Brighter Thinking Pod – Ep 40: How to ‘NRICH’ Maths Students Through Project Work: Tasks for IGCSE

Hello and welcome back to the Brighter Thinking Podcast from Cambridge University Press. In this episode, we are discussing project work in maths lessons. What are the benefits? How can you facilitate a successful project-based lesson in maths and what skills do projects teach?

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Brighter Thinking Pod – Ep 40: How to ‘NRICH’ Maths Students Through Project Work: Tasks for IGCSE

In this episode, we discuss:

• What do we mean when we say ‘project work’? What does project work include? And if we asked mathematics teachers around the world, what would they say?
• What are the challenges faced by teachers when facilitating project work?
• What are the key skills that students learn through project work?
• Why is it important for students to work on projects, investigations or rich tasks in mathematics?
• Is project work suitable for students of all levels of ability?
• What do students gain from working on maths projects?
• How might we better organise the classroom for maths projects?

Show notes

NRICH

Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics Core and Extended 

Cambridge IGCSE and O Level Additional Mathematics

‘Sowing the seeds for a more creative society’ by Professor Mitchel Resnick, Director of the Lifelong Kindergarten research group at the MIT Media Lab

Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play, Mitchel Resnick

Growth Mindset, Carol Dweck

The role of the teacher in mathematical project work: how to support students, blog by Alison Kiddle

Why is it important for students to undertake project work in mathematics? Blog by Charlie Gilderdale

Cambridge Mathematics CoffeePods – “a small but intense draught of filtered research on mathematics education, expressly designed with teachers & practitioners in mind”

Host and guests

Arifah Khan – host

Arifah is the Commissioning Editor for Mathematics titles at Cambridge University Press.

Alison Kiddle 

Alison is a freelance mathematics education consultant, having previously worked for NRICH as Key Stage 4 coordinator.

Charlie Gilderdale 

Charlie is the Secondary Coordinator at NRICH.

NRICH

NRICH is the University of Cambridge’s flagship outreach project and a joint initiative of the Faculties of Mathematics and Education. For 25 years, it has been designing free, online resources that give 3-19 year-olds the widest possible opportunities to experience rich, imaginative and challenging mathematical education.

It focuses on building problem-solving skills, perseverance, mathematical reasoning, ability to apply knowledge creatively in unfamiliar contexts and confidence in tackling new challenges.

Thanks for listening

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