Wild Maths

In this second instalment from my article 'Resourcing maths and science from nature – and the recycling bin!' (from the ASE Primary Science magazine - March/April 2020), I explained the reasons why the idea of Wild Maths became that little bit more than just wanting to pick up a few sticks and stones and play with them. Experiencing maths, seeing maths, touching maths, playing with maths is a great start, giving children the opportunity to learn maths in the way that science is often experienced.  Many years ago, I visited the Mathematikum Museum in Giessen, Germany. I had a fabulous day of mathematical interaction that fascinated and engaged, which included finding one bead in a million (can you find it in the picture below? Apparently, the curator on site said it was the first time he had seen it in three weeks), building Platonic 3-D shapes, levitating beach-balls in air flows, watching a binary clock and creating probability distribution bell curves from falling beads. It ...

  I read a thoughtful article recently entitled ‘Should Outdoor Learning in Schools be Compulsory?’ by Joe Bogumsky (outlearn - https://outlearn.co.uk/should-outdoor-learning-in-schools-be-compulsory/ ). It’s a very good question to ask. Joe presents a convincing argument of the benefits of Outdoor Learning (OL), including statistics from the Natural Connections Demonstration Project, 2012-2016 (view report here: http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/6636651036540928 ) which overwhelmingly point to the importance of including OL in our curriculum. In the school where I teach, we have recently begun a journey of promoting OL, initiated and supported by the Nature Friendly Schools project ( https://www.naturefriendlyschools.co.uk/ ) and it has certainly garnered a lot of enthusiasm from the pupils and staff involved. It is starting small – focussing on a group of pupils from Year 3, 4 and 5, and largely delivered by the staff who support the welfare of pupils in schoo...

  In March of 2020, I was very fortunate to have published an article about my enthusiasm for using the wild to learn about maths. It reflected a development of ideas and thoughts I'd had about how many children and adults in our society struggle with maths, and what practical and cheap ways could be used to help counter this. Through studying for a level 5 Diploma for teaching Maths in the Lifelong Learning Sector in 2010, I had realised just how immense the problem was of of the British public's uneasy relationship with maths. I was saddened to hear the rallying cry of 'It's ok to be bad at maths' through the laughs of many people.  Unfortunately, just as the article was published, lockdown 1 hit, so I do wonder how many people actually had the time to read the article before it was tidied away after having lay dormant on a desk for some months. However, for those who missed the experience, here is now the serialisation of the article over the next few posts. Give...

The beginning of a new year brings many new possibilities and the desire to try new things - what better time to begin a blog? The idea behind WildMaths is to find maths in nature and use nature to explore maths. Last March, I was fortunate to be invited to write an article in the Primary Science magazine from the ASE (Association of Science Education) about how maths was a difficulty for many people and how using a good set of resources which they could interact with may help to develop an early and crucial understanding of maths. Importantly, these resources could be sourced from nature, allowing a wide access to good quality, free maths resources. Though still an advocate for using sticks and stones for developing maths understanding, I am also developing the use of outdoor education at the school I work at for enhancing pupil engagement and attainment, the journey which I also want to develop here. This is in association with the Nature Friendly Schools initiative. It's an...