In the run up to and during Maths Week Scotland 2021, we’ve been encouraging people from all walks of industry to get involved in our #ShowYourWorking campaign and show off how they use maths in their roles and demonstrate the importance of maths in a whole range of potential future careers for Scotland’s young people.
Why is this important?
Do you remember sitting in maths class learning about Pythagoras theorem or quadratic equations and thinking that these terms would be a distant memory post-school? #ShowYourWorking aims to challenge this misconception by creating a collection of real-life applications of maths in the workplace. This will help both educators and pupils to help contextualise the maths they are using in the classroom and the importance of the key maths skills they are learning… but we need your help!
Some fantastic examples
We’ve been really enjoying your contributions! Here are some of our highlights so far…
“I can think of no job that you don’t need maths to help you get better in that job” - familiar face Professor Jason Leitch told us about the calculations he and his team have had to do during the course of the pandemic - percentages, charts and statistics analysis.
Dan explained how he uses measurement, weight and financial calculations as a an Assistant Curator for Ancient Mediterranean Collections at the National Museum of Scotland.
Co-ordinates were highlighted by the National Mining Museum – they use this area of maths to identify colliery locations on maps.
The Great British Bake Off 2020 winner Peter Sawkins shared a great example of maths being used in baking. Being able to calculate volume is very useful when it comes to getting the size right for the perfect wedding cake!
Port Ellen Primary School on the Isle of Islay shared a local example of operators in distilleries using calculations to work out the amount of alcohol that goes into tankers or casks and how much spirit will come from barley.
Looking at the medical sector, Colquhoun Park Primary school shared an example from one of their families of a nurse using maths to calculate the medicine needed for the people they care for.
Educators - looking for more inspiration? Check out STEM Ambassadors in Scotland’s fantastic resource ‘When will I ever use this?’ for more examples of how STEM Ambassadors use maths in a range of roles in STEM industries.
Read some of our 2020 #ShowYourWorking highlights here.
It's Spring in Edinburgh means, which means the return of the Edinburgh Science Festival (30 March - 14 April)! This years theme is Shaping the Future, and we've browsed through the programme to pick out some of our maths highlights for you.
To mark World Meteorological Day (23 March), we are delighted to share a guest post from Professor Sylvia Knight, Head of Education at the Royal Meteorological Society, to introduce their new Climate Change Concept tool and show how teachers can use it to support maths in the curriculum.
