There’s some really interesting research from the University of Nottingham Department of Education around the effectiveness of GCSE Maths resits in the FE sector, concluding that the expectations around raising attainment to a grade 4 or above in less than a year are often unrealistic. The report makes a number of recommendations, including training and professional development for cross-college managers of mathematics, which it identifies as being critical in making a positive impact. To see the work of the Mathematics in Further Education project, visit the Nuffield Foundation website:
https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/project/mathematics-in-further-education-colleges-mifec/
Katherine Johnson, pioneering NASA mathematician, dies
Katherine Johnson, the mathematician who contributed hugely to the work of the US space agency NASA, has died at the age of 101. In the 1950s she was one of a group of women known as the West Area Computers, all African-American female mathematicians performing vital work for the growing aeronautics industry, and the inspiration for the 2016 film Hidden Figures.
Katherine then went on to work at NASA, most famously providing the trajectory calculations for Apollo 11 to land on the Moon in 1969. Her legacy is significant, not just for the space industry, but also as a symbol of the struggle of African-American women at a time of cultural apartheid.
Palindrome
Today is the 2nd February 2020, or 02/02/2020. It’s one of that rare breed of palindrome, the like of which won’t be seen again until a little over a century hence (and you can work out what that one will be!)
I rather like all those twos and zeros, a bit like polarised particles coalescing into the void. Out of the silent universe comes all complexity.
Let’s hope we all manage to move forward from today with something approaching 20-20 vision.