The Challenges faced by mathematics teachers of 11 - 16 year olds in the U.K. are making the work relevant and fun for the students whilst keeping up the demands of the National Curriculum and schemes of work.

A few years ago the swing had been towards use of the calculator, however due to the public perception of falling standards and a generation who seemed unable to do calculations in their head, there was a push from the Government to go back to more traditional methods. National Examinations changed from allowing a calculator to be used if wished to two separate examinations at ages 11, 14 and 16 - one where a calculator is allowed and one where a calculator is not allowed. The challenge here for teachers has been to teach different appropriate methods to answer questions n both papers. For example to calculate % of an amount like VAT 17.5% OF £25 First find 10% then 55 then 2.5% and add together. On a calculator it would be 17.5 /100 * 25.

To improve general numerical skills and in particular mental arithmetic the National Numeracy Strategy was introduced. In primary schools there is a Numeracy Hour every day when pupils are taught strategies to perform calculations with lots of oral work and pupil participation taking place. This is continued in Secondary Schools where every lesson begins with a mental starter activity for 5 - 10 minutes. The aim is to involve all pupils and to get them thinking mathematically with short tasks which do not have to be related to the main topic of the day.

A variety of aids are used for example :

• number fans
• a counting stick
• small white boards where pupils hold up their responses
• I.C.T.
• Flash cards
• Number lines

The National Framework gives suggestions of how to introduce topics in different ways to make lessons more appealing to the students and every lesson has its mental starter, the main topic and a plenary session at the end to reinforce the main points being studied.

Other challenges include

• Discipline issues
• Large class sizes
• Increased integration of pupils with special needs within mainstream education
• Shortage of mathematics teachers but incentives are being offered during training

Teaching assistants are often in the classroom to give support to pupils with special needs. Integrated Learning systems on the computer network have also been used with varying success. Lessons are presented in a variety of teaching styles such as

• traditional ways from the board at the front
• presentations from a laptop using power point and the internet.
• Self supported study
• Oral work
• Use of ICT