how to become a Citizen Maths partner organisation

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Jun 6, 2016 - The Scratch and other apps in Citizen Maths allow them to ..... being able to use the calculator and basic
Becoming a Citizen Maths Partner What is Citizen Maths? Citizen Maths is a free online Level 2 maths course which helps people who need to improve their grasp of maths. The course is distinctive in that it uses an approach to learning that sets maths in the context of how people use it: for example measuring things, comparing data or assessing risks. It helps learners think of maths as set of powerful ideas which can be applied to everyday situations. Citizen Maths is designed primarily to help learners improve their grasp of and confidence with maths at Level 2, rather than being focused specifically on maths qualifications such as GCSE or Functional Skills.

What is a Citizen Maths partner? Citizen Maths is currently teaming up with organisations who want to introduce the course to their learners, employees, or members. This could be: ● to provide specific assistance to individuals who are already studying maths at Level 2; ● to help people who are being taught or trained in another subject, but where the teacher has identified that a weakness in maths may be holding them back; ● to show that someone is actively engaged in studying maths . Citizen Maths is still in its trial phase (three of its five ‘powerful ideas’ are available and the course will be formally launched with all five available in spring 2016). You don’t have to be a partner to access the course, but the advantage to being a partner at this stage is that we can provide you with more support and respond to your requirements. Partners are using Citizen Maths in a range of different ways, and we aim to fit things round your needs. Towards the end of this pack we suggest some questions to help you think about how best to achieve this fit.

What are the problems Citizen Maths addresses? Citizen Maths sits at the intersection of two genuinely hard problems. Problem one is how to help younger and older adults improve their grasp of maths at or around Level 2. Problem two is how to design online courses that can successfully be undertaken by large numbers of people at a very low cost per learner. The first problem is widely felt in the further education system. Citizen Maths may be able to help, by providing learners enrolled on formal maths courses at Level 2 with an additional avenue for learning, outside the constraints of face-to-face sessions. Citizen Maths is also relevant to older adults who’ve decided to improve their grasp of maths “for its own sake”. Indeed, it has been designed principally with these learners in mind.

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In addressing the second problem, Citizen Maths aims to point the way for organisations who want or need to design and run efficient and effective low cost online courses for adults, responding to facts that: ● for many adult learners, attending a face-to-face course is not practicable; ● public funding for adult education is very restricted.

Comments from learners and educators “I work in a work-based learning environment, where maths and English are a core focus in a wide range of training programmes. I used citizen maths to brush up my own skills, taking into consideration whether citizen maths would be appropriate for our students.” “The appeal of Citizen Maths is that it requires learners to be motivated enough to take ownership of their independent learning.” “This course delivered an ease and quality of the teaching material which allowed me to get the concept being taught very quickly.” “This is teaching me to think for myself.” “Very good, it’s amazing what you forget since being at school.” “It was very useful to find out how to use a spreadsheet to work out the appropriate amount of sand using the formulae.” “I really enjoyed this; practising the different types of multibuy is something I would use regularly.” “Very clear explanation of bookies odds - what they mean - how they are fixed so bookies make a profit in the long run.” “I was very, very surprised at the fact you can go back and refresh your learning anytime is amazing. It has replaced my fear of Maths with a love of it.” “I think the videos and sums are very clear and clearly explained. I don't feel rushed, it’s a nice pace. I do feel as though I’m learning, and feel great when I am able to answer the questions with confidence after the lesson.”

Comment from Jane Imrie, Deputy Director, National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics The challenge of enabling adults at all levels to be confident and fluent in using maths is huge and, despite the best efforts of many expert and enthusiastic people, there is no easy solution. However, it is a challenge that we must not give up on, as so much evidence points to the economic and social value of a numerate population. Furthermore, we need to keep finding new perspectives and solutions that work for the learners themselves. In that context the NCETM is happy to continue to support and promote the Citizen Maths project.

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What are the steps? The following is a suggested process for becoming involved as a partner.

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Planning and monitoring your use of Citizen Maths How to use it Here are some steps you might like to follow in working out how to get the best outcomes from Citizen Maths for your organisation. ● Ask your maths/other tutors to review the course and identify what they see as its strengths and weaknesses for your learners. ● Think about the main benefit you hope for and how will you measure this. For example, is it a means of adding to the number of learners improving their maths, or to provide a more cost-effective route for existing learners? ● Consider the best model for integrating the course into your practice. For example, ○ a ‘blended learning’ approach, with some parts of the course supported in a learning centre and some done independently; ○ ‘flipping the classroom’ by setting Citizen Maths as homework and discussing progress and problems in class; or ○ simply an additional resource for learners to explore if they wish to.

Reporting To help you review your progress towards your outcomes, we will give you as much data about your learners’ registration on, and progress through, the course as they permit. In the first instance we can provide you with a report stating, ● how many learners who have said they are affiliated to your organisation ● how many of these have given consent to share their data with you, and whether anonymous or not. For those who have given consent, we can then tell you ● the number who have started, and completed, each unit, and ● the number entitled to a certificate of participation, including the names of learners who have consented to us sharing them with you.

For more information Check out our website (https://www.citizenmaths.com) and blog (specifically the posts related to partner information). This screencast demonstrates how the course looks from a learner’s perspective. You can follow us on Twitter at @citizenmaths.

Contacts: [email protected] [email protected] or complete this contact form Citizen Maths is funded by the Ufi Charitable Trust. It is developed by Calderdale College, with the UCL Institute of Education, OCR, and with advice from the Google Course Builder team. A copy of this PDF can be accessed at https://www.citizenmaths.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/PartnerInformationPack.pdf

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Appendix 1 — How Citizen Maths could help We asked Jayne Stigger, whose work includes advising FE colleges on how to improve their maths provision, for her insights into the value of Citizen. Here’s what Jayne had to say, from eight different perspectives. Choose the perspective(s) that fit your situation most closely.

1. Learning providers as a whole ● ●



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Citizen Maths is free – no further squeezing of the budget. Citizen Maths can up-skill all of your workforce. From managers producing data for SARs and reports, lecturers delivering vocational qualifications, specialist maths lecturers and learning support staff who can, with increased maths confidence provide more effective support for the learners. Citizen Maths is flexible: it can be used in any curriculum topic, classroom or independent study so the learners can continue to learn maths even if there is no maths teacher available. It is made of ‘stand-alone’ units, so staff can choose which elements they wish to use. Citizen Maths can be used across the curriculum: it isn't linked to one particular subject but fits into them all by using real life examples to explain maths and extend knowledge. Citizen Maths focuses on developing the key parts of the GCSE and Functional Skills courses, with real life examples that clearly show how maths is not just a 'course' but an essential life skill. Citizen Maths can help students studying GCSE maths by encouraging students to experiment and extend their maths knowledge through the Scratch App which 'Stretches and Challenges' the learners to achieve more.

2. Managers of maths provision in FE Citizen Maths was developed specifically for those who may have struggled with maths in the past. It is designed to work as a plenary, starter, in lesson refresher, as an online standalone, for homework, or to meet an online component of independent study that a learner undertakes. Citizen Maths can help in a number of ways: ● It is not curriculum area specific, so fits into any course where there is relevance to Citizen Maths’ five Powerful Ideas of: Proportion, Uncertainty, Representation, Pattern and Measurement. ● At enrolment, if the student needs to retake maths, it can be used before they start college, as a quick refresher course. By using real life examples it can kick start the learners’ maths memory and make it easier for them to progress. ● It can up-skill your existing vocational teaching staff to enable them to deliver maths inside their main qualification to reinforce the specialist, discrete maths teaching. ● It can also up-skill your Learning Support Assistants and Tutors to enable them to give more focussed one-to-one support. ● It can be used for Independent Study time: learners can log onto Citizen Maths at any time; they can access the modules when it suits them, fitting around work and study commitments. ● Individuals can be directed to particular aspects of the course to focus on the specific areas they need to master to meet the needs of their main qualification or maths qualification. ● The Scratch environment which Citizen Maths utilises can be explored in class to Stretch and Challenge the learners understanding and enable them to develop further understanding and mastery of a maths topic. ● It can be used as homework at any point in the academic year.

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3. Maths teachers in general Citizen Maths is a very flexible, free learning experience. It was specifically developed to meet the needs of students who may have struggled with maths in school, college and life, and who may find the more abstract topics in GCSE Maths difficult. ● Using Citizen Maths can help students to develop sufficient maths confidence to achieve in their GCSE exams or to achieve a Level 2 Functional Skills. Citizen Maths meets the general Level 2 math requirements of all the Curriculum Areas as it uses the five 'Powerful Ideas' in contextualised questions to develop maths learning. It can be used at any time in a lesson: ○ to introduce or reinforce an idea, ○ as a starter or plenary, ○ to test understanding, ○ as homework, ○ as independent study. ● Citizen Maths explains and demonstrates the application of maths in real life ways, by embedding the key aspects of maths where it is most applicable. ● Citizen Maths is clear and straightforward, requires no additional software and has no ‘in-app purchases'. ● Citizen Maths looks at five Powerful Ideas of Proportion, Uncertainty, Representation, Measurement and Pattern. ● The Scratch environment, as a 'Stretch & Challenge' activity, encourages learners to experiment with the basic idea and then to extend their maths thinking through exercises at their own pace. ● Learning is differentiated as the students can access different levels of questioning at the same time.

4. Teachers of maths to 16-18s Most 16 - 18 Year olds like to experience a wide range of teaching methods alongside the traditional classroom and many are confident users of online material and apps. ● The Scratch and other apps in Citizen Maths allow them to experiment with the mathematical concepts at their own pace, whilst being stretched and challenged, so it is appropriate for independent study times. ● Because the maths is contextualised into real life problems, students will find it easier to relate to the maths and build their confidence to solve the problems. These problems include: ○ calculating costs, ○ judging the validity of data, ○ working out ratios, ○ comparing prices and offers, ○ sharing costs equally, ○ using scale factors, ○ making decisions about risk. ● To ensure that students really understand maths, contextualisation in real life examples is the best way to reinforce the learning, and engage the students, whether it is: ○ estimating the number of bricks for a wall, ○ working out the ratio of sand to water for mortar, ○ calculating lengths of wood for skirting board, ○ reckoning the amount of feed for an infant, ○ computing the risks of taking certain medication, ○ choosing multi-buy options for shampoo in a hairdressing salon, ○ comparing mobile phone battery life, ○ putting their questionnaire answers into a graph.

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Citizen Maths can be used at any time in a lesson to introduce or reinforce an idea, as a starter or plenary, to test understanding, to explain an idea as the class watches the video and asks questions, as homework or as independent study in the library or whilst allocated computer time.

5. Teachers of maths to adult learners Adult learners are often fearful of, rather than indifferent to maths. They know that it is essential to further their career prospects, and they often work very hard. However, they often have a number of hang-ups or issues relating to previous maths teaching experiences. They require enormous support and Citizen Maths is ideally placed to offer them the additional support they require. Some might welcome the opportunity to work confidentially at home, thus avoiding further embarrassment in maths lessons. ● Citizen Maths looks at five Powerful Ideas of Proportion, Uncertainty, Representation, with Measure and Pattern coming soon. ● Citizen Maths is available online, free and easy to access whatever time of day or night learners choose, and it is specifically designed to echo the requirements of a Level 2 course in an accessible and friendly way. ● Citizen Maths can talk the most nervous maths learner through the basic stages of a problem. Each problem has been designed to relate to real life experiences. The tutors communicate clearly and calmly through video and encourage learners to try the problems. The initial problems are familiar in scope and content and use simple pen & paper calculations to solve. As they become more confident, they can use spreadsheets to extend their learning and to master the topic, they can use 'Scratch' for Stretch and Challenge. ● There are opportunities for them to give feedback on their experience, which adult learners do tend to do. And most importantly, it fits around their lives, work and college commitments. ● Citizen Maths is a useful tool for differentiating teaching in a mixed ability classroom, something that is now very common.

6. Those involved with learning support Learning Support staff often don't feel completely confident to support maths, fearing that their qualifications are too old or not sufficiently broad to truly help the learners with maths problems. ● By using Citizen Maths, your staff can develop their maths confidence and top up their maths knowledge by solving real life problems and start to develop a skill that will enhance their ability to support maths learners. ● Citizen Maths is a free, friendly, easy-to-access online suite of maths problems with clear video tuition, questions and exercises using pen and paper, spreadsheets and the Scratch environment. It is supportive, discrete and available when they want to use it, be that at home or at work. ●

Citizen Maths can be accessed at any time (with no time limit), can be revisited as needed, requires no additional software or equipment and is completely private. It also offers participants an introduction to using Scratch to solve problems and stretch their confidence and understanding.

7. If you need to “brush up” your maths at Level 2 Many employers now require a recent Level 2 qualification. Citizen Maths can help staff and learners to develop their maths confidence and achieve the required Level 2 course. It uses the same underlying concepts that were taught at school, but explains and demonstrates them in ways that are relevant to our lives now. ● Citizen Maths uses everyday experiences to illuminate how maths is used in work to make us more effective in our jobs and to develop further confidence with maths, which could enhance

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our careers. Citizen Maths uses a range of real life examples and experiences to further understanding of maths concepts and their application. You don't have to complete the whole course, you can learn as much or as little as you wish on Proportion, Uncertainty, Representation, with Measure and Pattern coming soon. You can dip in and out and make it work for you. Because the maths is contextualised into real life problems, you will find it much easier to relate to the maths and build your confidence to solve the problems. Citizen Maths has a range of interesting and relevant questions and exercises for you to work through. They include: ○ calculating costs, ○ judging the validity of data, ○ working out ratios, ○ comparing prices and offers, ○ sharing costs equally, ○ using scale factors, ○ making decisions about risk. Citizen Maths is a free, online course that fits around your work and family commitments. It is there when you need it, to learn something new or refresh old learning. It clearly explains via video tutorials and practical examples how the maths works and when you have grasped that, encourages you to experiment with the maths to extend your learning and understanding of maths in the workplace.

8. Managers producing data and reports If there is one constant in Further and Adult Education, it is data. As a lecturer or Manager, you need to be able to understand and manipulate data for Success, Retention, Attendance, Achievement etc., into graphs, charts and tables, quickly and efficiently. ● Citizen Maths can refresh your knowledge and help you to experiment with mathematical ideas to improve your data submissions. It uses real life examples to demonstrate and explain the maths of Proportion, Uncertainty and Representation so you feel confident when producing data required by your line manager or Senior Management Team. ● Citizen Maths calmly takes you through the maths using video tutorials, exercises and questions using pen and paper and spreadsheets. There are video tutorials which are clear and supportive, exercises on common topics that you will recognise as real life scenarios – things you are already familiar with, so not scary and the opportunity to experiment with the problem and apply the knowledge in different ways to different topics. ● Citizen Maths has a range of interesting and relevant questions and exercises for you to work through. They include: ○ calculating costs, ○ judging the validity of data, ○ working out ratios, ○ comparing prices and offers, ○ sharing costs equally, ○ using scale factors, ○ making decisions about risk. ● Because the maths is contextualised into real life problems, you will find it much easier to relate to the maths and build your confidence to solve the problems. ● You can work at your own pace and stop and start whenever you like; do as much or as little as you like, you are in control. Citizen Maths is easy to access online and, since it is free, it won't be an additional cost in these financially difficult days. 


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Appendix 2 — Questions and Answers The questions below were posed in May 2016 by John Rees, CEO and Principal of Calderdale College. The responses were drafted by Seb Schmoller, Citizen Maths Project Director, with additional input from members of the Citizen Maths team.

Q1. How much does Citizen Maths cost: - to the College? - to the Learner? A1. Citizen Maths is and will remain free for anyone to access.

Q2. How does Citizen Maths integrate with other mathematics curricula? i.e. can it be used to either facilitate “enhanced learning” and support achievement of other qualifications? Does it “map” against other qualifications at Level 2 or is it accredited in its own right? A2.1 Citizen Maths has been designed from scratch “for self-motivated adults who want to improve their grasp of maths at Level 2”. It has not been designed to support any particular maths qualification, although we have mapped it against OCR’s Cambridge Progression1 . A2.2 FE maths educators who have reviewed Citizen Maths in detail tell us that Citizen Maths can successfully be used to facilitate “enhanced learning”. See Appendix 1 for more on this. A2.3 Whilst Citizen Maths is not accredited in its own right, people who successfully complete all of it can access a Certificate of Completion which summarises what Citizen Maths is and what a learner needs to have done to get a certificate.

Q3. What potential is there for Citizen Maths to draw down funding from the Adult Education Budget? A3. None that we are aware of. If those with expertise in the funding field can see potential, we would be very keen to hear from you.

Q4. What level of relevance is there to developing “workplace” maths in context (given the priority attached to the development of economically valuable skills through skills devolution and future funding priorities)? A4. We have designed Citizen Maths using the OECD’s PISA 2015 Mathematics Framework2, which defines “mathematical literacy” assessed in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2015 and the competencies required for mathematical literacy. We chose the PISA framework partly because of its international reach, and partly because it has been based on the view that a "growing proportion of problems and situations encountered in daily life, including in professional contexts, require some level of understanding of mathematics, mathematical reasoning and mathematical tools, before they can be fully understood and addressed". We therefore believe that someone who has learned maths through Citizen Maths will have gained economically and socially valuable skills in mathematics.

Q5. What is the requirement for deploying staff time (Teaching, assessment, support, technical support etc.) to install and maintain Citizen Maths for students and staff in my College? 1 http://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/cambridge-progression-ocr-cambridge-award-certificate-in-mathematics-entry-level-1-3-and-level-1-and-2/ 2 http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/9816021ec005.pdf

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A5.1 The main requirement relates to use of Citizen Maths with learners on site. A provider will need to have ensured that the network has been configured to allow learners to access Citizen Maths. (We provide guidance on this on the Citizen Maths web site.) And learners will need to be able watch and listen to the videos that comprise a substantial component of Citizen Maths. A5.2 Our partnership document suggests an overall approach that a learning provider might wish to take if deploying Citizen Maths on a substantial basis.

Q6. What is the average amount of time a learner needs to devote to Citizen Maths to achieve a positive outcome? A6. Citizen Maths covers five powerful ideas in maths: measurement, pattern, proportion, representation, and uncertainty. Each would typically require between five and 10 hours to complete, depending on the user’s confidence and prior knowledge.

Q7. What evidence is there to suggest that engagement with Citizen Maths improves outcomes on other qualifications? A7.1 Currently the only evidence we have is anecdotal positive feedback from learners who feel that they have gained from using Citizen Maths, and from maths teachers who have told us that they think Citizen Maths meets a need. We summarise the range of different ways in which Citizen Maths meets need in our partnership document. A7.2 Bear in mind that we only went live with all five powerful ideas (see A6 above) in May 2016. We are in discussions internally and with a national funder about commissioning a rigorous external evaluation of Citizen Maths during 2016/2017.

Q8. Is there any evidence to the contrary i.e. that it takes attention away from more formal / accredited learning options and the potential risk to success rates? A8. None that we are aware of. See also A7.1 and A7.2 above.

Q9. Does the mapping of Citizen Maths (potentially) tie in to the new developments in apprenticeship reforms, such as new standards and the maths requirement within them? A9. This is a Good Question which we will be discussing with our partner OCR in the coming weeks.

Q10. One of my biggest challenges as a GFE College is to positively impact on the success of 16-18 year old school leavers in GCSE maths. To what extent does / might Citizen Maths help to improve these outcomes? A10. See A7.1 and A7.2 above. Any external evaluation that is configured will focus in part on answering this question. Remember that Citizen Maths has been designed primarily for “selfmotivated adults who want to improve their grasp of maths at Level 2”. For this reason it does not speak specifically to 16-18 year olds, who depending on your definition are not yet adults.

Q11. How does Citizen Maths integrate with other “online” learning products and / or our College VLE? A11.1 Citizen Maths does not integrate with your College VLE, except to the extent that you might decide to make “outbound” links from the VLE to Citizen Maths or parts thereof. (Citizen Maths comprises Powerful Ideas, Units, and Lessons. Each of these has a unique URL that a logged in user can access.)

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A11.2 Citizen Maths makes use of the following other web-based “online” learning products: Google Docs; Scratch; Geogebra.

Q12. How does Citizen Maths support the teachers of maths at Level 2 to improve their practice and / or improve their results? A12. We are aware that in at least some Further Education and Skills providers are scheduling teachers and trainers to teach or support maths learning at Level 2 who are not themselves all that secure in the underlying mathematics that they are teaching or supporting; or who may benefit from seeing how skilled and experienced maths teachers - Paula Philpott (South Eastern Regional College) and Noel-Ann Bradshaw (University of Greenwich) - approach their teaching. We say more about this in the appendix to our partnership document.

Q13. What level of employer endorsement does Citizen Maths have? Does it reflect the needs of employers and how is this known? A13. We have the British Army as a partner. But this should not be taken as endorsement of Citizen Maths by the British Army. We are also collaborating with unionlearn, the learning and skills organisation of the TUC.

Q14. Are there examples of Citizen Maths in use and demonstrating positive impact on: a) Engagement of “reluctant” maths learners b) The quality of teaching, learning and assessment of maths skills c) The progress of maths learner towards a defined learning goal(s) d) The success of learners on maths programmes e) Delivering benefits to organisations’ workforce development needs A14. Not yet. See A7.2 above.

Q15. What does student feedback tell me about the value of Citizen Maths to the learner? A15. There are some examples of student feedback in the content for the first three powerful ideas in the box below.

Q16. Can I commercialise aspects of Citizen Maths? Can I reasonably and legitimately charge organisations for its use? A16. Citizen Maths is copyright © Calderdale College, which also owns the Citizen Maths Trade Mark. However, with the exception of a small number of the assets that have been incorporated into Citizen Maths, the entire content is licensed under Creative Commons CC BY, thereby ensuring that others can reuse Citizen Maths with ease, commercially or otherwise. For more on this see the Citizen Maths Attribution Statement and Terms of Use.

Last updated: 6/6/2016

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A selection of user feedback 1. Very clear, straightforward, easy to access, excellent well thought out registration and entry processes. Not too tricky, uses simple but sophisticated methodology which the student experiences as clarity. Like the presenters, they feel authoritative and friendly. like the spreadsheet work, very useful the way that standard maths is melded with "computer" in a very natural way. 2.

Straight forward explanations.

3. What I liked about Citizen maths was that it took aspects of maths and related them in everyday issues. It also showed various ways of approaching everyday aspects of maths. 4. I could access the course whenever and carry on where I previously left off. You can go over bits of the course again as many times as you like and the context is very clear. 5. The concepts are explained simply without complex theories. Support tools such as scratch and spreadsheets - I consider them valuable. 6. I loved the fact that the examples used were things students could easily relate to like recipes etc. I think this would promote engagement and would help students to see the relevance of maths to their everyday lives. I liked the videos and I used a few in my own lessons. I think these could be something that students would use at home to augment class lessons and as a quick reminder when working at home. 7.

The explanations and the links to the 'real world'. I also loved the tips on how to use Excel.

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Great, keep it up adding more additional resources.

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It’s an 'anytime, anywhere' resource.

10. Liked the fact that you could try things out on the screen to test what you had just watched. 11. From the small amount I have been able to look at (lack of time on my part - nothing to do with the provision) it would have a huge impact on the (adult) learners I work with. The information is clearly explained, clearly written and the ability to 'rewind' and listen again to check understanding is very effective. I have already recommended it to a group of adult learning tutors I worked with last week. 12. The presenters are informative yet not authoritative which I believe is so important when delivering maths related content. Maths anxiety is such a problem that it is so important to deliver in a way that students can relate the concepts to their daily lives which I feel is a strength of your course. Another suggestion would be to provide a written transcript of the videos for those who like to read rather than listen. I am a listener so the videos were great, however, I do know that some students would rather read. 13. I am a mature student who have been taught Maths in my young days and at college on an access course but found the way I was taught difficult. This course delivered an ease and quality of the teaching material which allowed me to get the concept being taught very quickly. I was very very surprised and the fact you can go back and refresh your learning anytime is amazing. It has [replaced] my fear of Maths with a love of it. 14. I am really enjoying the course, I have recently started a new work area within the office where I need to use maths and I struggle with basic math which is why I decided to use this course. The apps and additional sites such as scratch are useful but I won’t be able to use them within the office. For me the paper calculation with a calculator is what I will benefit from the most, so as many ways of being able to use the calculator and basic maths is more useful at this time but it’s great to know that there are sites and apps available to use. I think the videos and sums are very clear and clearly explained, I don't feel rushed, it’s a nice pace. I do feel as though I'm learning and feel great when I am able to answer the questions with confidence after the lesson. I really hope there are other phases released in the future.

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15. The best two parts of Citizen Maths were Unit 3 Scaling and Unit 4 Sharing, they were both exciting and fun to work through. The rest was exciting too, but those two were my favorites. I was also glad that we were able to do the course in our own time, on the days we wanted and able to go back and review any parts of the course that we need to review. I really enjoyed it. 16. I used citizen maths to brush up my own skills, at the same time taking into consideration whether citizen maths would be appropriate for our students, given that I work in a work based learning environment, where maths and English is largely a core focus in a range of training programmes. I found instructions easy to follow, tutorials were very useful and reinforcement used effectively. It is a programme I would consider using for our learners. 17. One of the hardest things to inject into any learning programme is a lightness, possibly humour but not necessarily jokes etc. There is always the danger of this being a bit lame or self-consciously "jolly", but the course is great and could only be improved by channelling that lightness which helps people enjoy their learning even more.

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