The Dyscalculia Network announces that Maths Anxiety Awareness Day, will be held on Wednesday 10th November every year. We will be publicising events around the day via our website and social media channels.
Friday 10th November 2023
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Tickets
We are delighted to announce that we will be holding an awareness day of events online. All of the webinars will be recorded so you can watch them at your leisure.
Educators
£50.00
9:3Øam – 1:3Øpm
View Speakers
This runs from 9:3Øam until 1:3Øpm and the list of speakers and their subject talk is available through the link above.
Parents
£15.00
4:ØØpm – 6:3Øpm
View Speakers
This runs from 4:ØØpm to 6:3Øpm and the list of speakers and their subject talk is available through the link above.
Adults
£10.00
7:ØØpm – 8:3Øpm
View Speakers
This runs from 7:ØØpm to 8:3Øpm and the list of speakers and their subject talk is available through the link above.
Talks on Maths Anxiety for Educators
During our Maths Anxiety Day 2023, the Dyscalculia Network will host a lineup of educators representing a broad spectrum of backgrounds.
Rob Jennings
Co-Founder of The Dyscalculia Network
Introduction to The Maths Anxiety Awareness Day.
Margaret Brown
Emeritus Professor of Mathematics Education, King’s College London; President of the Maths Anxiety Trust; Chair of MathsWorldUK.
‘What is Maths Anxiety? How prevalent is it? What causes it? What can you do to reduce it?’
Zeena Hicks
An accredited positive psychology coach, speaker, author, and founder of Positive Education UK & Ireland
Zeena is an accredited positive psychology coach, speaker, author, and founder of Positive Education UK & Ireland.
As a mum of two neurodivergent boys, she has witnessed first-hand the impact that labels can have on young people, leading her to advocate for increasing awareness, celebrating differences, and fostering positive neuro-affirming environments in educational settings.
She will present: ‘
‘Teacher Well-being’. Creating a Psychologically Safe Environment:
What does a neuro-affirming environment look like?
Strength-Based Feedback: Discuss how teachers can provide constructive, aligned strength-based feedback to foster a growth mindset, thereby reducing stress and anxiety in students and staff.
Sue Johnstone-Wilder
Associate Professor of Maths Education and a Coach for Mathematical Resilience
Maths Anxiety and how to address it
Sue is Associate Professor of Maths Education and a Coach for Mathematical Resilience. Her background is secondary maths teaching, teacher-development, curriculum development, mentoring and coaching. For the last 15 years, she has specialised in addressing maths anxiety and has co-developed the Mathematical Resilience framework. She is co-founder of the international Mathematical Resilience Network and co-editor of the Mathematical Resilience book (2024)
“If nobody is talking about it, it must be me.” Brene Brown
It’s about needing to feel safe.
The mums were so relieved to hear that maths anxiety is “real”, and that they weren’t the only ones who felt physically sick before maths lessons, and made to feel stupid. They loved the approach of safeguarding, and hadn’t previously thought about healing the maths trauma they had carried for decades. Everyone needs to hear this vital message.’
And being able to communicate feelings using the growth zone model.
Students can let me know when the work is too easy for them and they need me to give them something more challenging by simply telling me “these questions are all green for me, can I have some harder ones” and other students have been able to let me know when they are starting to find it too much: “these are in my yellow but approaching my red Miss”.
Sue will share a new way to look at maths anxiety and start you on a journey of discovery.
Janet Goring
Chairwomen for Specific Learning Difficulties Assessment Committee (SASC)
Identifying and Supporting pupils with maths anxiety in Maths lessons.
Janet has taught for twenty-five years as a class teacher. More recently she worked as a specialist teacher supporting pupils with specific learning difficulties, having completed a Masters in SpLD. She recently retired as Manager of a local authority team of specialist teachers and now works as an Inclusion Advisor for the LA.
She is currently chairing the national working group re-examining the definition and guidance for Dyscalculia and Maths Difficulties for SASC (Specific Learning Difficulties Assessment Committee).
For the last six years, Janet has led work groups for the Maths Hubs focussing on supporting students with SEND through a graduated approach.
This presentation will present the findings of a two-year project addressing the needs of pupils with maths anxiety. This involved: Developing a simple tool to evaluate students’ attitudes using ‘Zones of regulation’; Trialling different strategies to discover what works best in individual settings and producing a PowerPoint to share with pupils (aimed at upper KS2 and KS3) to discuss how students could tackle any negative feelings towards maths.
Talks on Maths Anxiety for Parents
During our Maths Anxiety Day 2023, the Dyscalculia Network will host a lineup of educators representing a broad spectrum of backgrounds for dealing with Maths Anxiety for Parents.
Rob Jennings
Co-Founder of The Dyscalculia Network
Tips to help reduce Maths Anxiety at home
James Grimes
Mathematician and public speaker
Making Maths Fun! - MathsCity
Dr James Grime is a mathematician and public speaker. James travels the world and the internet giving public talks on maths and is content manager for MathsWorldUK and MathsCity Leeds.
MathsCity in Leeds uses hands-on exhibits to allow visitors to play with maths. Let’s try to do the same thing in our virtual session! James will present some mathematical activities we can all try at home. Mathematical ideas that spark our curiosity.
Zeena Hicks
An accredited positive psychology coach, speaker, author, and founder of Positive Education UK & Ireland
Zeena accredited positive psychology coach, speaker, author, and founder of Positive Education UK & Ireland. As a mum of two neurodivergent boys, she has witnessed first-hand the impact that labels can have on young people, leading her to advocate for increasing awareness, celebrating differences, and fostering positive neuro-affirming environments in educational settings.
Perceptions of Weakness: Learn how a child’s perceived weaknesses can affect their mental health and how to use a strengths-based approach to help children reframe these perceptions positively.
Dyadic Coping: The science behind connective parenting. How parents can increase awareness of and manage their own stressors related to external influences and their child’s academic struggles, thereby positively influencing the child’s own coping mechanisms.
The Art of Active Listening: An introduction for parents on active listening techniques to validate their child’s experience, lessening anxiety and promoting emotional wellbeing.
Mental Wellbeing Toolbox: An overview of simple, actionable strategies and resources that parents can use to enhance their child’s emotional resilience.
Dominic Petronzi
Mathematician and public speaker.
Maths Anxiety: A storybook approach
Dominic worked on a range of projects within the area of maths anxiety. His research focuses on understanding the development of maths anxiety, how it relates to educational experiences/career trajectories, and approaches to reduce it.
Dominic has authored and piloted a maths anxiety storybook approach to normalize maths talk in children and to support emotion regulation as a first step to countering maths anxiety. He is also involved in a project to validate a therapy dog intervention for reducing math anxiety and is currently exploring the lived experiences and influence of dyscalculia or maths learning difficulties in UK adolescent-aged school children.
Karen Go-Soco
Lead Maths and Supply Teacher
Your household maths resource kit
Karen has worked as a primary school teacher, lead maths and supply teacher, deputy head, tutor, childminder and mother of three children! During this time, she has developed a passion for teaching maths and for encouraging a positive, confident attitude towards the subject. She is well known for her development of innovative maths games and activities (www.fixitmaths.com)
Resources for maths don’t have to be shop bought or expensive. You may be surprised to find that you already have many items in your home that can be used to support understanding of key maths concepts and skills. Discover the maths potential of everyday objects such as pegs, bottle tops and matchsticks and see how they can be used to help your child.
March Russel
Certified Breathwork Consultant
Breathing Techniques to help control and alleviate Maths Anxiety
March is a certified breathwork consultant, providing tailored support and scientifically-backed breathing tools to manage and improve stress, anxiety, productivity, anxiety, energy levels, mood, sleep quality and much more.
Breathing techniques are incredibly powerful tools which have the power to effectively hack into our nervous system, boost our immune system, boost our stress resilience and restore our health. Each day we breathe over 23,000 times a day, with each and every breath sending signals back to the body and brain to shift in a certain direction. The way we breathe affects every system in our body and has a direct effect on our mental and physical health
March teaches one-to-one, in schools and in companies. Past clients include the likes of Google, Tesla, ITV, Schroders, Zoe, Nike and The Economist. He is about to launch a subscription service in an application form which will hold a variety of teachers and carefully curated content for your everyday use. You can subscribe to the newsletter for its imminent launch via this link: www.thebreathofficial.com.
Speakers for Maths Anxiety for Adults
Speakers include Rob and Emily sharing Maths Anxiety experiences
Top Tips for reducing and avoiding Maths Anxiety
March Russell (breathing exercises as in the Parents one)
Q & A