Rich Maths Tasks

No. Definitely not. I am acutely aware of the need for students to gain practice in key mathematical skills. But I do strongly believe that regular lessons like this are just as important for a student’s mathematical development and to increase their enjoyment in the subject. They should not be seen as one-offs. Both students and teachers should value them as highly as any type of lesson.

The simple answer is that I give them another one! I have to make a judgment call as to whether the student has genuinely tried and not just given up too easily. But if, for whatever reason, a probing question or line of inquiry hasn’t resonated with a student, then I will set them off on something else. The beauty of having lots of questions up your sleeve is that you are far more likely to find ones that engage your students.

Yes, I definitely would. 100%. Sure, such lessons are a little bit on the risky side as you don’t know what is going to happen. But they are also incredibly flexible. Imagine you had meticulously planned a lesson with a 40 slide PowerPoint and 5 beautifully prepared, differentiated worksheets. And then you find that the students don’t understand even the basics. Or, they understand far more than you anticipated. You might be in a bit of trouble. But with a lesson rammed full of probing questions, you can just try them out on another line of inquiry.