Craig Barton interviews guests from the wonderful world of education about their approaches to teaching, educational research and more. All show notes, resources and videos here: https://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/
Mel is part of the award winning JustMaths team, a prolific blogger, and experienced maths teacher. We spoke about running a maths department, moving to a new school, and her now award-winning way of preparing students for the demands of the Maths GCSE.
For more information about today’s guest, plus links to the websites, resources and ideas they mention, please visit the show notes page: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/6-mel-muldowney-justmaths/
On this episode of the Mr Barton Maths Podcast I spoke to Mel Muldowney, better known as Mel from the JustMaths website and blog. I have been huge fan of Mel’s work for a good few years now. Her blog posts are inspiring, engaging and provocative all in one, and the workshop she and her colleague Chris Seager gave at the Edexcel Conference in Warwick last summer was one of the best I have ever attended.
I asked Mel loads of things, including:
- How does she plan her lessons, and how does this lead to successful behaviour management?
- Can she describe a lesson that did not go to plan, and what did she learn from it – and her candid answer propels me to exorcise a few lesson demons as well!
- How difficult did she find the move to a new school?
- What are the most successful strategies that her and Seager have implemented in their maths department?
- How are Mel’s school reporting data on students in Years 7 to 10?
I am obviously completely biased, but I think this is a cracking listen. I was blown away by Mel’s honestly, openness and passion for her job. I hope you agree.
Mel’s excellent JustMaths website and blog can be found here: http://justmaths.co.uk/
And on Twitter she is @Just_Maths
Mel’s Big 3:
1. Making a difference: http://justmaths.co.uk/2015/03/07/4766/
2. Moving to a new school: http://justmaths.co.uk/2015/10/15/get-cape/
3. New Maths GCSE Questions by Topic:
Both Tiers: http://justmaths.co.uk/2016/01/03/9-1-exam-questions-by-topic-both-tiers/
Higher: http://justmaths.co.uk/2015/12/21/9-1-exam-questions-by-topic-higher-tier/
Foundation: http://justmaths.co.uk/2015/11/29/9-1-exam-questions-by-topic-foundation-version-2/
My usual plugs:
- You can help support the podcast (and get an interactive transcript of all new episodes) via my Patreon page at patreon.com/mrbartonmaths
- If you are interested in sponsoring an episode of the show, then please visit this page
- You can sign up for my free Tips for Teachers newsletter and my free Eedi newsletter
- My online courses are here: craigbarton.podia.com
- My books are “Tips for Teachers“, “Reflect, Expect, Check, Explain” and “How I wish I’d taught maths”
Thanks so much for listening, and I really hope you enjoy the show!
Craig Barton