New ICCAMS Trial

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New ICCAMS Trial

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New ICCAMS trial

ICCAMS2: Increasing Competence and Confidence in Algebra and Multiplicative Structures

The ICCAMS project is designed to enable teachers to implement formative assessment in secondary classrooms. The project is led by Professor Jeremy Hodgen and funded by the Education Endowment Foundation.

ICCAMS focuses on two mathematical areas that are a key part of the Key Stage 3 curriculum, but which cause particular problems to students – algebra and multiplicative reasoning (e.g., percentages and proportions). The programme was originally developed with funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and is comprised of 40 evidence-informed lessons with additional assessment tasks and extensive teacher professional development. The lessons are designed to help teachers use formative assessment in maths, helping teachers to identify the problems pupils struggle with and how to address them.

The team at University of Nottingham will develop the existing ICCAMS materials and create a two-year CPD package consisting of 9 days of training and support in between. We will then work with the Durham University to deliver an “effectiveness trial” of a scalable model involving 110 schools. The trial will be independently evaluated by a team of researchers from the University of Manchester.

Investigating Low Attainment in Mathematics: a study of Year 9 students in England (ILAM9)

Low attainment is acknowledged to be one of the most serious problems in mathematics education. Evidence from ICCAMS study indicates that, in England, the problem of low attainment is getting worse rather than better. Somewhat surprisingly, relatively little recent research has focused on low attainment in secondary mathematics.

Led by Professor Jeremy Hodgen, the ILAM9 project will address this issue with funding from the Nuffield Foundation. A team of researchers at Universities of Nottingham and Durham will investigate the following questions:

What mathematics do low attaining secondary students understand, and what are their particular strengths and weaknesses in number, multiplicative reasoning and algebra?
To what extent do low attaining students understand mathematics in qualitatively different ways to high attaining students?
To what extent do low attaining students’ understandings of mathematics help to explain the existence of the attainment gap?
What is currently known about the effectiveness of teaching strategies and approaches that address low attainment in secondary mathematics?
To what extent is mathematics currently taught in appropriate ways for low attainers?