Mrs Jessica Roberts Ma(Ed), PGCE, BSc.

Lead for Postgraduate Certificate in Education with QTS (Secondary Pathway): Secondary Mathematics

Supporting:

• Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Primary 3-11) with QTS-primary Mathematics
• Primary Education with QTS (BA)

I have taught mathematics at Key Stages 3, 4 and 5 to learners of all abilities for 20 years in 2 Carmarthenshire secondary schools.

I have been a secondary classroom teacher for ten years and a Head of Department/Numeracy Coordinator for a further ten years.  I embarked upon a two-year secondment with Carmarthenshire School Improvement services between the 2 fore-mentioned posts as an Advisory Teacher for Key Skills, where my role involved delivering CAME training (Cognitive Acceleration in Mathematics Education), lead secondary mathematics network meetings at local authority level, represent the service at both consortia and national level and support teachers involved in classroom based action research.

During my ten years as a Head of Maths, I was seconded for 15 months to the Welsh Financial Education Unit within Welsh Government as a Secondary Advisor for Financial Education. The role involved delivering training to primary and secondary teachers across Wales to support the implementation of financial education across the curriculum.  I co-wrote 10 training modules hosted on Hwb along with all relevant resources.

Before returning to my role as Head of Maths I had a 12-month secondment with the National Support Programme (NSP) supporting teachers and school leaders implement the LNF in both primary and secondary schools.

I have built up strong links with Mathematics departments across West Wales and beyond via collaborative and innovative work with teachers and heads of department. 

• Mathematics Secondary PGCE.
• Numeracy across the curriculum in the secondary school, what do ‘numeracy rich’ tasks look like?
• Pedagogical approaches used to provide learners with opportunities to master mathematics and numeracy.
• Development of learners’ metacognitive skills.
• Effective and engaging thinking amongst learners in the Mathematics classroom through exploration and dialogue.

• BA and PGCE Modules I teach on:
• The Learner: who am I teaching?
• Leading the Learning: what, how and why am I teaching?
• Learners, schools and communities: where am I teaching?
• Researching the Learning: what, how and why am I teaching?

• Implementation of the new curriculum for Wales.
• Learners’ preconceptions on their ability to do Mathematics and how these impact upon the performance and enjoyment of the subject.
• Assessment for Learning (AfL).
• Effective questioning in the Mathematics classroom.
• Differentiation and how to plan for it effectively.

I have co-written training materials and resources for Welsh Government