE Resit project is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so is free to participating schools/colleges.

Led by:

Sue Southward – Cambridge Maths Hub deputy lead and teacher at Comberton Village College

Aga Heisig- Maths Co-ordinator at College of West Anglia, NCETM Post 16 PD maths lead