[Maths-Education] Draft Key Stage 3 Framework for teaching mathematics

[Laurinda Brown]

Yes, Jim's last point is one of my concerns. We run a course where we 
work with these strong, creative students. They gain a lot from 
developing curriculum frameworks and planning lessons within a 
range of schemes of work - I do not want to see these people offered 
less of a challenge and hope to present that view as I go to meetings 
etc so that there might be a minimum prescription but that the 
procedures be not statutory. This seems to be what we have at the 
moment with the framework.

Laurinda

On Thu, 09 Nov 2000 11:36:29 +0000 "Jim D.N. SMITH(EDS)" 
<D.N.Smith@shu.ac.uk> wrote:

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> In relation to draft Key Stage 3 Framework for Teaching Mathematics.
> 
> In broad terms I welcome the introduction of this framework.  In my
> previous role as head of mathematics department, I might well have found
> the framework rather restrictive, and regarded it as undermining my
> professional autonomy.  However, in my role as subject leader for a PGCE
> secondary maths course I can see many benefits for initial trainees in the
> framework.  For example, two weeks ago I asked the students on our current
> course to bring in schemes of work from their placement schools.  These
> were enormously varied, and some of them were of an exceptionally high
> standard.  Unfortunately, some of them were not and relied overmuch upon
> published textbooks.  In one case there simply was no scheme of work
> available to student teacher as the department was in the process of
> changing from one textbook to another.
> 
> I look forward to being able next year to introducing the framework.  I
> should be able to tell students that host departments in schools will
> either be working to the framework very closely, or have developed their
> own ideas within the framework, or be elaborating and extending the
> framework. 
> 
> I also welcome the general emphasis on direct teaching, and upon engaging
> the class in purposeful discussion and fruitful activity.
> 
> My only concern remains the worry that by using the framework to raise
> standards of the weakest departments, we may unnecessarily restrict the
> professional autonomy of high achieving mathematics teachers. In the
> long-term, this may make the job less attractive to high-quality recruits.
> 
> 
> Jim D N Smith BSc MEd BA
> Mathematics Education Centre
> School of Education
> Sheffield Hallam University
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> Common-sense is unexamined theory.
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----------------------
Laurinda Brown
Laurinda.Brown@bristol.ac.uk

0117-9287019