The Fun Maths Roadshow, an outreach initiative run by staff and students in Mathematics and Statistics at UWE Bristol, has been successful in securing further funding this year from the Advanced Maths Support Programme (AMSP).
The Fun Maths Roadshow is a carousel of interactive mathematical puzzles which secondary school pupils work in teams to solve. It is led by Dr Emily Walsh, a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at UWE Bristol, and facilitated by UWE Bristol undergraduates in Mathematics and Statistics, and is part of an ongoing attempt to widen participation in Mathematics by providing a brief experience of some elements of what practicing mathematicians do in real-life.
It features a broad range of interesting applications from climate change to forensics and encourages problem solving, ideas exploration, creative thinking, team working skills, and analysis of results. All of this takes place in a non-confrontational and non-competitive setting encompassing both challenge and enjoyment.
The activities are designed to be accessible to a broad range of abilities so that everyone who participates feels a sense of achievement. The UWE Bristol undergraduates in Mathematics and Statistics who help set up and run the roadshows gain valuable experience in a variety of schools working directly with a diverse range of pupils, but equally the school pupils have the opportunity to hear directly from Mathematics undergraduates who are able to challenge typical misconceptions and phobias around Mathematics.
This year the Fun Maths Roadshow has travelled to Montpelier School, Oasis Academy Brislington, Trinity Academy, and Fairfield High School, and has been delivered to over 800 pupils from year 7 to year 10.
Comments from participants:
“Facilitating the Fun Maths Roadshows boosted my confidence working with secondary school children and was great preparation for teacher training in the future.”
UWE Bristol Student Ambassador
“The kids had a brilliant time, they spent the whole lesson today talking about it!”
“The students have been asking me questions all lunch time so it’s really sparked some interest and thought about what Maths can do for them.”
“It was great to see the different types of activities and for students to discuss their ideas and realise just having a go is all that is required sometimes.”
“I really liked that the students could work in teams as this helped to develop their oracy skills which is a huge focus for our school at the moment.”
“I don’t usually like maths, but this is really good.”
Year 8 pupil, Brislington Oasis Academy
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