Jane Moreton (Secondary Mathematics PGCE Tutor) and Isabelle Schafer (PGCE Secondary Modern Languages Subject Leader)
In January 2018, PGCE Modern Languages trainees and PGCE Mathematics trainees planned cross-curricular activities at the University of Worcester. Trainees’ interpretation of how to embed numeracy in their teaching and how to take into account pupils’ language needs were influenced by professional dialogue. They created thought provoking activities and they taught each other symmetry through famous French buildings, sports vocabulary through probability, food through combinations, averages through world competitions etc.
Feedback from trainees was overwhelmingly positive:
Modern Languages trainee: “This week the session with the maths trainees really helped me to see the infinite number of ways in which we can incorporate elements of maths into language lessons and how fun this can be for the students. I feel that I will have no trouble implementing these activities into my own lessons.”
Modern Languages trainee: “I taught a lesson in the TL that contained a very specific element of mathematics and it worked really well! This is something I would like to do with my pupils this term.”
Mathematics Trainee: “I found that planning the task was challenging due to the time constraints and the mix of subjects. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of working with the MFL students as it was a great opportunity to compare the pedagogical approaches to each subject. We, as a group, discovered that we could find many connections between the two differing subjects and their pedagogy.”
Mathematics trainee: “The cross curriculum modern foreign language session this week was amazing. The collaborative planning was difficult but it was great to see how the MFL students plan. All groups produced tasks that I would love to try in maths lesson and it may be possible to alter the tasks to help assist EAL students.”