STEM TEACHING
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If your child is struggling with STEM and you’re wondering how to support them outside school, here’s advice from the experts… PROMOTE ITS BENEFITS Be enthusiastic about the importance of STEM subjects. BE POSITIVE For instance, if numbers aren’t your forte either, try saying: ‘Even if I wasn’t good at maths, it doesn’t mean you can’t be.’ INSTIL KEY QUALITIE S Encourage determination and resilience in your child. MAKE IT FUN Organise games such as treasure hunts, where every clue is
number-based. NORMALISE IT
UNWIND Boarding at Abbey College Cambridge (left); students bond with games at Gresham’s g at Abbey College Cambridge (left); students bond Make maths and science part of day-to-day life – through cooking, for example, which involves weighing and measuring. SEEK ADVICE
Try contacting your child’s STEM teachers, who can offer ideas for sensible, well-pitched activities to support their progress.
NUMBERS GAME Faye Shane at Stoke College (above) supports A-level students with their maths work
for getting something wrong,” confirms Hannah Helliar, head of St Mary’s School. Fortunately, schools in our area are brilliant at finding ways of breaking through the confidence barrier. At St Mary’s, it all starts with listening to students. “Our head of maths surveyed the girls recently to ask questions about their experience of maths, how they feel about it and how confident they feel about their future performance,” explains Hannah. “The information is then used to track how girls’ perceptions change during the academic year.” Lessons are also planned to be exciting and challenging – and mistakes are relished as part of the learning process. “One of the things we focus on at St Mary’s is creating a positive response to feedback,” Hannah continues. “We focus on those areas where the girls have made minor slips and where we can encourage them to think positively about that feedback and focus on how to get it right next time. That feeds into their confidence in the subject, which in turn builds a greater likelihood of success.” At Stoke College, mistakes are shared, discussed and turned into a learning tool. “When we learn something for the first time, we work using mini whiteboards,” says Faye Shane. “We say: ‘Let’s try it
out, see how this goes and make all our mistakes now while it’s easy to change.’” Understanding that it’s OK to make mistakes requires a different mindset that can take some adjustment, she explains. “That’s quite a change of culture for a lot of children and can be a huge thing, particularly with girls, who don’t want to make mistakes – but you can’t move forward until you know what you are doing wrong.” Running girls-only events can make a difference. Girls at The Perse can sign up for competitions and clubs including a Maths Olympiad and coding club. The school has also rethought the language it uses when trying to recruit students to STEM subjects, such as further maths, to increase their appeal to girls. “The interventions included changing the way we describe the course to students and also how we describe the kind of pupil who will succeed at the course. We now talk less about standards of attainment and more
about learning characteristics. Rather than ‘you need a grade 8 or better’, we may say ‘students who are consistent about seeking help to overcome gaps in understanding are likely to be successful’,” says the school. Strategising for success Whether the TIMSS results are a mere blip or a long-term trend, schools in the Cambridgeshire area are well prepared, with a range of imaginative strategies designed to encourage every student – regardless of gender – with a talent for STEM to flourish. “We talk about creating an environment at school where risk-taking is encouraged and learning from mistakes is a superpower,” says Hannah Helliar at St Mary’s School. “It’s all about having that balance between stretch and challenge – a teaching approach that focuses on providing all pupils with tasks that push them to reach their full potential – while also maintaining enjoyment and satisfaction.”
Students consistent about seeking help to overcome gaps in understanding are likely to be successful
66 MAY 2025 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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