At the AGM in April, we welcomed Charlie Stripp as the new President of the MA. 

Charlie is a passionate advocate of mathematics education at all levels, from primary school to university.

As Chief Executive of the maths education charity, Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI), Charlie leads an organisation which plays a national role in mathematics curriculum development and teacher professional development. MEI plays a key role in the development and leadership of major government-funded programmes to improve maths education: the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme (AMSP), the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics   (NCETM) and the Maths Hubs Programme.

Since first training to be a teacher, Charlie has been a member of the Mathematical Association, serving as Chair of Teaching Committee and a member of the MA’s Council in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was awarded an MBE for services to education in 2015.

Charlie's Interviews 

MA President Charlie Stripp interviews Andy Noyes on ‘Challenges Mathematics Education Faces’.

Andy is a Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Nottingham, Chair of the Joint Mathematics Council, (JMC) and the founding Director of the Observatory for Mathematics Education at the University of Nottingham. Andy was also a member of the Mathematical Futures Programme Board at the Royal Society, whose recent report sets out a vision for the future of mathematical education.

 Their discussion includes:

•  Attitudes towards maths and maths education
• The chronic shortage of secondary maths teachers
• Embedding technology in maths teaching and learning

 Andy shares his thoughts and ideas, and explains the ambitious, long-term research programme he is leading at the Observatory for Mathematical Education.

Charlie interviews David Thomas - CEO of Axiom Maths, around public attitudes to maths and maths education, particularly relating to pupils in KS2-KS3 from disadvantaged backgrounds. David discusses research carried out by Axiom Maths that was inspired by findings from the University of Nottingham about children's mathematical journeys between the ages of 11-16. There is a huge shift in attitudes towards maths between Year 6 and Year 7.

He also discusses a new report on public attitudes to maths that was commissioned by Axiom Maths and shows some surprisingly positive results. You can access the full data tables from the polling here.

Charlie interviews Kathryn Greenhalgh - Executive Director of Maths for the Outwood Grange Academy Trust and co-lead for the Yorkshire and Humber Maths Hub. Kathryn is also the Chair of the Maths Hub Council. They discuss a variety of issues around student attitudes towards mathematics in schools, particularly those in less advantaged areas. 

In the second part of their interview, they discuss subject specialist maths teachers (those who chose to train as maths teachers through their initial teacher training) and ways to support the development and retention of secondary mathematics teachers, both specialist and non-specialists.

Part 1