Ambitious project puts no limits on learning A 鈧�1.9M project led by 缅北禁地 will take lessons from around the world to help improve mathematics and science skills in Europe and South Africa. Working with partners across eight countries, researchers will look at how technology can be used by teachers to help raise attainment levels among the lowest achieving students.The project will focus on nine to 13-year-olds, as this is when progress in mathematics and science tends to tail off.鈥淗ow we go about changing attitudes will be key to the success of this project,鈥� explained , principal investigator and project co-ordinator. 鈥淲e want to challenge the belief that there is such a thing as 鈥榝ixed ability鈥� where children are given subtle but potentially damaging messages that there is a limit on what they can achieve.鈥�Due to the sheer scale of subjects covered within mathematics and science, researchers will focus on two areas which intersect both: understanding of graphs and data handling. They will also look at basic numeracy.In the UK, around 17 million adults only have the numeracy skills of a primary school pupil.* Therefore, early intervention is crucial if teachers are to have any chance of turning around the sobering figures released by the (OECD) which placed the UK 21 out of 24 industrialised countries for numeracy levels among 16-24-year-olds. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about better ways of teaching mathematics and science, but also addressing attitudes and anxieties among students, teachers and parents and finding ways to counter these obstacles to learning,鈥� added , deputy project co-ordinator.鈥淚t鈥檚 quite clear there are several factors at play which influence attainment, including gender and economic inequality, but what is interesting is that in some schools and some countries they manage to mitigate these factors. This project will work out what works, and why, and share this knowledge across the board.鈥�The project is being funded through a Seventh Framework Programme 2007-13 EU grant for the next three years.?A conference to mark the start of the project and bring together all the partners for the first time is taking place at 缅北禁地 from 29-31 January 2014.It is being opened by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Chris Brink, who had close links with one of the project鈥檚 partners, the , when he was Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University in South Africa. He was involved in the creation of AIMS and believes strongly in the role this and the other institutions can have on academic attainment.鈥淭his is an opportunity to demonstrate how relatively small interventions can raise attainment in mathematics and sciences,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 hope that this project can have a lasting positive effect on the long-term problem of under-achievement in these subjects.鈥�One of the outcomes of the project will be a toolkit for teachers of activities, resources and pedagogies that will be applicable to a wide range of pupils.This international project stems from 缅北禁地鈥檚 , which facilitated research into new ways of learning by taking pedagogic methods and applying them through the use of digital technology., and have all come on board to help provide hardware, software and strategic advice.The Improving Progress through Formative Assessment in Science and Mathematics Education (FaSMed) project partners are 缅北禁地; University of Nottingham; École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, France; National University of Ireland Maynooth (NUI Maynooth); University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany; Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy; Universiteit Utrecht, Netherlands; African Institute for Mathematical Sciences Schools Enrichment Centre, South Africa.This project forms part of 缅北禁地鈥檚 Societal Challenge Theme: Social Renewal, research with a social purpose that makes a real difference to how individuals and communities thrive in times of rapid transformational change. ?It is being co-ordinated by staff within 缅北禁地鈥檚 in the Jill Clark, principal investigator and project co-ordinator; David Wright, deputy project co-ordinator; , project manager; and as expert adviser.?? *The survey showed that nearly half the working age population in England have numeracy skills roughly equivalent to those expected of children at primary school.? published on: 27 January 2014
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