Responding to a community research need 

Helliwell developed her application to the fund after being approached by teachers seeking advice and support on teaching mathematics in mixed attainment groups. Their school, a large secondary comprehensive, had recently changed its approach to grouping students for mathematics teaching – from ‘setting’ to mixed attainment grouping. Teaching practices, however, needed adapting to meet the needs of all students. 

Teachers as co-researchers 

The teachers who initially raised the project idea worked with Helliwell as co-researchers on the project, engaging in Close-to-Practice (CtP) research to develop curriculum materials and inclusive pedagogies. The aim was to embed socially-just mathematics teaching practices for Key Stage 3 students in mixed attainment groups, supported by new curriculum materials and approaches. 

A collaborative process for teachers and students 

Helliwell and co-researchers (the teachers), observed each other teaching and engaged in reflective discussions throughout the project. The school received money to allow the teachers to engage in three full-day curriculum development workshops facilitated by Helliwell, and two of the teachers received funding towards a Masters’ in mathematics education where they have recently completed a research unit linked to the project. Students’ reflections were explored through focus groups, ensuring more than just teacher voices were captured. The project also funded new whiteboards for the teachers’ classrooms to create collaborative working spaces for the students and a new visualiser. 

Starting small and sharing learning 

Testing this approach and the resources developed on a small scale with three teachers was a great opportunity to pilot a process that could be scaled up across the wider school or academy trust, depending on outcomes. 

Helliwell and co-researchers will be presenting their research at the National British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics (BSRLM) conference in November 2023. 

What made this a really good participatory project?

• Responded to a community-based research need
• Teachers as co-researchers
• Partners were reimbursed for teachers' time
• Teachers received qualifications through the project

Top tips

• It can be difficult to capture activities involving school students, so consider this when building evaluation plans to capture project impact and outcomes
• In this project, evaluation included encouraging teachers to keep a written diary of reflectionsas the project prgressed