Year 7 students at The Royal Harbour Academy have been testing their skills during a visit from The Problem Solving Company. The RHA students had the opportunity to put their maths skills into practice by solving a variety of puzzles, ensuring that they worked collaboratively with their classmates.
The challenges ranged in difficulty; the more difficult the task, the more points each team would achieve. The competitive element kept the Year 7 students focused on the task in hand.
Student Lily said: “It was great to make us think in a different way, work with our friends to work out fun puzzles.
George, lead instructor from The Problem Solving Company, said the pupils’ behaviour was exemplary and that all classes were focused on the tasks which created a real buzz and some good learning.
So are the maths teachers at RHA not good enough?
Positive story , good for pupils to have this opportunity.
What did the Problem Solving Company bring to the children that a competent and engaging teacher couldn’t do?
In my maths teaching days, I sought to make every lesson an entertainment, with the added value that learning took place.
On their web site they say “This experience provides students with an opportunity to capture a motivation and excitements of a subject. This is sadly not always the case with Maths.”
Why not? Why does a school need to fork out £100s of pounds for what the teacher should be doing?