Maths SKECase Study

Subject

Maths

SKE Provider (E.g. TES, Eureka)

TES

SKE Length

16 Weeks

When did you complete your SKE? (roughly which month/s)

June to September 2019

What were the key features of the SKE structure? (E.g. Online platform, tutor support)

The SKE was all done on the online platform but supported on the telephone with a tutor.

The first exercise was a subject knowledge audit. I found this quite hard to complete because there were so many areas where I graded myself as knowing very little.

Based on the audit I then had a programme designed for me. There were sixteen weekly modules and a test at the end of each of these.

I did not think that the sequencing was very well thought through – and if I was to do it again I would challenge the choice and sequence with my tutor before starting. I would have felt more that the whole cohered with the individual parts there.

The content itself was, I think, pretty good. However, it was all quite old and the more I reflect back on it having learned about lots of “good” teaching techniques the more I realised it was also quite old-fashioned – in the sense that it didn’t really help me understand maths in the most useful way for teaching maths to years 7 – 11.

Did you use any other resources to improve your subject knowledge before your training began?

If I had my time again I would do more – but I wasn’t really aware of what resources were available then – nor how to work out what is relevant. About to go into my NQT year and I am doing past GCSE papers until I am blue in the face and keeping a track of what I find hard, have to look up, completely can’t do etc…

I now find the ATM and NCETM both really useful and brilliant for my needs.

The great thing about doing the SKE with TES was that I had a “guide” in the form of my tutor. The trouble is that not knowing what I didn’t know I wasn’t really best able to take advantage of her.

Please share any other insight into your experience of completing an SKE course

Set aside time to do it every day. Little and often is definitely better than bingeing.

Use it as an opportunity to start structuring your subject knowledge for teaching purposes – so you will need to think about sequencing learning for students and things like pre-requisite knowledge for a topic, how the topic breaks down, common misconceptions. One thing I have consistently struggled with is the discipline to organise myself so that I can now go directly to my “geometry file” and find everything I have ever looked at on Pythagoras (for example) which would definitely make life easier.