School of Research Science
Dubai

In their own words

Our Maths — No Problem! journey

At SRS, our whole approach to teaching is based on ‘out of the box’ thinking. This maximises high-quality engagement with students at every level.

Our goal is to develop creative, independent thinkers who can easily adapt their knowledge to the ever-changing needs of the technological age. And being a large school — more than 4,000 pupils from Foundation Stage to Year 13 — meant we needed a consistent approach to teaching mathematics.

Maths — No Problem! has completely transformed how we teach maths. Through a strong focus on mastery, the children have developed deeper mathematical skill and fluency.

Before implementing the Maths – No Problem! Programme in September 2017, we invested in a two-day intensive inset programme. That was followed by a further development day in November 2017 where we reviewed and evaluated our initial rollout.

The training really helped clarify the approach and equipped our teachers with the needed skills and confidence. The workshop-based sessions looked in detail at ‘In Focus’ activities and how to use concrete materials during lessons. Teachers learned practical techniques and strategies for applying a problem-solving approach in the classroom.

Maths — No Problem! in our school

There are currently over 2,100 pupils in Year 1 to Year 6 using a mixture of Maths — No Problem! textbooks and workbooks. We also subscribe to the Teacher Guides and Academy. These subscriptions have proven invaluable for teachers who want to deepen their knowledge of maths mastery.

We share essential vocabulary at the beginning of every lesson and encourage pupils to speak in full sentences when discussing their work. This has really supported the development of their mathematical language, and with that, they have become more willing to take risks in their learning and explore more challenging problems.

The programme has also enabled us to more effectively help parents support their children at home. We promote the importance of having a growth mindset and the benefit of the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract approach.

We are also looking to make instructional videos available to pupils and parents for new and challenging mathematical concepts from Year 1 to Year 11.

Our Approach to development

At SRS, we are continuously drawing from the latest research to update and revise our maths mastery approach. Each year group has a maths subject lead who helps direct Continuing Professional Development and contributes to the action plan for the school.

Open Door Classrooms are now a key feature of our school. Teachers are encouraged to observe lessons as part of their own professional development. In addition, a formal CPD programme is planned and delivered to staff based on data from observations, learning walks and feedback both formal and informal.

We’re eager to share our success with the Maths — No Problem! approach to inspire other schools to adopt the programme, promote maths positivity among teachers, pupils and parents, and promote mathematics across the Gulf region.