BSc Mathematics with Education and QTS

Welcome to Sheffield Hallam University and to the three year BSc in Mathematics with Education and QTS. This page contains some suggestions about how you might prepare yourself for the course.

First, some reassurance: Some students express the fear that mathematics at university will begin where ‘A’ level stops, and hence they expect that the work here will be significantly harder than the level at which they have been working. Our aim in the first year of the course is to re-visit, consolidate and begin to extend work with which you will already be familiar from your ‘A’ level or equivalent course. You may also wish to brush up your basic algebra, functions, trigonometry and calculus. You could borrow any ‘A’ level text from the library but we find that the MEI Structured Mathematics A level textbooks (third edition), published by Hodder and Stoughton, have a practical, easy to read style which make them suitable for recapping A level work. The core part of the MEI books come in 2 parts, one containing C1 and C2 (A/S level) and one for the A2 modules, C3 and C4.

During the course, you will be presented with a model of mathematics, and of teaching and learning, which may be very different from that which you have experienced during your ‘A’ level or other course. In the introductory sessions to each of your semester one modules, you will be given a reading list which will give you a flavour of the kind of mathematics, and mathematical approaches, which will be encountered in that module. The majority of these texts will be available for loan from the University’s Learning Centres. Some of these titles may also be in your local library. The course aims to help you become aware of the multi-cultural roots of mathematics, and also to enable you to place your learning within a historical context.

For those of you who are interested in doing some preparatory reading, I am listing below some titles which you might find interesting. You are not expected to purchase these books, but any local library will be able to order them for you to borrow, and you might choose to purchase one or two.

Two books which raise some of the cultural issues in mathematics education are:

• Alic, M, Hypatia’s Heritage, The Women’s Press
• Joseph, G, The Crest of the Peacock, Penguin

The following books cover some challenging issues associated with teaching mathematics in secondary schools:

• Boaler, J, Experiencing School Mathematics: Teaching Styles, Sex and Setting, Open University Press
• Ollerton, M & Watson, A, Inclusive Mathematics 11-18, : Continuum

And, for fun:

• Acheson, D, 1089 and All That – a Journey into Mathematics, OUP
• Leapfrogs Group, Images of Infinity, Tarquin
• Peterson, I, The Mathematical Tourist, Freeman
• …plus almost any book by Martin Gardner.

Each of these books includes topics relevant to the course and all of them are accessible for the general reader.

You will find it useful to have your own graphical calculator. We find the Texas TI83 plus meets most students’ demands and is particularly good for the statistics work in the second year of the course. It is more important though that you can use a graphical calculator with confidence than that you have any particular one.

We look forward to meeting you at the beginning of next term. Your course begins on Monday 18th September 2017 with enrolment. Please note that from enrolment day onwards, your course will be very full, with activities and sessions on most days during term time

Typically, there will be taught sessions from 9:00am until midday, and from 1:00 – 4:00pm; up to four days each week, with whole day visits on the fifth day for much of the year.   As explained at your interview, you are expected to attend fully and arrive punctually at all taught sessions. You should not arrange any holiday during term time.

If you have queries about accommodation, then the accommodation office should be able to help. You can contact them on 0114 225 5555, ask for ‘accommodation services.’

If you have anything you would like to talk about before then please do not hesitate to telephone the faculty helpdesk on 0114 225 3636 who will be able to put you through to a member of the Mathematics Education team.

Emma Rempe-Gillen