At MathsThroughStories.org, we strive to generate real-world impact from our research.
We always want to hear from various stakeholders (e.g. teacher training institutions, schools and individual teachers) about how our research-informed website and training workshops have an impact on the way mathematics is taught and learned.
Please write to us with your impact stories using the Contact page.
We always want to hear from various stakeholders (e.g. teacher training institutions, schools and individual teachers) about how our research-informed website and training workshops have an impact on the way mathematics is taught and learned.
Please write to us with your impact stories using the Contact page.
Examples of MathsThroughStories.org's impact at the teacher training institution level
|
“Thanks Vince so much for his Maths Through Stories workshop yesterday - it was wonderful. The mix of theory and practice, practical activities and discussion tasks were engaging and thought provoking. The workshop also supported the development of our trainee teachers and of our PGCE Primary Mathematics programme. It is great to see and use high quality ideas and resources informed by research with teachers. Thank you again!”
|
|
“Vince, the University of Bedfordshire PGCE Primary trainee teachers were wowed once again by your engaging MathsThroughStories workshop. You skillfully built their confidence, whilst synthesising theory and expertise. The trainees thoroughly enjoyed themselves (as did I) and went away motivated and enthused to try the approach out in their own classrooms. Equally helpful is the range of resources available to them on the MathsThroughStories.org website, so they have been encouraged to share these with their school colleagues.”
|
|
“Thank you Vince for delivering an engaging Maths Through Stories workshop for our Primary Mathematics Specialist students on the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDipEd) programme. You enabled them to work together to craft a lesson, and your enthusiastic approach has inspired them to have a go themselves, using your excellent MathsThroughStories.org website to support their planning. Importantly, the workshop invited them to consider how this approach can support children's mathematical understanding, as well as contributing to children's enjoyment of their mathematical learning.”
|
|
“Vince led a really inspiring session on the use of story in mathematics for our Primary Education students. He grounded the session in mathematical learning theory and research about the use of story. The students responded well to Vince’s personable approach and his engaging activities. The lesson planning activity made them really think about how they could use maths stories in their teaching. I would highly recommend CPD from Vince.”
|
|
“Vince gave a really engaging 2 hour session that inspired and enthused our final year students on the BA Primary QTS course. In spite of being in a lecture theatre, the session was practical; Vince provided each student (and there were over 120) with a story book to support discussion and the students were able to co-construct lesson ideas based on these. In addition to being a practical session, all of Vince’s input had strong theoretical foundations. These supported the students to evaluate texts critically based on the quality of the story, the connection with the underpinning mathematical concepts and the opportunities for promoting social inclusion. This session is highly recommended.”
|
|
“Dr. Trakulphadetkrai’s invited talk at Brooklyn College is a huge success! His talk is incredibly informative and inspiring. Both my students and I have learned a great deal about teaching math through storytelling. His MathsThroughStories.org website is also impressively resourceful! I especially like its Recommendations section - very handy that mathematical story picture books are organized by topics and have suggested ages.”
|
|
“Vincent facilitated a workshop with PGCE student teachers at Brunel. He was engaging and interactive throughout and encouraged students to think creatively but also challenged some of the ideas around using story books in maths. Students thoroughly enjoyed the session and were engaged with the activities planned. The evaluations clearly indicated that they got so much out of the session. Thank you Vincent, for your time, and for sharing your passion.”
|
|
“We were delighted when Vincent readily agreed to facilitate a Maths through Stories workshop with our cohort of Master in Education students as part of a ‘Best Practices and Current Debates in Mathematics Education’ module in University College Cork. The students were supplied with a pre-workshop task which was engaging and gave them a flavour of what to expect. Although, the workshop was facilitated online, it was very interactive and got all of the students involved throughout. There was an excellent mix of theory and practice and the workshop certainly complemented the ‘best practices’ focus of the module. We had students from diverse professional backgrounds, including both primary and secondary teachers, and Vincent skilfully showcased the value of teaching mathematics through stories across the various levels and age groups. We were not surprised when Vincent’s workshop was mentioned as a highlight by many students in the end of term module evaluation.”
|
|
“This wonderful workshop provided a much needed foray into cross-curricular maths teaching. Vince's evident commitment to the cause shone throughout this dynamic and engaging session. The trainees were captivated and designed thoughtful mathematics lessons based on the story picture books he had brought to show us. Thank you Vince, for your session and for the wonderful [MathsThroughStories.org] website resource.”
|
|
“The teacher trainees on our Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme have such a packed year, but I know that the Maths Through Stories workshop by Vince will be viewed as a highlight. The workshop was organised brilliantly. It engaged our trainees, and has already inspired and given them the confidence to use story picture books to teach maths. I was delighted that this workshop contributed to a change in thinking about the way maths should be taught, and that this was also linked to theory that the trainees can use in future assignments. This is an excellent workshop that I would highly recommend.”
|
|
“Many thanks to Vince for travelling to Cumbria to deliver this informative, high-energy and highly enjoyable workshop to our third year undergraduate students. Vince is a charismatic presenter, the workshop was well structured and the students responded to his approach with high levels of engagement in the range of activities he provided. As well as presenting information about the MathsThroughStories.org website, and offering suggestions of how stories might be used in mathematics lessons, there was opportunity for the students to explore a variety of mathematical story picture books, and to use these to try out lesson planning for themselves. The students were very enthusiastic about what they had learnt and left keen to explore the website further and to try out the ideas in practice. A very successful Friday afternoon!”
|
|
“Vince's Maths Through Stories workshop provided an engaging insight into the potential of teaching mathematics using stories for the mathematics and English specialists on our BEd programme. Well-focused and interactive, his approach enabled us all to appreciate how learning and teaching might be enhanced in a creative and decisive way. Undergirded by persuasive academic thought and confirmed by exclusively positive feedback, his ideas have provided our students with an excellent springboard for enhancing their future practice in a dynamic way. His thinking has also generated a timely and powerful vehicle for the University of Derby to strengthen its Initial Teacher Education students' understanding of and ability to deliver curriculum in a genuinely creative way. Many thanks, Vince!”
|
|
“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.”
|
|
“Vince delivered his Maths Through Stories workshop to our 100+ Primary PGCE trainees during a mid-school experience professional development day. Despite the fact that it was at the end of a long day at the end of a long week, Vince managed to motivate, enthuse and inspire this really large group. It was so valuable for our trainees to be able to have the opportunity to read 100+ high quality mathematical story picture books on the day, and consider the value of cross-curricular learning. Having the opportunity to use mathematical story picture books in Vince’s collection to plan a maths lesson and follow-up activities, no doubt, gave our trainees the confidence to try this mathematics teaching approach back in school. Thank you, Vince, for a really first-class workshop!”
|
|
“An enjoyable afternoon with ideas to support mathematics learning and teaching sparked through exploring story picture books.”
|
|
“Drawing from his subject knowledge and the research he has been carrying out on the topic of teaching mathematics through stories, Vincent was able to offer an engaging and informative workshop to our students. The students were highly engaged and could see the value of the cross-curricular links between mathematics and literacy. The workshop also served as a fantastic CPD opportunity for me and my teacher training colleague here at the university to observe and think reflectively as to how we could incorporate a similar workshop into our teacher training programme and deliver it to our trainees ourselves going forward.”
|
|
“A huge thank you to Vince for delivering his Maths through Stories workshop. The trainees found the workshop enjoyable and engaging - many of them said this was an area they hadn't considered before but having had the workshop they will definitely use maths stories in school. This shows that the workshop will impact on their upcoming School Placements as they can utilise the ideas to help them plan relevant and inspiring lessons. We are definitely going to invite Vince back to deliver the workshop again in subsequent years.”
|
|
“Thanks to Vince, the Maths Through Stories workshop was a really engaging 2-hour session that inspired and motivated our Mathematics, English and Early Years specialists final-year students on the BA Primary QTS course. Vince provided opportunities for our trainees to engage in discussions about different mathematical story picture books. This was a very practical session but there was plenty of theory and research to support the trainees’ understanding. Criticality was encouraged by Vince and the students were immersed in thinking about how story picture books could enhance their own mathematics teaching. The session was beneficial at this stage in their training and the feedback was outstanding.”
|
|
“With a clear focus on mathematical stories for Key Stage 2 (7-11 years old) children, the Maths Through Stories workshop built well upon previous work for Year 1 where students explored the use of stories for Key Stage 1 (5-7 years old) children. The workshop was highly relevant looking at cross-curricular approaches whilst developing a further understanding of mastery techniques. Students were engaged and, from talking after the session, are excited about the prospect of teaching mathematics through stories in Key Stage 2.”
|
|
“Thank you again for running an informative CPD workshop for the final-year BA students at Manchester Metropolitan University. The students thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and were very engaged with designing lessons based on a whole range of mathematical story picture books. Personally, I had no idea that there were such a wide range of mathematical story picture books available! The lesson planning resources available on the MathsThroughStories.org website are excellent and I know that the students will be accessing them in the future as they start their careers as teachers!”
|
|
“We really do appreciate Vince for a fantastic Maths Through Stories workshop where all the teachers on our programme were highly enthused and inspired by the energy and ideas that they could take back to school. Many of the teachers have said that they had used the ideas within their classes the very next week and that the links to mathematical story picture books had been so motivational for their children in school. We are following up on this ourselves with a session where teachers can create their own mathematical books to take back to school.”
|
|
“Thank you for hosting a digital lecture for my students. Both me and my students loved it! The students are now going to use a mathematical picture book as their next assignment in their classes.”
|
|
“Thanks, Vince, for an informative and engaging session. I was particularly struck by the Maths Through Stories case studies and I think we’ll be considering how best to make use of this idea and approach. I also feel better placed to promote your MathsThroughStories.org website to our graduate trainees now.”
|
|
“The Maths Through Stories workshop was excellent - thank you so much for delivering this pacy, thought-provoking workshop. We have plenty to build on as we continue to develop the theme of 'creative strategies for teaching mathematics' on our programme.”
|
|
“Thank you Vince for your lively and engaging Maths through Stories workshop with our Primary School Direct trainees yesterday. They loved finding out about all the different ways that story picture books can be used to inspire creative maths teaching. It was great to see how you got them thinking about inclusion and stereotyping, and reflecting on the strengths and weaknesses of the different books. Our trainees went away feeling inspired to teach maths using story picture books.”
|
|
“The Maths Through Stories workshop delivered by Vince provided our Year 2 BA Primary Education students at University of Roehampton with the right balance of practical use of stories to develop children's mathematical understanding in the class and evidence from research on stories and mathematics. Our student-teachers left the workshop inspired to use stories to support and enrich children's mathematical development not only in the forthcoming school placement but as another strategy for the future careers as teachers.”
|
|
“Excellent - Vince has such an engaging manner that motivated even those trainees who fell out of their comfort zone (mathematics). The MathsThroughStories.org website re-ignited my interest in using storybooks to support maths teaching, and I have re-introduced it into my lectures using the lesson plans on the website as a starting point in my teaching.”
|
|
“Our PGCE (Primary) trainees have been inspired by the Maths Through Stories workshop which was well organised and resourced. It challenged the way they thought about the teaching and learning of primary mathematics and gave a confidence boost to those who realised maths needn’t be taught in the same traditional way. With ideas from the workshop and resources from the accompanying website (MathsThroughStories.org), some of our trainees have since developed lessons for their school placement and some have utilised the approach as part of an intervention programme which they have designed for an assignment. The workshop was rated highly and we’re now seeking ways in which we can embed it into our future provision – we’d be silly not to!”
|
|
“Vince recently delivered an inspirational ‘Maths Through Stories’ workshop to our PGCE students (and some local teachers). The workshop was a mix of evidence-based use of picture books and interactive activities to show how mathematical understanding can be developed throughout the primary mathematics curriculum. The free access to an online database of recommended mathematical story picture books with integrated lesson plans and activities on Vince's MathsThroughStories.org website will go a long way to support teachers and students deliver high-impact learning in mathematics using story picture books.”
|
|
“The Maths Through Stories workshop was very well planned and resourced. There was a wide variety of activities where our PGCE trainees were able to be active and explore the resources and reflect upon the opportunities stories can offer in order to develop children's mathematical understanding. Many trainees have already taken these ideas (supported by the wealth of accessible information on the MathsThroughStories.org website) into schools and are planning on exploring using stories to teach maths as part of their next assignment! This shows the impact of the workshop on their practice and development as teachers. Our primary team of tutors agree that we would like this workshop to become part of our course in years to come!”
|
|
“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.”
|
|
“The Maths Through Stories workshop provided an inspiring and engaging afternoon for trainee teachers at the University of Winchester. Students valued the opportunity to explore a range of story books and deepened their understanding of how stories can be used to enhance mathematics teaching when introducing new mathematical ideas or consolidating understanding. The ideas shared within the session and the resources on the MathsThroughStories.org website enabled students to understand how story books can be incorporated effectively into primary maths lessons. Our students left the workshop enthused about using story books in maths lessons and are keen to try out this approach on their forthcoming school placement.”
|
Examples of MathsThroughStories.org's impact at the school level
(Our website gets recommended to teachers and parents on schools' websites)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Examples of MathsThroughStories.org's impact at the individual teacher level
Martyn Yeo, a primary school teacher in Warwickshire, UK
|
“Having first heard about MathsThroughStories.org on a Twitter chat run on behalf of the UK’s National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM), I have always recommended the website to colleagues as inspiration for their mathematics teaching. This year, I had the pleasure of participating in one of their training courses. This is when I got to see first hand the true benefit stories can have in mathematics teaching and learning. Since then, I have spent all my budget on buying mathematical story picture books as recommended by MathsThroughStories.org, and the children in my school love our creative and purposeful maths story-inspired curriculum. I have also recently shared my maths story-inspired lesson idea with other teachers and parents on the MathsThroughStories.org website.” |
William Hatton, a BA Ed trainee teacher at the University of Reading (UK)
|
“MathsThroughStories.org provides an excellent support to me as a teacher trainee. With its vast database of recommendations for story picture books covering all areas of the Mathematics curriculum, it has never been easier to find the appropriate resources to use in my Mathematics teaching. For example, on my most recent school placement, I used the MathsThroughStories.org’s database to give me ideas on which story picture books I could use to teach Year 6 Statistics. I eventually found a book called, 'Kenley's Line Plot Graph', which I used it in my planning to enrich my mathematics teaching. MathsThroughStories.org is a resource I have referred to on my placement and will continue to do so after graduation!” |
