Maths for Mums

Girls attitudes towards Maths- Research project 2015-2016 How confident do you feel in Maths (out of 5)? Girls average 3.9. Boys average 4.1 Do you think you’re good at Maths? Only 50% of girls thought they were good at Maths. 78% of boys thought they were good at Maths

Girls attitudes towards Maths- Research project 2015-2016 How do you feel during a Maths test? ½ of female responses expressed a feeling of worry, nerves or fear In interviews the most discussed theme was that Maths was fun and exciting. Second most discussed theme: doubting own ability and discussing how their attitude impacted on their performance.

Girls attitudes towards Maths- Research project 2015-2016 Main two sources influencing their opinions: parents and themselves Key quotes: “You can’t just be born and be instantly good at Maths, you have to build up” “Sometimes I feel a bit worried because my scores, um, I do quite well or sometimes I just don’t do very well so I wouldn’t get a good score because I’ll be worrying” “I feel nervous and scared because I’m scared that people are going to judge me by the score I get in my Maths test” “Sometimes Mum doesn’t understand and says ‘ I’m not sure how to do this. Go see Dad.’ ”

External findings Girls in Year 6 voted Maths as the most disliked subject (Pollard and Triggs, 2001) No difference in attainment when self-concept is removed (Manger et al., 1998) Department for Children, Schools and families- boys show higher attainment in Maths than girls (2009) 41% of nine year old boys believe that boys are better mathematicians (Hargreaves et al., 2008)

We have a problem….. No biological or genetic reason why boys should outperform girls Girls in Hemingford describe Maths as “fun”, “exciting” and describe enjoying Maths challenges But….. Some of the girls are then struggling to believe in their own ability, and this has begun to impact on their performance.

How do you feel about Maths? Why do you think this is?

Kids don’t expect adults to be experts, but they do learn from our attitudes and approaches You have the numbers 1-4. You can use them as many times as you want. Using any operation can you make all the numbers from 1 to 25?

Did you find the answers? Does it matter? Approaching Maths confidently Demonstrating that mistakes are part of the process Modelling number fluidity. Numbers can be moved and changed and shaped to our will. Creativity- Maths is all around us.

Growth mindset vs fixed mindset Fixed- intelligence is fixed. If I put lots of effort in and do poorly then people will think I’m stupid. Better to take the easy option and keep looking smart… Growth- intelligence is dependent on effort. I might fail but if I put effort in and work through my mistakes then I will learn and improve. I am an individual and I’m not defined by how clever others think I am

Growth Mindset Language Fixed Mindset “Wow! You got the answer really quickly!” “You got all the answers correct. Well done clever clogs.” Growth Mindset “I like the way you solved that problem creatively.” “Well done, you tried a different strategy after you got it wrong.” “You took your time to solve and check the problem.”

People who failed Michael Jordan Thomas Edison James Dyson J. K. Rowling

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