​As part of the Institute of Education’s ‘Big Questions’ research video series, Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Lecturer in Primary Mathematics Education) answers the following Big Question: ‘What if maths was taught through storytelling?’.
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In this video, Dr. Trakulphadetkrai explains that students sometimes complain that learning mathematics is boring and difficult as mathematical concepts are sometimes taught in a very formulaic and abstract way – very different from how students might experience them in real life. He argues that teaching mathematics through storytelling particularly in the picture book format can work much better.

Later in the video, he highlights his MathsThroughStories.org initiative which encourages teachers and parents globally to teach mathematics using story picture books. The website also provides several free on-line resources. Since it was launched in March 2017, the website has been viewed over 250,000 times by more than 48,000 teachers and parents from 180 countries.
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To watch the video, click here.

​Dr. Fallon has recently read a research article co-authored by Dr. Trakulphadetkrai reporting key perceived barriers to and enablers for the integration of story picture books in mathematics teaching as reported by Irish primary teachers. Since then, Dr. Fallon and NCCA are interested to learn more about the approach, particularly its adoption across the primary curriculum and not just at the pre-school level.

Dr. Trakulphadekrai said “What I hope, of course, is for there to be explicit recommendations in Ireland’s new primary mathematics curriculum for teachers (particularly of older primary school children) to consider using story picture books to enrich their mathematics teaching. This would clearly signal to Irish primary teachers that the use of such resource is not something that only pre-school teachers use, but that it is something that primary teachers could use and benefit from as well."

Special thanks go to Dr. Lorraine Harbison (Associate Professor in Mathematics Education​ at Dublin City University and a co-author of the research paper) for organising and hosting this meeting.

​Upon Dr. Harbison’s earlier invitation, Dr. Trakulphadekrai also ran his popular Maths Through Stories training workshop for around 70 primary teacher trainees from both Dublin City University (Dublin, Republic of Ireland) and Ulster University (Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK) later that afternoon. The workshop was also attended by the NCCA representatives.

The workshop was very successful and well received. Jacinta Regan (Education Officer, NCCA), for example, commented that:
“Maths Through Stories is a fantastic and practical workshop that enables practitioners to think about how Mathematics can be taught in an integrated and enjoyable way through the use of picture books. Picture books are an essential part of every classroom and this course challenges practitioners to consider their additional use outside of the English reading lesson. My participation in the course was very informative and will assist me in my work with primary school teachers moving forward. I look forward to sharing this playful pedagogy with our teacher networks.”


Dr. Lorraine Harbison (Associate Professor in Mathematics Education​ at Dublin City University, Republic of Ireland)​ commented on the event that:
“The Maths through Stories workshop was skilfully facilitated by Vincent where two cohorts of student teachers from Northern and Southern Ireland collaborated for the first time on a SCoTENS project on the use of story picture books in the primary school mathematics classroom. There was a senses of fun and excitement throughout the day with a lively exchange of learning. Students went away with not only a positive experience of the workshop, but also with some very rich ideas that they intend to implement on school placement over the coming weeks​” 


Shauna McGill (PGCE Primary Course Director at Ulster University, Northern Ireland, UK) said:
“The Maths Through Stories workshop offered a cross-curricular platform to demonstrate connecting learning between Numeracy and Literacy. The range of supporting maths stories were expertly evaluated and the potential for using them effectively in the primary classroom excitedly explored. Vince’s delivery was dynamic and enthusiastic. We were very grateful for his contribution to our Scotens University collaboration project.​” 


Some of the trainees’ comments included:
“It was a great workshop. Vincent gave me lots of good ideas. He is so enthusiastic and made me want to be a better teacher and be creative all the time :-)”  

“I found it very interesting and extremely helpful for my placement. I will now try to use more story picture books in maths lessons as I never really thought to use them before with maths.”

​“Very informative, active and fun experience. Vince is very engaging and inspiring. Really enjoyed this :-) ” ​ ​

Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Lecturer in Primary Mathematics Education at the University of Reading’s Institute of Education and Founder of the MathsThroughStories.org initiative) was invited by the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM), a national £40-million Department for Education-funded body, to develop a Maths Through Stories teacher training resource for early years teachers. ​

​Dr. Trakulphadetkrai already met with Viv Lloyd, NCETM’s Assistant Director for Primary and Early Years, on Tuesday 20th November 2018 to develop the resource which is drawn from his research expertise in the area of using storytelling, particularly story picture books, to enhance mathematics teaching and learning.
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In addition to being invited to develop the resource, Dr. Trakulphadetkrai was also invited to deliver a Maths Through Stories training workshop to early years teachers in January 2019. On the workshop, Viv commented that: 

“As part of some pilot early mathematics work in the Northern Powerhouse region in the UK, it was felt that an important aspect of pedagogy to explore was the role stories can play in developing mathematical understanding. MathsThroughStories.org (Vince) was approached to support with the development and delivery of this session. Vince was keen to share his expertise and to support in sharing the work of this organisation. The session was well delivered and the practitioners had the opportunity to think about the ways in which they could develop the use of carefully selected stories in their mathematics practice. Practitioners gave positive verbal feedback about the ways in which they were going to further explore their use of stories to support mathematical understanding. Thank you​!”

​​In his role as Founder of MathsThroughStories.org, Dr. Trakulphadetkrai used his talk to highlight and advocate for an innovative mathematics learning approach, namely learning mathematics by creating mathematical story picture books, to his audience. Drawing from the findings of his pilot research on this topic, he showed how promising this pedagogical approach could be.
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Dr. Trakulphadetkrai was joined by two mathematics teachers in this roundtable discussion, which was chaired by Ann Mroz (Editor of Times Educational Supplement). The event was held at Pearson’s headquarter in central London, and attended by representatives of educational organisations in both the public and private sectors.

Dr. Trakulphadetkrai's key arguments are subsequently highlighted in the post-event report below and can be accessed in full here. Moreover, two short videos featuring Dr. Trakulphadetkrai talking about his MathsThroughStories.org initiative and his talk at the Roundtable event can also be watched here and here respectively. 
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