Mr Barton Maths Podcast

Jo Morgan (@mathsjem) and I spent four days at the BCME conference in April of 2018, and decided to record a podcast each night - it sounded a good idea at the time. Hear our thoughts on all things from variation, manipulatives, A Level teaching, tough GCSE questions, pub quizzes and Hannah Fry... For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/conference-takeaways-bcme-day-1/ 

After the researchEd in Blackpool on 24th March 2018, Simon Cox (@MathsMrCox) and I sat down to share our thoughts and takeaways on the sessions we had seen, which included sessions from Tom Bennett, Carl Henrdick, Robin Macpherson, Mark Healy, Tom Sherrington and Harry Fletcher-Wood. Hopefully this will be of interest and use to anyone who was unable to make the conference. I even managed to keep the discussion to under an hour! For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/conference-takeaways-researched-blackpool-2018/ 

Ollie Lovell is a high school maths teacher from Australia. He is also an incredible thinker. Like me, he is a little obsessed with educational research and how he can apply it to the greatest effect in his classroom. In an epic 3+ hour interview we dig into how Ollie has planned out a new approach to teaching Year 12, how he runs a maths department, and his views (and questions!) about Cognitive Load Theory. I loved this interview! For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/oliver-lovell-planning-running-a-maths-department-and-cognitive-load-theory/ 

After the LaSalle Maths Conference in Kettering on 10th March 2018, Jo Morgan (@mathsjem) and I sat down to share our thoughts and takeaways on the sessions we had seen, which included sessions by Naveen Rizvi, Dani Quinn and Hinal Bhudia, Kris Boulton and Bernie Westacott. Hopefully this will be of interest and use to anyone who was unable to make the conference. I even managed to keep the discussion to under an hour! For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/conference-takeaways-mathsconf14/ 

Anne Watson and John Mason are two of the most influential people in the history of mathematics education. Their books, papers and workshops have influenced generations of maths teachers and this directly improved the experience of teaching and learning maths for hundreds of thousands of students. In this interview we look back over their careers, and then dive deep into the principles of Variation Theory, how to ask good questions and the importance of visualisation. For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/anne-watson-and-john-mason-variation-questioning-visualising-and-developing-mathematical-thinkers/ 

Helen is an experienced maths teacher and head of department. She is also the organiser of the Mixed Attainment Maths Conference. Mixed attainment (or as I often mistakenly call it, mixed ability) teaching is an area I am woefully inexperienced in and clueless about, so it was incredible to speak to Helen to get to the bottom of why she believes in it so much, and how to make it as effective as possible. Along the way we also tackle the concept of a growth mindset, and how Helen tries to instil that in her students. For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/helen-hindle-mixed-attainment-teaching-and-growth-mindset/ 

Amir is an experienced maths teacher, someone who has been head of maths in several schools, and who is now Vice Principal for Raising Achievement at Horizon Community College in Barnsley. Listeners have requested more interviews with experienced and successful teachers, so they can learn from their habits, processes and past mistakes, and Amir certainly delivers. We talk about running successful departments, planning lessons, creating opportunities for deep work, what makes a good scheme of work, and a lot more! For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/amir-arezoo-lean-maths-departments-deep-work-schemes-of-work/ 

Jane is a former teacher and head of maths who is now the HMI National Lead for Mathematics - to me and you that means she is the most senior maths specialist in Ofsted. In this revealing interview Jane discusses everything from observation and marking, setting and reasoning, and a lot more besides. Whether you are due an Ofsted inspection, just had one, or simply curious about what Ofsted are looking for, this is the interview for you. For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/jane-jones-ofsted-observations-marking-reasoning/ 

Carl and Robin are the authors of the exceptional book: What does this look like in the classroom? The book collects together a quite ridiculously impressive line-up of contributors, including Dylan Wiliam, Doug Lemov, David Didau, Daisy Christodoulou, and more, to summarise and clarify key research findings and how teachers can use them directly in the classroom. In this interview I dig into the key things the authors themselves took away from their book, and what listeners could change tomorrow to have a positive effect. For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/carl-hendrick-and-robin-macpherson-what-does-this-look-like-in-the-classroom/ 

Colin Foster is a former maths teacher who is now an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Research in Mathematics Education in the School of Education at the University of Nottingham. We talked about Mathematical Etudes, or what I term Purposeful Practice. I believe this is one of the most important types of practice we can give our students, allowing them to become fluent in key skills, whilst also developing problem solving capabilities. We also discuss the role of confidence in learning, and what makes a good question. I loved this interview. For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/colin-foster-mathematical-etudes-confidence-and-questioning/ 

Doug Lemov is a legend. As the author of Teach Like a Champion, he has had a major impact on my teaching and thinking over the last two years. I this interview we discuss several key strategies from the book, looking at the practical ways we can implement them in the maths classroom. We then turn our attention to teacher training, and Doug shares some wonderful advice for anyone delivering a training session to their colleagues. This is a cracker. For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/doug-lemov-teach-like-a-champion-and-top-tips-for-delivering-training/ 

Peps has done it all. He is a former Fasttrack maths teacher and Senior Lecturer in mathematics education. He has been a National Curriculum Advisor for the DfE, External Examiner at the OU, and is the author of Lean Lesson Planning and Memorable Teaching. He now leads on the Institute for Teaching’s Masters in Expert Teaching course. We had a great time digging into three areas that really interest me: lean, effective lesson planning; making our teaching memorable; and helping teachers determine and develop expertise in their profession. Get your pen and paper ready for this one, there are nuggets left, right and centre. For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/peps-mccrea-planning-memorable-teaching-and-teacher-expertise/ 

Lucy is the Research and Communications Officer at Cambridge Mathematics. I base my interview around five key questions from Lucy's espresso research series: What are the effects of attainment grouping on mathematics learning? What are the issues in learning and assessing times tables? How does maths anxiety affect mathematics learning? How does assessing confidence affect learning and testing in mathematics? How can mathematics teaching be measured? But we cover a lot more besides! For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/lucy-rycroft-smith-cambridge-mathematics-setting-times-tables-anxiety/ 

Kris returns to the podcast for another epic. This time we cover Kris' concerns with minimal guided approaches to teaching, such a discovery and inquiry based learning. We also delve into what it actually means to understand something in maths, and whether we as teachers can ever truly assess that understanding. Finally, how do you decide if you should teach the How before the Why? For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/kris-boulton-part-2-minimal-guided-instruction-understanding-how-before-why/ 

My first interview with Andrew caused something of a stir (in a good way!), so I thought it would be useful to release an interview I did with Andrew back in 2014 for my TES Maths Podcast. Here Andrew describes a completely open-ended inquiry lesson, as well as sharing some excellent advice on being a Head of Department. For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/andrew-blair-prequel-inquiries-and-being-a-head-of-department/ 

Andrew is a head of maths at the creator of inquirymaths.org. We spoke about planning and delivering inquires in mathematics, explicit  instruction, developing fluency, problem solving, and evaluated evidence related to memory, motivation and purpose. For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/andrew-blair-inquiry-maths/ 

Rachel is an experienced primary maths teacher. We spoke about what primary maths lessons look like, what topics they have covered, their problem solving skills, their use of manipulatives, what students might be expecting maths lessons to look like at secondary school, and much more. For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/primary-school-teacher-rachel-webster-how-your-year-7s-have-been-taught-maths/ 

Trevor is AQA’s Chief Examiner for the Maths GCSE. We spoke about when the GCSE maths writing process starts, who is involved, what makes a good question and what makes a bad question, what are the difficulties, how exams are marked, and much more. This is a great listen now we have finally made it through the first new specification GCSE cohort, and essential listening as we prepare for the next! For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/chief-examiner-trevor-senior-how-gcse-maths-exams-are-written/ 

Nick is a former science teacher who now works as a researcher for TeachFirst. He is also the co-author of the outstanding book What Every Teacher needs to know about Psychology. We spoke about inducing cognitive conflict, the dangers of differentiation, whether growth mindset is really a thing, and much more! For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/nick-rose-mindset-misconceptions-differentiation/ 

Ed returns to the show following the launch of his book Yes, but why? Teaching for Understanding in Maths. This time around we spoke about why maths puzzles are important, what makes a good puzzle, how maths lessons are taught in Japan, what we can learn from this approach, and how much student discussion should happen during examples. For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/ed-southall-part-2-puzzles-and-lessons-from-japan/