‘Boxing Up’ The Big Launch

Why ‘Boxing Up’.... At PACA we discovered that our students were struggling with the wordy questions in the Functional GCSE and losing out on some of the Quality of Written Communication marks. Before : = [1Mark] After : You have an electricity bill were the readings are 289 and 567 units. 1 unit of electricity costs 16 pence. How much will you be charged for this bill? [4 Marks]

Stem Research suggests that our highest achieving students at both GCSE and A Level are leaving secondary school unable to cope with the mathematical content of the STEM subjects at degree level due to:- Overly procedural thinking Poor problem solving skills Lack of confidence

‘Boxing Up’ Removes the emphasis for both students and teachers from arriving at the correct answer to an understanding of the process it took to arrive there.

Boxing Up is a Strategy for working out (for writing) Strategy for discussing (asking each other questions) Strategy for thinking (asking yourself questions)

Why a ‘Big Launch?’ To raise awareness among students and teachers that this is a department wide initiative.

Organising the Launch All of year 11 took part in an assembly on the morning of the Launch so that we could explain the purpose and structure of the day. We then split the year group into two halves and held two sessions, one before break and one from break until lunch. For each session the year 11s were split into three groups. The first group into the hall were trained in ‘Boxing Up.’ They then trained the second group into the hall. Both these groups then trained the last group into the hall. (It is intended that the last group into the hall will be given an opportunity to train a younger year group.)

Who was Involved.... All of the year 11s. All of the Maths teachers. Any TA and 1-1 mentors involved with supporting students in Maths’ The SMT team. The Directors of Learning for each House.

What happened... As each group came into the hall they were given an explanation and an example of how to Box Up. They were then given three sets of questions of varying levels of difficulty and chose which ones to work on. They then solved these problems using ‘Boxing Up’ and then explained the method to the next set of students.

Recap - Boxing Up (A Mathematical Essay) What is the question asking me? What information do I have? What Maths will I be using? Working out / Calculations Answers, checking and presentation. Introduction Main Story Conclusion Maths StoryEnglish Story

Two websites sell the same type of radio. Sunil is going to buy the radio from one of the websites. He also has to pay for postage. Which website is cheaper and by how much. People pay to visit a garden. 145 People pay. 39 of them are under 16. How much ticket money is paid altogether. The shaded rug is twice as long as it is wide. The perimeter of the rectangle is 30cm What is the area of the rectangle? The price of a coat is £65 In a sale the price is reduced by 15% What is the sale price of the coat? Every day a machine makes 500 drawing pins and puts them into boxes. The machine needs 15 drawing pins to fill a box. How many boxes can be filled with the 500 drawing pins? A special pack of apricots has 50% extra free. Fill in the missing number on the table. Website A Website B Cost of radio £79.99£76.76 Cost of Postage £3.49£6.79 Tickets: Age 16 and over £3.60 Under 16 £2.25 WeightNumber of apricots Ordinary pack450g10 Special Pack g15

Which is the best value for money 500g of sausages for £2.75 or 650g of the same type of sausage for £3.70? You must show all your working. The diagrams below show a rectangle and a parallelogram. Kylie uses a piece of string to measure the perimeter of a shape. The string fits exactly round a rectangle 10cm by 8cm. She then fits it exactly round a square. How long is one side of the square? Sara had £50 to spend on a day trip to France. The exchange rate was ε 1.55 = £1 How many Euros did she get in exchange for her £50? She saw a watch she liked priced at ε43. How much was the watch to the nearest penny? 6.1cm 3.7cm 6.1cm 3.7cm Calculate the area of the rectangle. Explain why the area of the parallelogram is equal to the area of the rectangle.

A shopkeeper uses this formula to calculate the total cost when customers pay by monthly instalments. C = d + 24 × m C is the total cost in pounds. d is the deposit in pounds. m is the monthly instalment in pounds. (a) The deposit for a wardrobe is £16. The monthly payments are £10. What is the total cost? The value of a vintage car rises from £ to £ Work out the percentage increase in the price of the car. Mutasem wants to buy two of these luxury chairs. At which shop is the price of the two chairs the cheapest? You must show your working. Martha books a 14-night holiday in May. She books for herself, husband Billy and daughter Mary (aged 11). She books the holiday online. Explain clearly why the total cost will be £990.

You can tell them what each box is for but you should ask them what goes inside. Try not to give any answers, try to get the answers from them through questioning. Be supportive / positive. Rules for Explaining

What happened next All Maths teacher are encourage pupils to use ‘Boxing Up’ at every opportunity. The four questions were made into A2 posters and displayed in each classroom. Maths teachers use the posters to prompt / remind students that they are only allowed to ask for help using one of the four questions.

What is the question asking me? What information do I already have?

What Maths will I be using?

What calculations / working out do I need to do?

How can I check that my answer is correct?

Next Steps at PACA ‘Boxing Up’ is an initiative that other departments are planning to adopt, it is intended that the method will soon become a whole school approach to problem solving.

Pupil Responses Results of the questionnaire

Think, Pair, Share What are your experiences with ‘Boxing Up’ in your school and what might your next steps be?

Available on Pier to Peer

WhenWhatTeachers InvolvedStudents Involved RegistrationAll year 11s to the hall for an assembly about the purpose of the day. RRB, HHE, SSTAll year 11. Lesson – HHE class to stay in the hall. This class will set up the tables for the day and be trained in boxing up. RBD’s 11X to the hall to be trained in boxing up by HHE’s class. In the hall, SST, all Maths teachers, 1-1 mentors, Maths TAs 11x HHE’s class 11x RRB’s class and 11x HHE’s class. Lesson – SSW 11X class to the hall to be trained in boxing up by RRB and HHE’s class Producing a question bank In the hall, SST, all Maths teachers, 1-1 mentors, Maths TAs. All of 11x band. Lesson – RRB’s 11y class to the hall. This class will be trained in boxing up. HHE’s 11y to the hall to be trained in boxing up by RRB’s class. In the hall, SST, all Maths teachers, 1-1 mentors, Maths TAs. 11Y RBD’s class. 11y RBD’s class and 11y HHE’s class Lesson – – SSW’S 11Y class to the hall to be trained in boxing up by RRB’s class and HHE’S class. Producing a question bank. In the hall, SST, all Maths teachers, 1-1 mentors, Maths TAs. All of 11y band. An Outline of A Launch

TeacherRegistrationLesson 1Lesson 2Lesson 3Lesson 4Lessons 5 & 6 HHECover requiredNo coverCover required. Cover required from – class to then be escorted to the hall. No cover requiredAll Maths teachers can teach lessons 5 and 6 as normal. RBDCan be covered by SSW Cover required from 9.00 – 9.25 class to then be escorted to hall. No Cover required. No cover required PHGNo coverNo Cover required.Cover required. KKSNo coverNo Cover required.Cover required. CCRCover RequiredNo Cover requiredNo Cover required. OHLNo coverNo Cover required. Teach lessons 3 and 4 as normal. No Cover required. Teach lessons 3 and 4 as normal. SSWNo coverCover required.No Cover required. Cover required.No cover required SSTNo Cover required No Cover required. No Cover required No cover required Cover Requirements Table.

To do list... Arrange cover for Maths teachers, LSAs, 1-1 mentors and any other members of staff who help pupils with their Maths. Check the availability of senior members of staff to support in the hall. Plan a year 11 assembly for the morning of the Launch day to let pupils know the purpose and organisation of the day. Split the year group into two or more groups, 3 classes per group to take part in each session, each session to last approx 2 hours. Produce differentiated,functional maths problems for pupils to solve using the boxing up method. (Provide lots of simple questions so that pupils can concentrate on the method not the Maths.) Produce a Boxing Up Instructional power point for pupils, you will need 3 versions as some classes will see the instructional power point 3 times. Produce a questionnaire to assess the impact of the day. Speak to the caretakers to arrange grouped tables for 3 classes to be set up in the hall. Arrange a lap top for the assembly presentation and the Instructional Power Points. Let the SEN dept and 1-1 mentors know to send along relevant staff. Arrange an opportunity for the last class into the hall in each session, to instruct a younger year group in the Boxing Up Method. Make sure equipment boxes are ready for each grouped table and that teachers have equipment packs. Organise prizes for pupils and thank you gifts for staff that supported.

Equipment for Pupils Set of green, pink and gold questions Copy of example sheet Glue Scissors Pen, Pencil and Rubber A4 paper Calculator

Equipment for Teachers Copy of green, pink and gold questions Copy of example sheet Seating Plan Stapler Prizes Post – it notes Pencil Sharpener, rubber, spare pens and pencils Calculator

Also Available on Pier to Peer The posters. The assembly power point and pupil power points. The green, pink and gold questions that we used on the day.