Adult Maths & Multiply
Overview
MEI can work with you to support the delivery of adult mathematics, numeracy and Multiply in a variety of adult settings including Adult and FE colleges, apprenticeship and independent training providers, and anywhere that adults are studying mathematics or numeracy.
Our dedicated team of innovative & creative maths specialists have extensive experience of teaching and leading in the adult maths sector.
Our offer
- Professional development – CPD for teachers and leaders of adult maths, in person or online, single sessions through to longer courses
- Resources – We can design resources specific to your setting or review your resources to make them even better
- Mentoring, coaching and consultancy – We can offer in house mentoring, coaching and consultancy for maths leaders & teachers
- Enrichment – We can run a maths festival or maths competition within or across organisations
Professional development
Adult Maths CPD Menu
- This CPD offer covers all the key ingredients of teaching, learning and assessment needed to teach adult maths learners.
- You can choose elements from the CPD menu to build your own event that suits your establishment’s priorities and your teachers’ development needs. An experienced member of MEI’s adult team will then design and deliver your tailored professional development, at a time and place to suit you.
- Your event could be a single element, delivered over 90 minutes or a half-day, or you can mix a combination of elements to build a more comprehensive professional development experience.
- All elements from the menu can be delivered face-to-face or online.
Which topics can I choose?
Each topic has a range of elements. You can explore each topic and its elements below.
Real World Maths
Browse elementsMaths in the workplace
Explore a variety of examples of maths used in places of work including key mathematical skills such as time, money and proportional reasoning.
Maths in everyday life
Investigate examples such as maths in the news, budgeting, understanding data, probability and risks. There will be a problem-solving element using real-life, everyday scenarios.
Making sense of data
Discover ways to help learners make sense of the vast amount of data all around us. Take the chance to explore ways to interpret data and its visual representations in the media in addition to investigating how and when data could be misleading.
Finance and debt
Explore methods to assist students in understanding finance and debt management, encompassing topics such as loans, savings, credit cards, and overdrafts.
Reducing the cost of living
Investigate methods for determining the best purchases, budgeting efficiently, and effectively managing income and expenditures.
Embedding maths
Multiply offers the opportunity to highlight the maths in many different areas such as sport, art, gardening and cooking. Explore activity ideas for non-maths teachers to include in their sessions.
Family numeracy
Learn ways to help support adult maths learners to make connections between school mathematics, real-world and family situations in a quest to support their children with numeracy.
Bridging the gap
Discover techniques to help learners bridge the gap from multiply to accredited courses and implement effective support systems to address barriers that may hinder progress.
People maths
This session is about unleashing the power of people as manipulatives. In this dynamic CPD session, prepare to immerse yourself in the fascinating realm of ‘People Maths’ where real-world manipulatives take centre stage.
Contextualisation
Explore successful practice in the promotion and use of context within maths lessons.
Motivation, Engagement, and Confidence Building
Browse elementsUsing technology
Investigate the effective use of technology (including AI) to introduce and explore concepts, consolidate and practice, collaborate, assess and communicate ideas.
Using Desmos
Desmos is a powerful teaching and learning platform, that can be used in a classroom or online. Experience it from both a student and a teacher perspective and discover its relevance in assessment and learning, its many existing resources and how to create new Desmos activities.
Demystifying the language of maths
Explore strategies to support learners with comprehension and navigating mathematical language. This would benefit everyone but be particularly useful for those teaching maths to ESOL students
Helping adults learn through cognitive load
Many adults come with maths anxiety and previous negative experiences of maths. Learn ways to support learners with this including investigating cognitive load theory and growth mindset.
Inclusion by design
Improve understanding of the difficulties that many learners have with mathematics and to develop a range of strategies to support students, particularly those with SEND.
Exciting and stimulating lessons
Ensure maximum student engagement inside and outside of the maths classroom by employing a range of strategies tailored for the adult learner.
Assessing and Responding
Browse elementsMaking use of feedback
Explore the different forms of feedback which can empower both practitioners and learners.
Planning & sequencing
Develop strategies for effective, efficient and impactful collaborative planning practices.
Adaptive teaching
Explore effective assessment techniques for a diverse range of students. Look at how to diagnose misconceptions and gaps in learners’ knowledge then adapt your teaching accordingly.
Mathematical questioning
Explore effective questioning strategies which motivate learners, assess learning and develop mathematical thinking and reasoning skills.
Maths in the workplace
Explore a variety of examples of maths used in places of work including key mathematical skills such as time, money and proportional reasoning.
Maths in everyday life
Investigate examples such as maths in the news, budgeting, understanding data, probability and risks. There will be a problem-solving element using real-life, everyday scenarios.
Making sense of data
Discover ways to help learners make sense of the vast amount of data all around us. Take the chance to explore ways to interpret data and its visual representations in the media in addition to investigating how and when data could be misleading.
Finance and debt
Explore methods to assist students in understanding finance and debt management, encompassing topics such as loans, savings, credit cards, and overdrafts.
Reducing the cost of living
Investigate methods for determining the best purchases, budgeting efficiently, and effectively managing income and expenditures.
Embedding maths
Multiply offers the opportunity to highlight the maths in many different areas such as sport, art, gardening and cooking. Explore activity ideas for non-maths teachers to include in their sessions.
Family numeracy
Learn ways to help support adult maths learners to make connections between school mathematics, real-world and family situations in a quest to support their children with numeracy.
Bridging the gap
Discover techniques to help learners bridge the gap from multiply to accredited courses and implement effective support systems to address barriers that may hinder progress.
People maths
This session is about unleashing the power of people as manipulatives. In this dynamic CPD session, prepare to immerse yourself in the fascinating realm of ‘People Maths’ where real-world manipulatives take centre stage.
Contextualisation
Explore successful practice in the promotion and use of context within maths lessons.
Using technology
Investigate the effective use of technology (including AI) to introduce and explore concepts, consolidate and practice, collaborate, assess and communicate ideas.
Using Desmos
Desmos is a powerful teaching and learning platform, that can be used in a classroom or online. Experience it from both a student and a teacher perspective and discover its relevance in assessment and learning, its many existing resources and how to create new Desmos activities.
Demystifying the language of maths
Explore strategies to support learners with comprehension and navigating mathematical language. This would benefit everyone but be particularly useful for those teaching maths to ESOL students
Helping adults learn through cognitive load
Many adults come with maths anxiety and previous negative experiences of maths. Learn ways to support learners with this including investigating cognitive load theory and growth mindset.
Inclusion by design
Improve understanding of the difficulties that many learners have with mathematics and to develop a range of strategies to support students, particularly those with SEND.
Exciting and stimulating lessons
Ensure maximum student engagement inside and outside of the maths classroom by employing a range of strategies tailored for the adult learner.
Making use of feedback
Explore the different forms of feedback which can empower both practitioners and learners.
Planning & sequencing
Develop strategies for effective, efficient and impactful collaborative planning practices.
Adaptive teaching
Explore effective assessment techniques for a diverse range of students. Look at how to diagnose misconceptions and gaps in learners’ knowledge then adapt your teaching accordingly.
Mathematical questioning
Explore effective questioning strategies which motivate learners, assess learning and develop mathematical thinking and reasoning skills.
Representation and Structure
Browse elementsBar models
Discover the benefits of working with bar models to teach proportion and algebra.
Ratio tables
Explore how ratio tables can be used as an effective way of working with proportion and can support learners across many topic areas.
Manipulatives
Not just for children – find out how many adults find manipulatives (concrete objects) an excellent way of making sense of more abstract concepts and developing maths skills.
Mathematical thinking, Fluency, and Variation
Browse elementsProblem solving
Experience and reflect on a range of problem-solving activities to use with adult learners.
Reasoning and thinking in maths
Explore how ratio tables can be used as an effective way of working with proportion and can support learners across many topic areas.
Connections in maths
To support students in their thinking and reasoning skills to underpin fluency and problem solving.
Spicing up revision
Discover effective revision techniques and explore some innovative and unusual ways of engaging learners when preparing them for exams.
Bar models
Discover the benefits of working with bar models to teach proportion and algebra.
Ratio tables
Explore how ratio tables can be used as an effective way of working with proportion and can support learners across many topic areas.
Manipulatives
Not just for children – find out how many adults find manipulatives (concrete objects) an excellent way of making sense of more abstract concepts and developing maths skills.
Problem solving
Experience and reflect on a range of problem-solving activities to use with adult learners.
Reasoning and thinking in maths
Explore how ratio tables can be used as an effective way of working with proportion and can support learners across many topic areas.
Connections in maths
To support students in their thinking and reasoning skills to underpin fluency and problem solving.
Spicing up revision
Discover effective revision techniques and explore some innovative and unusual ways of engaging learners when preparing them for exams.
Extended Courses
We also offer the extended course online or face-to-face
A mastery approach in an adult setting
You can study this as a complete course of 6 sessions or each session can be run individually.
Explore sessionsSession 1: Engagement and Confidence Building
Adult learners often come with maths ‘baggage’ – anxiety, low confidence, difficult experiences, and general fear of the subject. We will look at strategies for engaging learners and developing resilience and confidence.
Session 2: Assessing and Responding
Adult classes can be made up from learners with a diverse range of prior experiences and knowledge. We will look at ways to assess skills and knowledge, diagnose misconceptions and respond to learners’ needs.
Session 3: Representation and structure
In this session we will talk about the CPA approach and how representations and models can help learners ‘see’ and understand maths concepts.
We will look at using representations including ratio tables and bar models to support students, reduce cognitive load and help give efficient ways of doing maths.
Session 4: Fluency and Variation
In addition to recalling number facts, fluency requires learners to have the flexibility to recognise relationships and make connections between areas of maths. In this session we will explore approaches that help with fluency. Procedural and conceptual variation will be examined as a way of structuring learning.
Session 5: Mathematical thinking
Problem-solving and reasoning are often a struggle for students. In this session we will look at different strategies to support with this by developing mathematical thinking and communication skills.
Session 6: Planning for Mastery
We will look at planning a coherent learning progression, providing access for all pupils to develop a deep and connected understanding of mathematics.
Session 1: Engagement and Confidence Building
Adult learners often come with maths ‘baggage’ – anxiety, low confidence, difficult experiences, and general fear of the subject. We will look at strategies for engaging learners and developing resilience and confidence.
Session 2: Assessing and Responding
Adult classes can be made up from learners with a diverse range of prior experiences and knowledge. We will look at ways to assess skills and knowledge, diagnose misconceptions and respond to learners’ needs.
Session 3: Representation and structure
In this session we will talk about the CPA approach and how representations and models can help learners ‘see’ and understand maths concepts.
We will look at using representations including ratio tables and bar models to support students, reduce cognitive load and help give efficient ways of doing maths.
Session 4: Fluency and Variation
In addition to recalling number facts, fluency requires learners to have the flexibility to recognise relationships and make connections between areas of maths. In this session we will explore approaches that help with fluency. Procedural and conceptual variation will be examined as a way of structuring learning.
Session 5: Mathematical thinking
Problem-solving and reasoning are often a struggle for students. In this session we will look at different strategies to support with this by developing mathematical thinking and communication skills.
Session 6: Planning for Mastery
We will look at planning a coherent learning progression, providing access for all pupils to develop a deep and connected understanding of mathematics.
Teachers and leaders of 16-19 students studying towards achieving a grade 4 GCSE should visit our funded FE Maths CPD Programme
Multiply is a new government-funded programme to help adults improve their numeracy skills.
Find out more
Have you registered to stay informed?
Registering allows us to update you on this activity, including when the in-development elements of this programme are available.
Register to stay informedMentoring, coaching & consultancy, adult maths CPD Menu and resource design and writing costs can be discussed with our adult maths team, dependent on your needs.
Resources
- We can design and write maths or Multiply activities, lessons or short courses to meet your students’ needs
- Topics could include anything from the Multiply list of interventions such as everyday maths or finance and debt
- Reviewing your resources to make them even better
Mentoring, coaching & consultancy
- Mentoring teaching staff
- Coaching leaders
- Working alongside teachers in the classroom
- Can be a blend of online or in-house
- Working as a critical friend
Enrichment
- Supporting you to run a maths festival
- Working with you to run a maths competition
Testimonials
Amazing session with lots of various activities that we can use with our learners
Useful strategies such as Frayer model, diagnostic questions, number games will help me embed maths in my English lessons