About the event

Join us at the annual King’s Mathematics Teachers’ Conference for a day of exciting speakers and discussions on supporting and engaging pupils in the maths classroom and beyond. 

This in-person event in central London is open to mathematics teachers from London and beyond, as well as graduate students interested in maths education.  This is an opportunity to discuss teaching best-practice with peers from across London, and also learn from academic staff from the Mathematics department about new areas of research, expanding your knowledge beyond the curriculum.

If the conference is over-subscribed, we will prioritise places to maths teachers at schools that meet the following criteria:
•    State secondary school or sixth form college
•    Non-selective secondary school, or sixth form college
•    Schools with a high proportion of students eligible for Free School Meals

Registration now by completing this online form.

Please complete the application form by Wednesday 30 April. We will offer places out by Monday 12 May. Please then confirm your place with us by Friday 30 May. Any places not confirmed by this date will be offered to the waiting list.

Talks & Sessions

10:00 Registration
10:10 Welcome, housekeeping & Icebreakers

10:20 Talk - The games we play, with Igor Wigman
Game theory, a way of using mathematics to help strategise and make decisions. In this talk we will start off exploring the remarkable theorem of Zermelo: that every finite game, for example, chess, has a solution. We will then explore some of the many remarkable games that we encounter on daily basis in all thinkable aspects of our lives: from our everyday routines, to global politics, business and trade, war and peace, negotiations, military strategies and more. This talk will end with an interactive, prize awarding game to demonstrate some of the wonders of game theory we have hopefully learned along the way. 

11:05 Comfort break and refreshments

11:15 Discussion - Tackling maths anxiety, with Dr Natalie Evans

12:00 Talk - The hidden order of prime numbers, with Dr Nazar Miheisi
Prime numbers are the building blocks of the integers, yet their distribution remains one of mathematics' greatest mysteries. This talk will explore key results and open problems related to the spacing and density of primes, from the ancient insights of Euclid to major breakthroughs such as the Prime Number Theorem. We will discuss the role of randomness in attempts to understand the primes, and explore some of the fascinating structure in their distribution. Along the way, we will highlight recent developments that continue to shape our understanding of this field.

12:45 Lunch

13:30 Workshop - Generative AI for teaching and learning mathematics, with Amy O'Brien
In recent years, the use of Generative AI and Large Language Models has led to a surge in the adoption of tools like ChatGPT. In this session, we will explore practical applications of these tools to support lesson planning, resource development, assessment and feedback, and administrative tasks. Additionally, we will discuss potential solutions to ethical concerns and barriers associated with Generative AI, as well as address the challenges posed by students' use of these tools in learning mathematics. Use of a laptop or tablet will be useful but not essential to participate in the session.

14:15 Talk - But when will I ever use this? with Dr David Sheard
Students often complain that what they are learning in mathematics is a waste of time, isn't useful, and has no application in everyday life. Curricula are also sometimes not good at motivating the method behind the math-ness. In this talk, we will take a look at some of the hardest to justify topics from the maths curriculum and give concrete examples which you can use in your classroom to motivate your students.

15:00 Comfort break and refreshments

15:10 Keynote talk and Q&A - Much Ado About Numbers, with Rob Eastaway
Shakespeare lived in a period of exciting mathematical innovations, from arithmetic to astronomy, and from probability to music. Remarkably, many of those innovations are mentioned, or at least hinted at, in his plays. Rob Eastaway will explore the surprising ways in which mathematical ideas connect with Shakespeare and reveals that the playwright could be as creative with numbers as he was with words.

16:15 Event finishes

Refreshments

Lunch as well as morning and afternoon refreshments (tea, coffee and biscuits) will be provided during the event.

Accessibility

This event will take place in a teaching room on the Strand Campus. The room is fully wheelchair accessible via lift, and there are accessible bathrooms in this building.

The nearest step-free underground station is Blackfriars, but a number of bus routes stop outside the Strand Campus.

If you have any questions or would like any further details, please email nmes-outreach@kcl.ac.uk.