Background

Initially, I set up this website while I was writing The Language of Mathematics in Science: A Guide for Teachers of 11-16 Science. Early drafts of the materials had received feedback from small panels of science and mathematics educators; the MathsInScience website was designed to enable feedback on the later drafts to be collected from a broader range of people, in particular from practising science teachers.

I was keen to involve as many people as possible, with a good spread across the UK, in different subject areas and with different levels of experience. The ‘teacher review panel’ was set up in late 2015, and users were able to log in to access further materials and questionnaires. The intention was that gathering a wide range of views was important if the guidance was to be coherent and accessible, as well as realistic in practice.

Since the publication was completed in May 2016, the work of the teacher review panel has continued. A questionnaire in September 2016 focused on identifying areas of priority for further development, and following this two working groups were set up – the Professional Development Group and the Curriculum and Assessment Group.

Currently, the public area of the website includes information about the guidance, along with a set of teacher discussion activities that were trialled in Autumn Term 2016. There are plans to publish further professional development resources to support the use of the guidance booklet, reviews of examination specifications and assessment materials, and articles about mathematics in science. I will also be circulating information about expanding the number of registered users who are interested in supporting the work of the teacher panel.

Richard Boohan