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TEACHER TRAINING /
CPD 
SERVICES




To date, Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (founder of MathsThroughStories.org) has delivered the Maths Through Stories training workshops to over 1,600 in-service teachers and more than 2,100 teacher trainees across the UK and abroad.

​Consequently, MathsThroughStories.org has now become the largest and most trusted training provider on integrating story picture books in mathematics teaching and learning.

​If your school, university-based teacher education programme or local council would like to receive the Maths Through Stories training, ​please get in touch with Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Founder of MathsThroughStories.org) directly here.  

For details of upcoming training workshops as well as photos of and feedback on past workshops, please scroll down the page.




UPCOMING TRAINING WORKSHOPS
(*Open to members of the hosting institutions only)
​
To be announced
​

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FEEDBACK FROM SOME OF THE TEACHERS AND TEACHER TRAINEES
​WHO ATTENDED OUR TRAINING WORKSHOPS
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​An on-line training workshop for around trainees on the Early Primary Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme at the University of Cambridge (Cambridge, UK) in February 2023
“Once again, we all really enjoyed hearing Vincent speak so passionately to our trainee teachers about how maths can be taught through stories. Having heard this session for a second time, there are still things I am able to take away from it as I continue to ensure that I include stories more in my own sessions here at the Faculty.  Hearing how children can create their own stories is particularly thought-provoking and I believe that this would work well with even the youngest children. It's so important that maths is seen as relevant, interesting and exciting; teaching maths through stories is one way of achieving these things. Vince has made multiple visits to the trainees on our course, and we really value the continued training support he is able to offer the trainee teachers here.”

Alice Hehir
Affiliated Lecturer
Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge​



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​An on-line training workshop for around 30 in-service primary teachers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway) in January 2023
“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.”

Jørn Ove Asklund
Assistant Professor of Education
​Department of Teacher Education, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway)

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​An on-line training workshop for around 20 in-service teachers as organised by Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council's Education Standards and Effectiveness (RWM) team in December 2022

“We would just like to say thank you for the superb Maths through Stories talk that you gave to Doncaster Headteachers and teachers as part of the RWM Doncaster Celebration Event. Everyone left feeling truly inspired and excited to explore all the amazing resources on your MathsThroughStories.org website. What a great resource it is! The feedback from everyone was so positive and we are really looking forward to seeing how this impacts in Doncaster schools. We also can’t wait to see if there are any Doncaster entries in your Young Mathematical Story Author competition! We are hoping very much to be able to work together again at some point in the future.”

Anne Walker, Sarah Churchill and Tara Bradley
Learning Standards and Effectiveness Officers (English and Maths)
Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council



“This has been a fantastic session. So informative and it has been a wonderful opportunity for me to reflect on how we make stronger links between reading, writing and Maths. Getting children to write or orally retell their own Maths stories is a brilliant opportunity for purposeful writing. The MathsThroughStories.org website looks amazing - what a resource!”

“Just want to say how great today was. I think the resources on the MathsThroughStories.org website look really good too and I think will be great to look through.”


Workshop participants​

​
​National
Education
​Union
An on-line training workshop for around 160 in-service teacher members of the UK's National Education Union in November 2022
“Many thanks for another excellent Maths through Stories session you ran for the NEU in November 2022. The content was engaging and practical with many interesting ideas on how to incorporate mathematical storytelling in the classroom.​”

Imogen Weekes
Professional Development Officer
National Education Union (UK)
​

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​A training workshop for around 75 trainees on the Primary School Direct programme at the University of Reading (Reading, UK) in March 2022
“Vincent's Maths Through Stories session was engaging, highly effective and truly inspiring. I thoroughly enjoyed his enthusiastic and energetic delivery and left the talk with a bank of ideas I hope to use in the classroom. In my future practice, I aim to turn to the MathsThroughStories.org website to find maths story recommendations and relevant resources.”

“Vince’s Maths Through Stories session was a real eye opener for me! The range of resources that Vince showcased to us were great, and his engaging style and suggestions for supporting lesson activities helped me to consider new approaches to maths! Vince's passion for the subject was inspiring, and left me eager to try out what I'd learnt in the classroom! I have already recommended Vince’s MathsThroughStories.org website to lots of other teacher trainee friends.”


Workshop participants
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​An on-line training workshop for around 15 trainees on the Early Primary Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme at the University of Cambridge (Cambridge, UK) in February 2022
“It was an absolute delight to hear Vincent speak so passionately to our trainee teachers about how maths can be taught through stories. Personally, I have learnt a lot and will endeavour to include stories more in my own sessions here at the Faculty and I know that the trainees also found the workshop equally inspiring. I particularly liked the idea of getting children to create their own stories and I believe that this would work well with even the youngest children. It's so important that maths is seen as relevant, interesting and exciting; teaching maths through stories is one way of achieving this.”

Alice Hehir
Affiliated Lecturer
Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge​



“I admit that I had never really considered that maths could be taught in a meaningful, purposeful way and the Maths Through Stories workshop shed a completely new light on this for me. I came away with a completely reformed perspective, with so many new ideas and, very importantly, access to some really practical resources (via the MathsThroughStories.org website) to help me get started with implementing this into my own classroom. Thank you so much for such an insightful and inspiring session, which has undoubtedly influenced my maths teaching practice.”

“I would like to reiterate how much I enjoyed the Maths Through Stories lecture! I feel like this is a great way to further encourage a cross-curricular approach in the early years and inspires exciting maths lessons.
”

Workshop participants
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An on-line training workshop for in-service teachers on the Master in Education programme at University College Cork (Republic of Ireland) in November 2021
“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​.”

Dr. Mark Prendergast
Senior Lecturer in Education
University College Cork (Republic of Ireland)

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On-line training sessions for around 120 in-service teachers and Mathematics Subject Leads as organised by Gloucestershire County Council's (UK) Education Outcomes and Intervention team in November 2021
“Many thanks for providing such stimulating and thought-provoking webinars at the Gloucestershire LA Primary Mathematics Subject Leader Network Meetings (November 2021).  Colleagues gained a deep understanding of the research and pedagogy underpinning teaching mathematics using story picture books.  Also, the session provided subject leaders with a rich blend of case study evidence, opportunities for discussion and an invitation to reflect on implications for mathematics provision in their own setting.​”
​

Tim Foster
Performance Adviser
Education Outcomes and Intervention
Gloucestershire County Council (UK)

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An on-line training workshop for around 100 pre-service teachers at Brooklyn College, the City University of New York in August 2021
“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.”

Dr. Xia Li
Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education
Department of Early Childhood and Art Education
Brooklyn College, The City University of New York



“Dr. Natthapoj was a fabulous guest! Very engaging, and I loved that he shared actual resources for us to take advantage of. It was very helpful!”

“
This was very inspiring for me because the resources shared are so helpful. I am a lot more open now to using storytelling when teaching math to children.”

“
The MathThroughStories.org website is very informative and useful.”

Workshop participants

​
​National
Education
​Union
An on-line training workshop for around 200 in-service teacher members of the UK's National Education Union in June 2021
“Thank you so much for the Maths through Stories session you ran for the NEU in June 2021.  As well as some great resources, you demonstrated how maths can be taught through books in new and imaginative ways. I hope we can find another opportunity to work with you.​”

Jacqui O’Neill
National Professional Development Manager
National Education Union (UK)
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On-line training workshops for around 340 teachers and school leaders as part of a Mathematics conference organised by Hampshire County Council's (UK) Inspection and Advisory Service in March 2021
“Thank you so much for your enthusiastic and informative inputs about using stories as a context for teaching maths. They have been really inspiring. I heard your session several times and found something new to consider each time. I’m confident these sessions  will lead to some effective teaching and enjoyable learning.”

Jacqui Clifft
Inspector/Advisor Mathematics
Hampshire Inspection and Advisory Service (HIAS) Children’s Services Department



“I have loved every minute of listening to you so thank you. [...] Looking at different types of maths story picture books and the different ways they can be used is helpful for us. Thank you again.”

“
Fantastic session, feeling very inspired to incorporate this into our maths teaching. Thank you so much Vincent!”

“
Thank you, I am really keen to use stories more in maths and the MathsThroughStories.org website looks really useful! Will be sharing with staff.”

“
Thank you so much, Vincent.  Your MathsThroughStories.org database of maths story picture books is particularly helpful. Such a great way to develop children's mathematical vocabulary.”


Workshop participants
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​An on-line training workshop for around 15 trainees on the Early Primary Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme at the University of Cambridge (Cambridge, UK) in March 2021
“Thank you again for enriching our course with your engaging and thoughtful session. It is always a pleasure to see our trainees' enthusiasm for teaching maths through stories and I know that they value your session highly.”

Harriet Rhodes
PGCE Early Primary and Primary Tutor​

University of Cambridge


“Thank you so much for an invaluable and insightful session on discussing maths through stories. It provided me with a new way of considering maths delivery and some great approaches that I want to include in my future practice. A great session with lots of food for thought.” 

“I really appreciated the opportunity to think about how to teach maths through stories. It was great to find out about the types of maths books out there and consider how they might be used effectively with young children.” 


Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 20 trainees on the Early Primary Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme at the University of Cambridge (Cambridge, UK) in March 2020
“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.​”

Harriet Rhodes
PGCE Early Primary and Primary Tutor​

University of Cambridge


“It was amazing! So engaging and had a really good mixture of practical activities, advice and theory. We also had a lot of fun doing the activities. I feel more confident in planning lessons that combine maths and literature.” 

“Brilliant workshop, with so many inspiring ideas for future maths lesson planning. My teaching will definitely include story picture books to introduce and consolidate maths concepts.” 

“Fantastic workshop. So engaging, loved being able to look at maths story picture books + case studies + plan our lessons. I will definitely try and include stories in my placement maths lessons.” 


Workshop participants
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A training workshop for around 40 in-service teachers at Crosfields School (Reading, UK) in March 2020
“Excellent session with Dr. Vince - full of interesting ideas! Vince's enthusiasm for the subject was clear to see and really made for a memorable Monday staff workshop of which there are not always a lot! ” 

“Brilliant for a Monday evening. You were engaging and the time went by quickly.  We will be buying some maths story picture books and using your lesson plans to inspire the children and ourselves!” 

“It's re-energised my ideas about teaching maths through stories - making it 'real' to the children. I will change my lesson tomorrow to make the lesson relevant to our current topic.” 


Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 70 trainees on the BA (Hons) Primary Education programme at the University of Cumbria (Cumbria, UK) in January 2020
“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!​”

Fiona Tidbury
Senior Lecturer in Primary Education (Mathematics)
University of Cumbria 


​
“Brilliant workshop, good pace and structure. Engaging and Dr. Trakulphadetkrai is a brilliant speaker. Great selection of maths stories to look at and good intro making everyone think about their own opinions and conceptions.”

“Brilliant. Interesting! Useful! Well planned + well prepared. Great presenter. So lovely and engaging when someone is so passionate about what they do :- )” ​

“Vincent was very knowledgeable + engaging. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Really enjoyed the availability of books on tables.”

“The workshop was great and has inspired me to use more stories in my maths lessons as I can see all the benefits. I also love the recommendations on the MathsThroughStories.org website!”

Workshop participants
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A training workshop for around 60 in-service early years and primary school teachers from across the Forth Valley & West Lothian Regional Improvement Collaborative region (Scotland, UK) in November 2019
“Thought it was excellent. Vincent was a brilliant + engaging presenter. Very motivational. I am going away feeling inspired. Thank you.” 

“Engaging presenter with interesting and useful ideas for using in class. Feel very inspired to use these [mathematical stories] in my class.”

“Very worthwhile. Almost a lightbulb moment. I feel very inspired to use maths through stories in my teaching.”

“Fantastic! So informative and enlightening. Seems so obvious, but it takes training like this to show just what can be done.​”


Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 90 early years and primary school in-service teachers and teaching assistants at Frederick Bird Primary School (Coventry, UK) in September 2019
​“Vince was exceptionally engaging and offered a wealth of experience and ideas for the whole school. The measure of his success is the fact that I have observed teachers using many of the ideas and techniques Vince used during the workshop. My only problem now is that I have to find the money to buy all these new amazing mathematical story picture books!”

Paul Tuffin
Headteacher
Frederick Bird Primary School​



“Really engaging + full of exploration of different mathematical story picture books. Helpful ideas. Practical + hands on. I will definitely use story picture books to teach Maths in my class this year and in the future.”

“I really enjoyed it! I really like your enthusiasm, Vincent. You’re amazing! I will definitely use the time-saving MathsThroughStories.org website when planning.”

“Inspiring. Gave much food for thought and many opportunities to see different range of mathematical story picture books and ideas to use them.”


Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for 20 early years and primary in-service teachers at The Academy of Cuxton Schools ​(Kent, UK)​ in September 2019
​“Thank you so much, Vince, for taking the time to come and share your expertise around the connections between language and maths. Your enthusiasm and passion for maths through stories was contagious and the whole team at Cuxton were (and still are!) really fired up about such a simple but effective and engaging approach to maths teaching and learning. We really do hope that we can contribute to your MathsThroughStories.org website and look forward to meeting you again in the future.”

Monique Harlin
Head teacher
Academy of Cuxton Schools​



“Fantastic! Your passion engaged all our staff. You are so knowledgeable and passed on the information in such a lovely manner. Our staff will definitely be using story picture books in maths going forward.”

“Fantastic! Vince is very knowledgeable and passionate. Reflective! Very eye opening and inspiring. Thank you.”
​
“Opened up my eyes as I never realised that there were so many opportunities to teach Maths through storytelling. I’ll now be able to use storytelling as part of my creative maths lessons.”


Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 15 in-service teachers from across south London at Alleyn's Junior School (London, UK) in June 2019
“The workshop was very informative and interesting. It will definitely inform my maths practice.”

“Invigorating + eye opening. Loads of great, novel ideas that I want to put into practice.”

“Great! Inspirational. Thank you! I want to include storytelling in my maths teaching and shares the ideas with my colleagues.”
​

“Really interesting, very practical and good to hear theory behind it. I will definitely find ways to incorporate story telling into maths lessons regularly to set context for learning and engage students.”

Workshop participants
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​An invited keynote talk, titled ‘What if maths was taught through storytelling?’ given at the Medway Educational Leaders Association's annual conference for over 100 school leaders in Kent.
“The keynote talk given by Dr Vince was truly inspirational. Both the content and his presentation style engaged the whole audience for 50 minutes and was one of the key, positive feedback points at the end of the conference. The detail provided about how story books can be used to deliver Maths concepts was enlightening and I know will begin to have a huge impact across Medway schools. Thank you!”

A school leader at the conference
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​A training workshop for around 70 trainees on the BA (Hons) Primary Education programme at Manchester Metropolitan University (Manchester, UK) in May 2019
“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!”

Gemma Rolfe
Lecturer in Primary Mathematics and Computing
Manchester Metropolitan University



“Amazing! Really useful information and resources. Feel more confident in using story picture books in maths. Will use the MathsThroughStories.org website to feed into my planning.”

“
Very informative and supportive. Well thought-out activities which offered a good insight into this mathematics teaching approach. Friendly approach to workshop.”

“
Great - love the resources on the MathsThroughStories.org website. Very easy to use and save time when planning.”

“
Really good. I feel much more confident to teach maths through literacy and can really see the benefit. I will definitely begin to use literacy in maths and will definitely share ideas with the school I am working in.”

​
Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 50 trainees on the Primary Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme at the University of Bedfordshire (Bedford, UK) in May 2019
“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.”

Maria McArdle
PGCE Primary Course Leader 

University of Bedfordshire

​
“I thought it was an incredibly engaging workshop where I have learnt many ideas to incorporate literacy into my Maths lessons.”

“
It has been really enjoyable and there were lots of activities to get us engaged. Lots of points of interest for discussion. Vince is fab!”

“
Excellent workshop with great resources. Very interesting and thoroughly well prepared. Thank you!”

“
It was informative, engaging and accessible. I now feel more confident in planning "non-traditional" maths lessons and making cross-curricular links in Maths lessons.”

​
Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 50 trainees on the Primary School Direct programme at the University of Reading (Reading, UK) in May 2019
“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.”

Dr. Catherine Foley
Primary School Direct Programme Director
University of Reading​


​
“The workshop opened my eyes to using maths story picture books with older pupils. I will be taking the idea to the staff meeting.”

“
It was great! Lots of information and examples on how to link story picture books to maths! I will be purchasing some books seen at the workshop today to help teach maths in school.”


“Very helpful. Not only was it informative but it helped me learn how to structure and deliver a Maths lesson based on story picture books. An excellent way to introduce new mathematical topics.”

“
Really helpful, informative, hands-on. Can take what we have learnt today into the classroom, and know where to look for resources (MathsThroughStories.org) that will make life easier.”

​
Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 30 in-service teachers at the University of Reading (Reading, UK) in May 2019
“Thought provoking, engaging. I will share the resources [on MathsThroughStories.org] with the rest of the teaching team. As Mathematics Coordinator, I will include stories as part of the Mathematics curriculum planning overview.”

“Thoroughly engaging due to its inspiring concept, workshop leader and immersive material. I feel inspired to implement the strategy of mathematics teaching through stories.”

“
Really interesting and useful. I am excited to trial a story picture book within a Maths unit. I think my school setting from Reception to Year 6 will find this exhilarating. I look forward to sharing this!”

“It was really engaging and inspiring to realise the wealth of resources out there! I will endeavour to use story picture books in my mathematics teaching to help children make links.”
​
Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 30 trainees on the BA (Hons) Primary Education programme at the University of Derby (Derby, UK) in April 2019
“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!”

Dave Benson
Mathematics Education Coordinator
University of Derby


​
“It was fascinating and opened my eyes to a new way of making maths meaningful to children. I will definitely be using stories to deepen my maths teaching + children's understanding.”

“Engaging delivery by Mr. Vincent. I look forward to using stories in maths and feel more confident with the approach.”

“
FAB resource on the MathsThroughStories.org website! I wish I had known earlier!”

​
Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 30 trainees on the BA (Hons) Primary Education programme at the University of Winchester (Winchester, UK) in March 2019
“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.”

Jane Jones
​BA Primary Education Mathematics Specialism Co-Coordinator
University of Winchester



“A really helpful and interesting workshop. Really engaging. Thank you. I’ll definitely include children’s literature in my maths teaching.”

“Really useful and informative. I have never before heard of this way of teaching mathematics. We had the chance to plan a lesson based off a book and gain the experience and ideas of applying this in the classroom.”

“Amazing! Learned so many ways of linking story picture books to maths lessons. I feel much more confident and am beginning to see how story picture books links in maths lessons.”

“Inspiring, helpful for ideas on how to integrate story picture books in maths lessons. Love the MathsThroughStories.org website!​”

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Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 30 trainees on the BA (Hons) Primary Education programme at Kingston University (Surrey, UK) in March 2019
“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.”

Sukhvinder Kler
Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Education
Kingston University London


​
“Really helpful + interactive workshop. I had never thought of using story picture books in maths before. Lots of information + helpful resources. Activities were carefully planned and delivered with enthusiasm. Overall, very beneficial! I will definitely be using the Maths Through Stories website.”

“It was amazingly helpful and cleared up how to use story picture books in maths. It was active + engaging.”

“Every single part of the workshop was carefully thought out and were really interactive. I left engaged throughout.”

“Very engaging and well thought out. Included a variety of activities but also theory that helped give a reason behind why we should teach maths using story picture books.”

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Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 80 trainees on the BA (Hons) Primary Education programme at the University of Brighton (Falmer, UK) in March 2019
“Our sincere thanks once again to Vincent for his brilliant Maths Through Stories workshop! Our students really appreciated the chance to look at the value of teaching maths through stories and many have since approached me personally to talk about taking this forward into their teaching in the future.”

Lesley Hope
Primary Mathematics Specialist Teacher Programme Leader
University of Brighton


​
“It was very engaging & informative. Vincent pitched it well & ensured we were mentally stimulated throughout the workshop. The MathsThroughStories.org website sounds massively helpful!”

“Amazing. Your resources were brilliant and Vince was fantastic + enthusiastic. I will use stories in my maths lessons from now on.”

“Very good - very enthusiastic and inspiring. I liked how it was interactive and hands on. I am inspired to step outside my comfort zone when teaching maths and use stories.”

“Very good! It was interactive and had activities to keep us engaged. Well spoken, Vincent was amazing. I will try to integrate literature in my maths lessons to support context.”

​
Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 70 primary teacher trainees from both Dublin City University (Dublin, Republic of Ireland) and Ulster University (Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK) in March 2019
“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​”

Dr. Lorraine Harbison
Associate Professor in Mathematics Education​
Dublin City University (Republic of Ireland)​


“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.​”

Shauna McGill
PGCE Primary Course Director
Ulster University (Northern Ireland, UK)



“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 :-)”

​
Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 100 trainees on the BA (Hons) Primary Education programme at the University of Roehampton (Barnes, UK) in March 2019
“The Maths Through Stories workshop delivered by Vince to our Year 2 BA Primary Education (QTS) was well received and students felt very confident in using stories to increase children's engagement with mathematics. Several students commented very positively on the right balance between research and practical activities as part of the workshop.​”

Pablo Mayorga
Senior Lecturer in Primary Mathematics Education,
University of Roehampton



​“It was extremely insightful. The interactive element made it very engaging. Vincent is very welcoming to listen to. I will now use children’s literature in my maths lessons.”

“It was so helpful to allow us access to many different mathematical story picture books and ideas. It was useful to get the chance to write our own lesson plans. I now feel more able to use stories in my maths teaching in order to further support children.”

“Very informative + engaging. Opened my eyes on the different ways story picture books can be used in maths teaching. I will definitely be using story picture books a lot more in my maths lessons.”

“Really informative. Did not know how much I can do with story picture books before this workshop. Will definitely use the MathsThroughStories.org website to give me some teaching ideas.”

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Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 30 trainees on the BA (Hons) Early Years Education programme at the University of South Wales (Newport, UK) in February 2019
“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.”

Viv West
BA Primary Studies (with QTS) Co-Course Leader
University of South Wales


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“
Brilliant, loved how the workshop was active and allowed the audience to reflect on their practice. I will definitely look for more story picture books to use in my maths lessons.”

“Very interesting, opened my eyes to using maths story picture books as a way of supporting learning.”

“Wonderful experience, very informative and lots of lovely resources used. Extremely inspiring.”

“Very interactive - not just 2 hours of listening, we had the opportunity to get involved and share our ideas with one another. I will definitely involve the use of story picture books into my future maths lesson plans.”
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Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 50 primary teacher trainees on the Primary Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme at Bath Spa University (Bath, UK) in February 2019
“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!”

Caroline Ormesher
PGCE Primary Mathematics Programme Coordinator
Bath Spa University 
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“The workshop was very informative and insightful. The lesson planning part of the workshop was really useful. I feel like the teaching of maths is a weak point for me whereas English is a strong point so I love the idea that I can combine the two :- ) ”

“Very helpful. Great ideas for lessons we can actually use. Engaging, not like a typical ‘lecture’. Enthusiastic lecturer. Everything was great. We love Vince! ”

“Brilliant – meaningful, practical activities. Well-paced and engaging. I now feel empowered to use [mathematical story picture] books. Thank you :- ) ”

“Eye-opening and engaging. I now feel excited to use mathematical story picture books in my maths lessons. Vince was great, personable and engaging! :- )”
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Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 30 teachers on the Postgraduate Certificate in Primary English (PGCert) in Primary English and in Primary Mathematics programmes at the University of Northampton (Huntingdon, UK) in January 2019
“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.​”

Dr. Amanda O'Shea
Postgraduate Certificate in Primary Mathematics Programme Leader
University  of Northampton


“Absolutely amazing! So many ideas and I feel super inspired by this! Excellent! Can't wait to use as many mathematical story picture books as possible.”

“Very energetic and exciting. Thank you for being inspiring.”

“Absolutely fantastic! Loads of ideas. Numeracy budget is going to be hit hard!”

“Highly engaging - challenged my thinking on the variety of mathematical stories that are available and their suitability for upper Key Stage 2 (9-11 years old) children.”
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Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 110 primary teacher trainees on the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme at at the University of Greenwich (London, UK) in January 2019
“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!​”

Jill Trinder
Primary Mathematics Lead
University of Greenwich


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“Great, excellent, engaging, motivating and educational. Enhanced my subject knowledge. I will now use these mathematical story picture books to develop my mathematics teaching.”

“Really enjoyed it. Lots of detail and support for ideas to use in class. I never thought of using stories in maths teaching before and it's a great idea.”

“It was very eye opening. Really enjoyed it. Now I have an idea how I can use story telling with maths, I will definitely use that in my lessons.”

“It was really eye opening and interesting to see how story books can be used in teaching maths. I will definitely use the MathsThroughStories.org website and look for ways to incorporate story books into my maths teaching.”
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Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 50 primary teacher trainees on the BA (Hons) Primary Education programme at Liverpool John Moores University (Liverpool, UK) in January 2019
“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.”

Sarah Hindhaugh
Senior Lecturer in Primary Maths Education ​
Liverpool John Moores University


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“Very beneficial. It has expanded my knowledge of teaching approaches using story picture books in mathematics. I am now more confident with and have gained enthusiasm in using this specific teaching approach.”

“Really useful. Provided a great range of variety of activities and were interactive and relevant. I'm excited to use children's literature to develop maths concepts and learning.”

“It was very insightful and changed my perception of teaching maths through using a story.”
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Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 20 early years teachers, co-led with the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) in January 2019
“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​!”

Viv Lloyd
Assistant Director (Primary and Early Years)​
The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM)
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​A training workshop for around 30 primary teachers and teacher trainers at St Mary's University (London, UK) in January 2019
“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.”

Manish Kothari
Lecturer in Primary Mathematics
St. Mary's University


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“The workshop was very good and insightful. It has given me new ideas and opened my eyes to effective ways maths can be taught.”

“Awesome. It has really opened up my thinking of teaching maths. I will start reading maths story books in my lessons.”

“It has been an eye opener for me and I will definitely use what I learned in my own class.”

“Very useful and creative. It really changed the way I saw stories in maths teaching.”
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Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 30 primary and secondary mathematics specialist teachers and teacher trainers at White Rose Maths (Halifax, UK) in December 2018
“We loved the Maths Through Stories workshop! It was a well researched and refreshing session giving our team some new ideas by making them think outside of the box. Not only did we learn about how we can use story telling to engage children in maths, but we also had some great team-building opportunities through Vincent's well thought-out activities. There was something for everyone from Early Years specialists to our Secondary colleagues. As a presenter, Vince is one of the best - energy and humour throughout.”
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Caroline Hamilton
Head of White Rose Maths


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“Fabulous, engaging, exciting and thought provoking. Fantastic presenter, I loved it! I will be planning to use some maths story picture books with my Year 2 class after Christmas. ”

“I loved it - very inspirational. Makes me want to use maths stories tomorrow. Will definitely use stories in maths regardless of age groups.”

“Wonderful. You have reminded me of my love of books. Your enthusiasm is so inspiring!! Thanks so much. The MathsThroughStories.org website is AMAZING. A game changer.”
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Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 40 primary teacher trainees on the BA (Hons) Primary Education programme at Nottingham Trent University (Nottingham, UK) in December 2018
“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.​” 

Deliah Pawluch
Senior Lecturer in Primary Mathematics Education ​
Nottingham Trent University 

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“The workshop was brilliant! Gave me loads of ideas and inspired me to include story picture books in my mathematics teaching. ” 

“
I really enjoyed this workshop and look forward to using what I have learned today in my teaching. It is so useful to have examples of story picture books and lesson ideas as well. I will definitely use the  MathsThroughStories.org website in the future.” 

“
The workshop was really helpful and has helped me to understand how to get maths into literacy and vice versa. The MathsThroughStories.org website looks really good.”

“Really useful and engaging. Feel inspired to try this Maths Through Stories approach on my placement.”
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Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 40 primary teacher trainees on the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme at the University of Southampton (Southampton, UK) in December 2018
“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!​” 

Ian Campton
PGCE (Primary) Programme Director
University of Southampton (UK)​


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“The workshop has been fantastic! You have completely changed my view of using children's  literature in maths teaching. Super engaging and informative. I will now look out for more opportunities to use children's literature in maths teaching.” 

“
Brilliant! Vincent brought such enthusiasm and passion that was infectious even to someone who doesn't enjoy and find maths easy! Engaging and informative.” 

“
Really enjoyed the workshop! Eye opening for someone who loves books and hates teaching maths! I will try and use story picture books with certain mathematical topics. I will definitely use the MathsThroughStories.org website! Can't wait to try it!”

“Brilliant workshop. Delivered really well and you can see the passion and enthusiasm. I definitely will be using the MathsThroughStories.org website for ideas. I am teaching fractions shortly in Year 5 and so I will use all the ideas I have learned today to introduce the concept.”
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Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 20 primary teacher trainees on the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDipEd)​ programme at the University of Birmingham (Birmingham, UK) in December 2018
“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.”

Dr. Kirsty Wilson​
PGDipEd Primary Mathematics Specialist Course Leader
University of Birmingham

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“The workshop was brilliant. Vincent was engaging, made us feel comfortable and really opened my eyes to the usefulness of using story picture books in mathematics teaching. One of the most enjoyable and engaging sessions I've been to at university. It has made me excited to plan maths lessons for January. I am going to speak to my class teacher about incorporating story picture books into my lessons.” 

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The workshop has really motivated me to use literature within Maths teaching. You can get so much out of a book that will engage children into this subject. This has made Maths less scary for me! Thank you Vince! :- )” 

“
The workshop was fantastic. It was engaging and informative and provided lots of brilliant ideas for use in practice. I will definitely incorporate literature in future Maths lessons.”

“The workshop was engaging and interesting. The time flew by and Vince made the session such an enjoyable experience. I will definitely try to use story picture books in my maths lessons. I will try to carry out the lesson I have planned today during the workshop.”
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Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 80 early years and primary teacher trainees on the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme at the University of Chester (Chester, UK) in November 2018

“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.”

Kathryn Clarke
PGCE Primary Programme Leader
University of Chester



“The workshop was really eye opening - made me think about maths teaching differently. Also really engaging. I'm much more likely to use story picture books now. Makes maths more accessible. ” 

“Amazing!! So helpful and fun. Felt non-threatening and gave me loads of ideas. I will incorporate story picture books into my own maths teaching practice.
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“LOVED IT!  Very informative and useful! Very well put together. I will have more confidence now, the lesson planning portion was brilliant. I can now visualise this in my classroom. Also my kids will love it. THANK YOU VINCE!!!”


“Very fun and  useful! I have benefited from attending this workshop as using story picture books in mathematics teaching is something I have never considered. I will definitely try to use maths story picture books on placement to see how effective it is.”
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Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 40 primary teacher trainees on the BA in Primary Education programme at Liverpool Hope University (Liverpool, UK) in November 2018



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“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.”

Leonie Ullathorne
Head of Primary Mathematics
​Liverpool Hope University


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“I think the Maths Through Stories workshop was brilliant and really useful in enabling me to be more confident in teaching cross-curricular mathematics. I will certainly use the resources provided on the MathsThroughStories.org website in my classroom this year. ”

“I loved how we were provided with lots of ideas as well as resources to use. My mathematics teaching will be impacted as I can now confidently use story picture books within my lessons. ”

“Great! I am now aware of different literature that can be used and feel confident about applying it to my mathematics teaching. ”

“The workshop was very helpful and has motivated me to use the resources on the MathsThroughStories.org website on my placement.”
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Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 50 primary teacher trainees on the BA in Primary Education programme at Leeds Trinity University (Leeds, UK) in November 2018
“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.”

Camilla Pratt
Senior Lecturer in Primary Education
Leeds Trinity University

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“Really informative as we haven't had any lectures at university about story books within mathematics. Great speaker - really engaging and knowledgeable.
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“Really informative and changed my perception about using story picture books in Maths. I will now be looking for ways to involve stories within my Maths lessons.”

“Excellent. I have come away with lots of relevant ideas and gained beneficial knowledge on using stories in maths as a pedagogical approach. I will definitely use stories to enrich my maths teaching.”

“Fantastic workshop. I thought at the beginning I wouldn't like this teaching idea, but I [...] definitely will use stories in my maths lessons.”


Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 60 teacher trainees on the BA Ed in Primary Education programme at the University of Reading (Reading, UK)​ in October 2018
“It was extremely useful as using story picture books in mathematics teaching is not something I had considered before. I now consider using them in my mathematics teaching.”

“Insightful! Opened my eyes to a completely new way of teaching mathematical concepts. I am keen to use the MathsThroughStories.org website to find relevant books for my lessons.”

“Very useful! The workshop was not only interactive but the activities genuinely were fun and useful. I feel confident to teach mathematics through stories!”

“Really useful. I never thought about using story picture books in mathematics lessons. Now I can see how. It's so very useful and great way to introduce mathematical topics.”


Workshop participants
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A training workshop for around 90 primary school teacher trainees on the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme at the University of Sussex (Falmer, UK) in October 2018
“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!​”

Claire Watts
Head of Initial Teacher Education Primary​

University of Sussex

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“Absolutely loved it!  I'll definitely begin using maths story picture books in my maths lessons. It makes it more engaging for the students and more fun for me to teach.”
 
“Very good and practical workshop. I feel I've been given permission to use my imagination and love of stories to teach maths.”
 
“Enjoyed it very much. Such an engaging speaker and talking a great deal of sense!”
 
“Very informative and really great! I will try to incorporate story picture books in maths lessons as much as possible which I had never considered before.”

Workshop participants
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A training workshop for around 70 Mathematics Subject Leaders across Warwickshire as part of Gateway Alliance (Kenilworth, UK) in October 2018
“Feedback on the Maths Through Stories workshop from our Mathematics subject leaders has been really positive and I know that many of them will have returned to school keen to share the MathsThroughStories.org website and ideas with their colleagues. You got everyone involved and showed us how maths can link to picture story books at any age. Thank you for an inspiring afternoon!​”

Vivien Townsend
Primary Mathematics Subject Leaders Lead

Gateway Alliance

“Brilliant! Really engaging and great to be introduced to lots of new mathematical stories. I will look for stories to use in my maths teaching and also for other teachers in school so that we can build a bank of stories to use. We used your MathsThroughStories.org last year and I gave ideas to colleagues for them to use on World Maths Day.”

“I really enjoyed the workshop and it opened my eyes to maths story picture books. I had no idea there were so many that were so useful. I will be using maths story picture books in my maths lessons and encourage others to do so.”

“During your workshop, I ordered one of the story books to use in my maths teaching tomorrow. Thank you for the ideas and thank you Amazon Prime for quick delivery :-) I will share ideas around school.”


Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 30 primary in-service teachers across Berkshire as part of the Bucks, Berks and Oxon Maths Hub at Kendrick School (Reading, UK)​ in October 2018
“Vince's enthusiastic and passionate delivery of the Maths through Stories workshop inspired attendees to consider how they can incorporate more stories in their maths teaching. It was really helpful to have such a wide range of books to look at and I am sure that the resources on the MathsThroughStories.org website will prove to be an invaluable source of ideas for the teachers who were at the workshop, as well as their colleagues.​”

Elizabeth Glaister
Primary Twilight Lead
Reading Cohorts, 
Bucks, Berks and Oxon Maths Hub​

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“Excellent - engaging and great to see lots of resources on tables for us to have a more practical idea of how to use story picture books in mathematics teaching. I bought one of the story books during the workshop!”

“Good to see a variety of activities that can be carried out using different stories. I hope to share ideas from the workshop with colleagues and they can try out some ideas too.”

“Great, really informative. I look forward to looking at the MathsThroughStories.org website to see how to use story picture books in mathematics teaching in more detail.”

Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for 15 teacher trainees on the BA in Primary Teacher Education programme at Oxford Brookes University (Oxford, UK)​ in October 2018
“The 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”

Jo Skelton
Senior Lecturer in Primary Mathematics Education
​Oxford Brookes University​

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“Brilliant! Very interesting and engaging approach. I would definitely like to try it in school and will use your MathsThroughStories.org website for support.”

“Extremely interesting. Fast pace, but easily accessible. A lot of information, but so engaging I didn't feel lost.”

“Very engaging and interesting and gave me lots of ideas of how I could use mathematical stories in school. I feel very encouraged to try using mathematical stories in lessons.”

“It was fantastic. It has really helped me to understand how to use story picture books, especially with older primary school children, and how any story picture book can be used creatively to teach maths.”


Workshop participants
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A training workshop for around 20 primary school teacher trainees on the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme at Brunel University London (London, UK) in October 2018
“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.​”

Balbir Kaur
PGCE Primary Education Mathematics Tutor
​Brunel University London​



“I absolutely loved it. It was informative and engaging. I think my mathematics teaching will be greatly improved as this method will improve what I have considered my weakest subject.”

“It was very informative, eye-opening and a privilege to have experienced. I love literature and believe incorporating maths in literature provides a cross-curricular approach to teaching.” 

“It was amazing! Vincent is a really enthusiastic speaker and is really passionate about his specialism.”

“It is really good and has opened my view and given me ideas of alternative ways of teaching maths and incorporating maths in literacy.”


Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 50 early years and primary in-service teachers at Penn Wood Primary and Nursery School (Slough, UK)​ in September 2018
“Dr. Vincent’s Maths Through Stories workshop with our staff enabled us to align perfectly our commitment to use 'books as the golden thread running through our curriculum' with educational research and the National Curriculum requirements. His standards and expectations are high and he probes ideas from participants through skilful questioning. Dr. Vincent's workshop perfectly launched our year's professional learning.”

Jane Girle
Headteacher
Penn Wood Primary and Nursery School

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“Absolutely brilliant. Very resourceful and delivered in a way that reaches out to teachers of children of all ages. A wide range of books were recommended too. I will definitely be planning more Maths Through Stories-inspired lessons.”

“Vince was very engaging and gave us the opportunity to be creative and engage with others in the school. It was useful having access to a variety of mathematical books to read and compare at the workshop. The workshop also allows me to look at books we already have through a mathematical lens.”

“Motivating, inspiring and fun. I was surprised that we managed to cover everything. Every activity in the workshop was meaningful and engaging. We will now include more story picture books in our mathematics lesson planning.”

“The workshop was very interesting and opened our eyes to lots more opportunities to base maths lessons on story picture books. We now plan to include stories to support a wide range of maths topics.”


Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 30 early years and primary in-service teachers as part of the North West Three Maths Hub and the St. Helens Teaching School Alliance (Merseyside, UK)​ in July 2018
“Vincent was a true professional. Extremely knowledgeable, he inspired teachers across the Early Years and Year 6 phases and his passion was infectious. Teachers felt empowered to go back to school and use stories to enhance and develop their maths teaching. They were excited to use and share the ideas on the MathsThroughStories.org website. We look forward to working with Vincent again in the future.”

Lisa Bradshaw
Director

The North West Three Maths Hub and the St. Helens Teaching School Alliance
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“Exceptional insight into how to select and use picture books to enhance conceptual understanding in mathematics. I love Vincent's passion for maths and books combined! Great resource on the MathsThroughStories.org website.”

“I got so much from this workshop! I feel much more confident now in using stories in maths and am going back to school with many ideas I am excited to try! The MathsThroughStories.org website is fantastic and I will be using it a lot! Very informative and engaging workshop, delivered so passionately!”

“So inspiring, full of thought-provoking, and engaging ways to incorporate English and story into maths teaching. The MathsThroughStories.org looks amazing! Thanks :-)  Definitely going to use the ideas from today and share them with staff at my school.”

“I very much enjoyed the workshop. Vincent is very passionate and knowledgeable. I love that we have ideas that we can use straight away with very little resourcing. It is definitely something I will use next year. Thank you for showing us your excellent MathsThroughStories.org website too.”

Workshop participants
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A training workshop for around 50 primary school teacher trainees on the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme at the University of Bedfordshire (Bedford, UK) in June 2018
“Really made me think about using stories in maths. Also made me think and look through my mathematical eyes and think of new interesting lesson ideas. The MathsThroughStories.org website was also amazing and very helpful. Very engaging and interesting. Going to e-mail my head of school the website.”
 
“Vincent was very passionate in this subject and engaging. His enthusiasm was very infectious and really made me consider new ways to engage children in maths activities across Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. It has been very good to have exposure to these types of books and particularly to discuss what makes a good mathematical story and how to determine which to select.”
 
“Absolutely fabulous! Very inspirational ideas shared to take forward into our practice and schools. It is a fantastic way to get a topic started as I think all children and teachers would engage with it very well. Thanks for the session! :-)”
 
“Vincent was obviously very passionate about what he was talking about. This made it easy to engage with the content. The session was both very informative and fun and I will go away and attempt to explore using maths through stories in my own classroom.”

​“Vince is so engaging and the workshop was great! We have been given so many ideas and strategies to use stories in maths. I can’t wait to try using a story in a maths lesson in my new class in September. The MathsThroughStories.org website with the recommendations is great and makes it applicable and accessible for us in the near future.”

Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for over 60 primary teacher trainees on the School Direct programme (England's postgraduate-level teacher training programme) at the University of Reading in April 2018
“Such an engaging, interesting and valuable session. I LOVED it and found it so exciting and really helpful! Thank you! Absolutely brilliant and fantastically delivered!”
 
“Eye opening and very fun! Very interesting to see the amount of cross curricular links and different areas of Maths that can be found in even just one story!”
 
“FANTASTIC! Vincent is incredible! Well presented, very enthusiastic and amazingly humorous. The session was very engaging.”
 
“Really useful! Changed my idea about how stories could be an effective tool across all age ranges to teach Maths. The speaker was fantastic and enthusiastic. A great session!”
 
“I always had this feeling that stories in Maths lessons are good only for younger children. You have shown how I can use them in my Maths lessons with older children, and hopefully influence other teachers I work with to use these books as well.”
 
“Really good – engaging and interactive. Very fun and informative session! Thank you :-) Will be going back to school and suggesting more story books in Maths!”
 

Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 120 early years and primary teacher trainees on the BA in Primary Education programme at the University of Brighton (Falmer, UK) in March 2018
“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.​”
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Dr. Alison Barnes
BA Primary English/Mathematics Education with QTS Route Leader University of Brighton



“Really great. Very well structured. Good activities and opportunities to discuss and share. Very approachable and friendly speaker – people not scared to share. Well done for keeping everyone engaged for so long! ”

“Very good and eye opening. I had misconceptions about the use of stories in mathematics teaching at the beginning of the session that were erased by the end.”

“Fantastic! Lots of great ideas – inspiring me to use story books in maths. Dynamic trainer – thank you, Vincent! ”

“Very informative and interesting. Interactive. Thanks for giving lots of good lesson content ideas. I feel like now I’ll be able to use storybooks in maths teaching to develop children’s reasoning. ”

Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 120 early years and primary teacher trainees on the BA in Primary Education programme at the University of Roehampton (London, UK) in February 2018
“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.”

Pablo Mayorga
Senior Lecturer in Primary Mathematics Education,
University of Roehampton


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“I really enjoyed the Maths Through Stories workshop because, although it was very informative, it was also very engaging and motivated us to maintain active participation. Your enthusiasm and kind manner really allows us to participate willingly! :-)”

“Extremely insightful, helpful, relevant, interactive, and engaging. Enthusiastic delivery and lots of suggested resources. Really useful for trainee teachers. Helped to develop confidence and views about using stories in maths :-)”

“Loved the enthusiasm of Vincent. He made me feel really positive about using stories with maths.”

“Very engaging and informative. Helped me to understand how stories can be used in maths. You valued all responses – which was great! Thank you :-)”

“Very good. Lots of interesting points to consider deeper e.g. gender representation. I enjoyed hearing about your research. Also very interesting resources. Interactive – encouraged involvement.”

Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for teachers specialised in working with children with Special Educational Needs in Derbyshire (UK) in February 2018
“Thank you, Vince, for an inspiring workshop encouraging us to teach Maths through stories with our caseload of learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). It was great that you encouraged us to use our own knowledge, skills and expertise in applying the approach to learners working significantly below age related expectations. We have already started to collate a bank of ‘hands on’ resources to accompany the books we had already purchased and look forward to ‘getting going’ with this approach!”
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Sonia Jordan
Area Manager
Support Service for Special Educational Needs, Ashbrook,

Derbyshire County Council

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“We received a great half day training on ‘Mathematics teaching and learning through storytelling’. As a Support Service for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), finding a presenter that can match the diverse expertise of delegates is tough, but Vincent managed – beyond expectations!! The team have been left with ideas, resources, knowledge and above all enthusiasm. As a high quality teaching support service, we strive to expand on ways to maximise learning through cross curricular teaching and learning - the workshop activities allowed us to take something tangible away and get started straight away! Thanks Vince for an excellent afternoon!”
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Josephine Jeffries
Senior Teacher
Support Service for Special Educational Needs, Ashbrook,

Derbyshire County Council


“Excellent workshop with many interesting ideas and resources to view. Knowledgeable presenter, happy to share his ideas. I am keen to go on the MathsThroughStories.org website now! ”

“Excellent! Very knowledgeable speaker! Lots of info – lots of opportunities to make mathematical learning more inclusive, exciting and relevant to each pupil. Very enjoyable!! Thank you! ”

“I think the Maths Through Stories workshop has been fantastic. I’ve enjoyed learning about the different types of stories and how they can be used or adapted to meet learners’ needs.”

“Really interactive and informative. I enjoyed the practical activities which allowed me to see what it would look like for me in my teaching.​”

Workshop participants
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​A training workshop for around 50 secondary school mathematics teacher trainees on the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme at King’s College London in February 2018
“An enjoyable afternoon with ideas to support mathematics learning and teaching sparked through exploring story picture books.”
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Jayne Kranat 
PGCE Mathematics Subject Director 
King's College London, University of London



“Really enjoyed this session, really engaging and entertaining. Interesting to see how story picture books can be used with older students.​”

“Excellent, very interactive and I learned a lot. I was very interested in your research on differences in male and female representation in mathematical story picture books. ”

“Loved the trainer’s energy, dynamism and the way he involved the class in all activities and got us to think through our own lessons. ”

“Well organised. Wide range of resources used. Meaningful activities. Excellent trainer attitude (very positive) and how receptive he is to new and different ideas.​”

Workshop participants
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A training workshop for over 30 in-service teachers at Derbyshire County Council's Primary Mathematics conference in November 2017
“It was lovely to meet Vince at the Derbyshire Primary Maths Conference. He was inspirational and so many teachers now have exciting, additional strategies in their teaching toolkit! We would very much like to work with Vince again and help his work reach an even wider audience. His Maths Through Stories teaching approach is especially relevant in the current curriculum. I absolutely loved the enthusiasm he generated and the sound advice he shared.”
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Julie Barton
Senior Adviser for School Improvement
Derbyshire County Council



“One of the biggest hits at our maths conference was Vince’s workshop! He was interesting and engaging and all our delegates left thoroughly inspired! The MathsThroughStories.org website is truly fantastic – a wonderful resource for all primary teachers, saving teachers time and effort whilst ensuring that relevant and meaningful texts are used to support learning. This session really was inspiring and we’d love to work more with Vince in the future to develop storytelling through maths in all schools in Derbyshire. Thanks for motivating our delegates to see the use of storytelling from another angle – using our special ‘lens’!​”
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Julie Parker
Teaching, Learning and Assessment Consultant
Derbyshire County Council

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A training workshop for around 15 in-service teachers at The District CE Primary School's #ReadingRocks_17 event in October 2017​
“I attended the Maths Through Stories workshop at the ReadingRocks conference as I was eager to learn more about ways in which stories could be used to deepen mathematical understanding. Vince has a great enthusiasm and a wide range of knowledge in this area and his workshop was engaging and practical. He conveyed a great passion for this area and supplied practical advice and suggestions based on research as well as showing us the importance of vetting mathematical story books through a light-hearted look at which stories are less successful! Overall, I came away with a deeper understanding of just how many mathematical picture and story books are available and ways in which they can be used to engage pupils in mathematics.​”

Lisa Cole
Primary Development Lead
MathematicsMastery.org​



​“In an age where making mathematical connections and reinforcing learning through real contexts is at the core of the curriculum, the Maths Through Stories workshop  provides teachers with the tools to create a set of lessons that not only explore tricky mathematical concepts in an interesting way, but encourages children to link their learning to something purposeful.​”

Sarah Abbott
Year 6 teacher

The District CE Primary School



“Before attending the Maths Through Stories workshop, I had underestimated value of using stories in maths teaching. The workshop showed me that: when chosen wisely and used effectively, maths story books can bring mathematical concepts to life for children​.”

David Atkinson
Year 3 teacher
The District CE Primary School
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A training workshop for over 60 primary teacher trainees on the School Direct programme (England's postgraduate-level teacher training programme) at the University of Reading (UK) in April 2017
“Vincent's session was lively and engaging. It introduced the concept of using picture books in mathematics lessons, which was so inspiring. I wrote down so many ideas, and will definitely be using the MathsThroughStories.org website when I start my first teaching job in September.”
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Rebecca Brinkman
School Direct Primary teacher trainee
University​ of Reading​
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A training workshop for around 100 third-year undergraduate primary school teacher trainees at Bishop Grosseteste University (UK) in March 2017
“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.”

​Dr. Ashley Compton
Senior Lecturer in Primary Education

Bishop Grosseteste University​
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A training workshop for around 15 first-year undergraduate primary school teacher trainees at the University of Reading (UK) in January 2017
“The session on the use of mathematical stories was highly influential towards developing my teaching strategies. Various techniques for involving literature in mathematics lessons were offered and evaluated in an engaging and informative manner. The benefits of using literature were clearly highlighted, inspiring my peers and I to creatively use stories in mathematics teaching during our placement.​”

Hanifa Ahmed
A first-year BA Ed primary teacher trainee
University​ of Reading

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​mathsthroughstories.org

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ABOUT US

MathsThroughStories.org is a non-profit and research-based initiative, based at the University of Reading's Institute of Education (UK).

It sets out to help mathematics learners around the world develop their conceptual understanding in mathematics and to help them foster positive attitudes towards the subject through  the power of storytelling.

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