Liz Gibbs

National and International Maths Consultant

Workshop Information:

In a mastery curriculum it is difficult to support all learners adequately, especially those children who need to work at greater depth.

This workshop will take as a starting point, a simple Grade 1 problem or puzzle.  

The puzzle or problem will seemingly have only one answer. 

However, during this workshop, you will be shown that through exploration, adapting, questioning and pattern spotting all learners can be engaged with the same problem at the same time but at different thinking levels.  

Over the last few years these seemingly simple problems have been taught across the whole primary range in mixed ability classes and at Liz’s more able maths workshops.  

The activities are never finished, as there is always so much to learn and find out.

Session Outcomes:

By the end of the workshop, you will have a worked example of a simple problem which can be used across the primary age range, extending all learners.

Biography:

Liz is an experienced teacher and has taught all year groups from nursery to Year 8.  In addition to her teaching experience, she has ten years of local authority school improvement work as a maths adviser and has worked as a regional director for the National Whiteboard Network at the DfE.

Since leaving local authority work in 2011, Liz has developed her school improvement work nationally and internationally, has become a published author/editor and has written page content and educational scripts for BBC bitesize.   She has also written educational maths scripts for two independent film companies based in the UK.

Through her consultancy work, she supports senior leaders and teachers at individual schools and runs courses for maths teachers.  Liz is at her happiest teaching and running maths workshops for children across the UK and internationally.

Keeping up to date is important to her and alongside membership of the ATM/MA primary working group, Liz is also an accredited PD Lead for the NCETM with her local Maths Hub (Angles).  Involvement with the NCETM hub includes regular training and delivering local professional development for teachers and early career teachers.  Over the past four years, Liz has been involved with running Research and Innovation Working Groups across the primary and early secondary phase.