Funmaths Roadshow and Liverpool Maths Club: Further Expansion and Developments

该项目的底线是需要更多的年轻人将数学视为一项令人兴奋和相关的活动。数学路演从1999年开始发展，这是利物浦数学协会成立100周年，该协会拥有路演。到目前为止，它由10个“盒子”组成，每个“盒子”有25个活动。从小学高年级到小学六年级都有。每个活动都是一个问题，装在A3卡片上，必要时配有适当的简单设备。这些问题适合混合能力的群体。他们可以在CD上获得，但路演会访问学校-在上一个PPE奖的两年中，英国（和马恩岛）有150多所学校，涉及10,000多名学生和数百名教师。在这些课程中有学生和工作人员的助手，年龄较大的学生也可以在与年龄较小的学生的课程中提供帮助。会议的气氛总是非常热烈。在上一个奖项期间，一个由各级教师和学生组成的团队开发了一套全新的中小学和大学VI表格，并于2005年10月发布了包含问题的CD。新提案计划推进这些发展，以及其他完全出乎意料的发展，比如英语以外的语言（法语、威尔士语和苏格兰盖尔语正在试验中）。到目前为止，外语试验一直在英国进行，但包括法国和非洲法语国家在内的其他国家也在积极考虑之中。预期的其他新方向是一些活动的交互式信息和通信技术版本、以功能数学（核心技能）为目标的平行盒子和以统计和概率为主题的盒子。网页将会据此而发展。一个平行的发展是利物浦数学俱乐部，它的目标是获得普通中等教育证书，在学校的课程是基于问题的。数学俱乐部和路演是非常有效的，当他们一起进入一个学校。再一次，学生助手，通常是研究生，被使用，非正式的气氛自然导致讨论研究和数学家做什么。我们计划开发一些问题集，将重点放在基础研究的想法上，所有的调查员都与实际和可访问的性质的研究密切相关。与其他组织，特别是SETNET、特殊学校信托基金（数学和语言）和皇家学院大师班建立了联系。这些联系将得到扩展，其他联系将与新的国家数学教学卓越中心一起建立。虽然过去三年的许多发展都是团队努力的结果，但大部分的管理和学校访问都是由利物浦大学的退休员工Ian Porteous博士完成的。Ian想要扮演一个不那么积极的角色，这个提议是为了一个经理（研究助理）来接管这些关键的角色。合作伙伴是利物浦数学协会，数学路演的发起者和所有者，以及利物浦霍普大学。尽管LivMS与默西塞德郡的教师有着密切的联系，但它在新材料的开发中发挥着至关重要的作用。LHU是初级教师培训的主要提供者，通过其合作学校和现在和以前的PGCE学生在教学专业中建立了广泛的联系网络。路演光碟已在LHU制作，资讯及通讯科技资料的开发工作也已开始。

The bottom line of the project is that more young people need to be enthused into considering mathematics as an exciting and relevant activity. The Funmaths Roadshow has been developing since 1999, the centenary year of the Liverpool Mathematical Society, which owns the Roadshow. It consists of, so far, 10 'boxes' of 25 activities each. These are at all levels from upper primary to VI form. Each activity is a problem, mounted on laminated A3 card, with appropriate simple equipment if necessary. The problems are suitable for mixed-ability groups. They are available on CD but the Roadshow visits schools---over 150 schools all over the UK (and the Isle of Man) in the two years of the previous PPE award, involving well over 10,000 pupils as well as hundreds of teachers. At these sessions there are student and staff helpers, and also older pupils can assist at sessions with younger ones. The atmosphere in the sessions is always highly enthusiastic.During the previous award an entirely new set of boxes for VI form in schools and colleges was developed, by a team consisting of teachers and students at many levels, and the CD containing the problems was released in October 2005. The new proposal plans to carry forward these developments, and others which were entirely unexpected such as languages other than English (French, Welsh and Scots Gaelic are just being trialled). So far the foreign language trials have been in the UK but other countries, including France and francophone Africa, are under active consideration. Other new directions anticipated are interactive ICT versions of some of the activities, parallel boxes aimed at functional mathematics (core skills) and boxes with statistics and probability as their theme. The webpage will be developed in line with this.A parallel development is the Liverpool Maths Club which aims at about GCSE attainment and whose sessions in school are problem-based. Maths Club and Roadshow are very effective when taken together into a school. Again student helpers, often postgraduates, are used, and the informal atmosphere leads naturally to discussion of research and what mathematicians do. We plan to develop some of the problem sets to be focussed on ideas underlying research, and all the Investigators have close links with research of a practical and accessible nature.Links have been developing with other organizations, SETNET, The Specialist Schools Trust (mathematics and languages) and the Royal Institution Masterclasses particularly. These links will be extended and others built with the new National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics.While the numerous developments over the past 3 years have been the result of team effort, much of the administration and school visiting has been done by Dr Ian Porteous, a retired member of staff at the University of Liverpool. Ian would like to take a less active role, and this proposal is for a manager (research assistant) who will take over these crucial roles.The partners are the Liverpool Mathematical Society, originators and owners of the Funmaths Roadshow, and Liverpool Hope University. The LivMS, though its strong links with teachers on Merseyside, is crucially involved in the development of new materials. LHU is a major provider of initial teacher training and through its Partnership Schools and its current and former PGCE students has an extensive network of connections in the teaching profession. The Roadshow CD has been produced at LHU and the development of ICT materials is beginning there.