Top tips for teaching GCSE maths resits
22 July 2020
Julia Smith shared some excellent insights with us offering us tips on supporting students with both maths resits and maths in general.
It is about creating a positive culture in maths.
The importance of regular maths practice
Julia emphasised the importance of maths practice and incorporating into a daily routine. Thousands of students will do daily practice, if they are given the right resources.
She linked to some padlets she has created with a list of great resources to look at:
Establishing strong foundations in mathematics
Students need to establish solid foundations and mathematical connections before they can move on. These include the 9 basics of maths. It is so important to focus on getting these mastered first.
The 9 basics of maths
- Addition
- Subtraction
- Multiplying
- Dividing
- Fractions
- Decimals
- Percentages
- Scale
- Ratio
Keeping students engaged in learning and revision
You do need to teach the students in the way that they like to learn. There is no one size fits all approach. By finding the gaps in their basic maths skills early on then students will progress quicker. They are also the easiest things to remedy.
Often with these students it is all about revision. They will have covered the material before but when they come to college and learn maths it needs to feel and look different to school. They need to take ownership and see the value in the qualification and be invested in passing. With the right support they can go on to be very successful.
Tracking learning progress in students
Julia advised looking at the chief examiners report to get a clear understanding of what students fall back on. You can then use this knowledge to support your students more effectively. Plus, exam technique is very important.
Utilising gamification to encourage students
Finally Julia highlighted that it is great to encourage students to engage through gamification. But is it also important to be able to deliver effectively offline too.
There are so many pieces or advice and tips in the summary to mull over.
Julia and Jonathan Kay are delivering an interactive workshop on 26 October, which go into this and other areas around maths and English resits in depth. For more information click here.