Skills you learn from Mathematics (Year 11)

This is one of three lesson plans designed for Year 11 Mathematics teachers:

• Jobs that use Mathematics (Year 11)
• Skills you learn from Mathematics (Year 11)
• Why study A-Level Mathematics? (Year 11)

These lesson plans will help you show students how Maths connects to their future careers.

We recommend using this lesson plan at the end of the autumn term. By this point Year 11 students have over a year of GCSE Maths behind them and are beginning to weigh post-16 options. Recognising the skills they've built - and seeing where the same skills are developed in other subjects - helps them choose a complementary set of A-Levels, T-Levels, or training routes.

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Learning objectives

• Students will name specific skills they've built through GCSE Maths, with examples.
• Students will recognise other subjects that build the same skills.
• Students will consider how that shapes their post-16 choices.

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Before the lesson

• You will need a computer connected to the internet and a classroom screen.
• Open the What can you do with Mathematics? page and have it ready on the screen.
• Review the Skills that Mathematics builds section and think of recent teaching examples for each one.

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During the lesson

1. What have we studied over GCSE? (5 mins)

• Ask students to call out topics and techniques they've covered in GCSE Maths.
• Write the suggestions on the board and highlight any patterns.

2. Skills that Maths builds (15 mins)

• Bring up the What can you do with Mathematics? page on the classroom screen.
• Review the contents of the page with students so that they understand what it covers.
• Scroll to the Skills that Mathematics builds section and work through each skill in turn.
  • Ask students which topic or problem from the board involved that skill.
  • Share your own teaching examples if students are stuck.

3. The same skills in other subjects (10 mins)

• Ask students to think about where else they've built these same skills.
  • Which other subjects involve logical reasoning and step-by-step argument?
  • Which involve modelling real-world situations?
  • Which involve working with data and uncertainty?
• Go round the class, asking each student to name one skill and one other subject they've built it in.
• Close by reminding students that choosing a good set of post-16 subjects isn't just about which ones they enjoy - it's about which ones compound the skills they want to take into work or further study.

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After the lesson

• Share the What can you do with Mathematics? page with students and their parents/carers:
  • www.coffeewith.xyz/subjects/what-can-you-do-with-mathematics
• Encourage parents/carers to explore the page with their child and to discuss the contents.
• Use the School Tools / Activities feature to record the lesson activity:
  • Activity name: Year 11 - Skills you learn from Mathematics
  • Activity type: Linking curriculum learning to careers
• Read the follow-on lesson plan:
  • Why study A-Level Mathematics? (Year 11)