What’s one common maths misconception you love helping students overcome?
One common misconception that I love helping students overcome is the idea that fractions are inherently difficult.
Many students believe that the larger the denominator, the larger the fraction, which is not true. Fractions actually get smaller as the denominator increases if the numerator stays the same.
Students also often struggle with adding and subtracting fractions, thinking they can simply add or subtract the numerators and denominators directly. Helping them understand that fractions represent parts of a whole, and that operations with fractions follow specific rules to maintain those proportions, is incredibly rewarding and can completely change their confidence in maths.
If you could give teachers one quick tip for building number confidence, what would it be?
A quick tip for teachers to build students’ number confidence is to celebrate thinking, not just answers.
Encourage students to explain how they got their results, praise effort and strategies, and show that mistakes are part of learning. This helps them feel safe to take risks and grow more confident with numbers.
Why are rich maths tasks an important part of students’ learning?
Rich maths tasks are important because they:
- help students really understand maths, not just follow steps, or memorise rules
- encourage students to think, explore different ways to solve problems, and explain their ideas
- make maths more interesting and enjoyable because there’s often more than one way to find an answer
- let everyone join in at their own level, so all students can feel challenged and successful.
Overall, rich maths tasks help students see maths as something creative, logical and worth exploring.
Why are word problems a powerful way to engage students and teach maths?
Word problems are a powerful way to engage students and teach maths because they:
- connect mathematical ideas to real-life situations
- show students how maths is useful and meaningful beyond the classroom, which makes learning more interesting and relevant
- help students think critically – they must read carefully, make sense of the information, and decide which maths skills to use. This builds problem-solving and reasoning skills rather than just focusing on getting the right answer.
By working through word problems, students learn to explain their thinking, apply maths in different contexts, and gain confidence in using maths to tackle everyday challenges.
About Jude Callaghan
Jude Callaghan is a freelance educational consultant with over 40 years of experience in the education sector. Throughout her distinguished career, she has shown an enduring commitment to fostering excellence in teaching and learning through the design and delivery of innovative, engaging programmes, particularly in the field of mathematics. Jude brings a wealth of professional expertise and creative insight to the Essential Resources writing team for mathematics.
