In this episode, we talk to Liz Woodham, Primary Coordinator at NRICH, about the Problem-solving Schools initiative and its aims to support the development of reasoning and problem-solving skills for pupils and students from Reception to post-16. Liz shares insights into the initiative's process, including the use of webinars and rich tasks to support schools, and we also look at the relationship between problem-solving and reasoning and their importance in a well-rounded maths education.

A transcript (PDF) of this episode is available to download.

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Show notesTaking part in the discussion:* Liz Woodham, Primary Coordinator, NRICH, University of Cambridge * Julia Thomson, Senior Communications and Marketing Manager, NCETM.

Episode chapters* 00:00 Introduction * 04:00 Problem-solving Schools initiative * 05:08 The Kilpatrick Rope Model * 08:39 The Five Big Ideas in Teaching for Mastery * 10:26 Framework and goals of the Problem-solving Schools initiative * 17:22 ‘NRICH-style’ problems and SATs-style problems * 20:05 Developing a ‘productive disposition’ * 22:16 Making time for problem-solving * 26:12 What is reasoning and problem-solving? * 29:52 Exploring and noticing * 37:26 Conclusion and how to get involved.

Useful links* NRICH Problem-solving Schools initiative * NRICH Kilpatrick Rope Model * NRICH game mentioned in podcast: Make 37 * Previous NCETM Maths Podcast discussion with NRICH: Episode 77 - Maths Games * Mentioned by Julia: Five Big Ideas in Teaching for Mastery * Feature on RIWGs: Research and Innovation in the Maths Hubs Network * Explore previous episodes of the NCETM podcast in our archive.