News: Mathematics Development Programme for Teachers 2008/09

The Universities of Brighton, Liverpool Hope and Wolverhampton are piloting continuing professional development (CPD) courses aimed at mathematics teachers who are not specialists in the subject.

The second year of the pilot starts in June/July 2008 and recruitment is now underway.

The courses are for teachers of learners aged 11-19 in schools and colleges, who do not have a mathematics specialism. Research shows that up to 24 per cent of teachers deployed to teach mathematics may fall into this category.

Attending the courses will help develop participants’ knowledge of mathematics and subject-specific pedagogical skills. This will enable them to enhance their confidence and effectiveness in teaching mathematics.
Each participant on the courses will follow a learning programme that builds on their prior knowledge of teaching mathematics and is tailored to their individual needs.

The pilot courses are accredited and provide up to 40 days of support.

To be eligible for the courses, applicants must:

• have qualified teacher status
• already be teaching mathematics for a significant portion of their timetable, and
• have been teaching mathematics for at least one academic year by the course start date.

There are 60 places in total, 20 at each institution.

The courses are free for participants, who will be eligible for an award of £5,000 after obtaining accreditation upon completion of the course. Supply cover will also be paid for participants.

You can find out more by contacting the institutions running the pilots:

University of Brighton
Marianne Cole
Tel: 01273 643412
E-mail: m.l.cole@brighton.ac.uk
www.brighton.ac.uk/education/courses/mathscpd.php

Liverpool Hope University
Pauline Bray
Tel: 0151 291 3278
E-mail: brayp@hope.ac.uk
www.hope.ac.uk/education/cpd_maths.html

University of Wolverhampton  
Keith Munnings
Tel: 07931 532006
E-mail keith@eskola.freeserve.co.uk
www.wlv.ac.uk/sed/cpd

posted 04/01/08