1. Develop your teacher subject knowledge
Tamba Roy, author of ‘Success in Schools’ and a good friend of our school, says
“We become experts at whatever we choose to practice.”
To become a confident maths teacher we need to empathise with our pupils. And to do this we need to put ourselves in their shoes. I’ll admit I made myself unpopular when I got my colleagues to tackle some challenging maths problems themselves — including a Year 6 maths paper. It’s important that teachers understand what it’s like to struggle through a problem and experience the feeling of success which comes from uncovering the answer. The same success we encourage our pupils to feel.
Other ways to develop subject knowledge in your school:
- Provide high-quality CPD opportunities
- Recruit skilled staff willing to mentor others
- Introduce lesson study and collaborative working
- Make high-quality resources available