What is Scholarship?

Mr Dan Addis, Head of Academic Scholarship at WHS, looks at our continuing Academic Scholarship programme and how you can get involved.

How often do you feel you really get to think? I mean, really think. To get your mind around a question, mull it over, think of a variety of angles, add variables, take away variables, introduce other protagonists who could affect the outcome, analyse experts’ views to see what suggestions they have, bring the idea down to the absolute minimum and build it back up.

In the day to day of modern existence, I would suggest this has been a rare occurrence until recently. I have no doubt you have seen umpteen articles on what being in lockdown has allowed people to do, but please forgive me one more example. With the time at my disposal, I decided to take on the burden of cooking ‘proper’ meals (as opposed to pasta and sauce) and the question that appeared to me was “What should I do with this cabbage?”. On the surface, I admit, this seems like a very banal question, not in keeping with the title of this post. However, I had the opportunity to run with it. I immediately ruled out just boiling it as a side, I wanted it as a key ingredient. I could not think of any recipes particularly that had cabbage as a key element, so I had to change my angle. Kimchee perhaps, exciting but not in the flavour spectrum I was looking for. I could add spices, herbs, perhaps a meat option. I ended up with a full roast meal in my head, but that seemed to complex, so I pared it back down. I asked my fiancée what she thought, what flavours she was hankering for. She suggested something hearty with gravy. Excellent call, but just cabbage and gravy? Not enough! I went to the internet, did some research on dishes involving cabbage. I mused on the topic for at least an hour. In the end, I made an Irish colcannon with an onion gravy, garnished with spring onions. It was exactly what I wanted.

I hope there are not too many of you who are looking at this and are exasperated. I was promised Scholarship and I have been given the culinary ravings of some idiot! But consider a different question I grappled with over lockdown. Do I have a philosophy of life? I started by thinking about what is important to me, considering the different aspects of my life that bring me joy or cause me distress. I asked my fiancée about her thoughts regarding what I find important and took on her feedback. I found a Blinkist (link below) page on personal philosophies and learnt the difference between Epicureanism, Daoism, contemporary Islam and more. I thought about it carefully for at least an hour. In the end I decided I am a modern Stoic. It fit my personality and priorities.

If I review the two questions I above, there is only one which many would consider to be worthy of scholarship. But if we look at the processes I went through in each instance, are they particularly different? Were there different skills evident in each instance? I would argue not and believe that the future of Scholarship lies in the broadening of our concept of what Scholarship is away from the traditional models and into more complex and interesting territory.

There are two messages I would like to argue for in this blogpost:

Anything can be Scholarship; and I mean anything;
The interesting part of Scholarship is the similarities and connections between the lines of conventional subject knowledge.

To my first point, I would like to turn to Mary Beard. In the introduction to her book “Confronting the Classics” makes the case for the study of Classics not just for the benefit of the individual, but so we are certain that ‘someone’ is studying it. It does not really matter who that someone is, but it is vital that there are experts in the field to ensure knowledge is not lost and context is understood. Without these experts understanding the depth and complexity of a topic, we are bound to fall into clichés and incorrect retrieval of history used to divide us or perpetuate a damaging status quo (gestures at everything).

In the recent Black Lives Matter protests and movements, one of the appeals made towards white allies to the cause was that we educate ourselves. A huge amount of phenomenal material has been designated unworthy of scholarship because it does not fall into the prescribed canon. There have been innumerable posts across social media asking why people have not learnt about Black Wall Street, the true history of colonisation, that Alexandre Dumas was black, and many further examples. I would argue much of this is to do with what we consider worthy of learning.

When establishing the new National Curriculum, the government said they were firmly indebted to the work of E.D. Hirsch, who advocates for a Scholar Academic model in which there is a corpus of information that it is vital to know in order to succeed in our society and have a beneficial education. In this corpus, there are the usual suspects; Troy, British Empire, Holocaust, American Civil War etc. However, there is a distinct lack of inclusion about African history and culture, understanding of Chinese philosophy, Aboriginal oppression across the globe, and other key ideas and stories that are important if we want to build a more united world away from the bastion of the old white men’s club. The National Curriculum is doing a disservice to our children, and I believe the starting point of a shift away from this damaging perspective comes from an acknowledgement that anything can be scholarly. Everything is worthy of study so long as the person is interested and willing to look at the topic in an academic fashion from multiple angles. If we move to this understanding of scholarship, as opposed to a traditional model of what can be deemed scholarly, then we will create opportunities for our students to extend their learning beyond what is expected and have a generation of students who do not put a ranking on knowledge; who do not assume that certain facts, figures and stories have greater worth than others; and who can go into the world open minded and willing to explore without the weight of historical prejudice hanging onto them.

My second point connects prominently to our STEAM+ ideology, now towering in a beautiful physical manifestation at the centre of our school. Within the hierarchy of knowledge, which I discussed earlier, is a rather Victorian perspective on education; that knowledge can be chopped up and distributed to the students in easily differentiated chunks. However, this means that links are missed, the core elements that combine the different subjects are thrust apart. By encouraging the students to focus on whatever they find interesting, whether it is in official curricula or not, we can encourage students to attack a problem from multiple angles, playing with the blurred lines between the subjects, and discovering links that were hidden to them before. Quite apart from the fact that this lateral thinking is a skill that will benefit them in whatever avenue they wish to pursue in later life, it is also fun and rewarding. One of my greatest delights as a teacher is seeing a student’s awe-filled expression when they discover a link between subjects. (My favourite is explaining the connection between the Latin ambulare – to walk, and the modern day ambulance and how it comes from the fact that wounded soldiers on historical battlefields used to be carried away by people walking with a stretcher).

Scholarship should be fun and exciting, and the links students discover are what make it so. It becomes complex, rich and akin to discovery, when traditional learning can be staid, bland and akin to commuting. We need to encourage our students to find the fun of scholarship as that is the greatest gift we can give them.

I shall finish this blog by outlining how we plan to do this in our Academic scholarship programme, which is open to all students who wish to engage with it. Our intention is to encourage individuality. Scholars will be having 1 on 1 meetings with myself each half term to talk with them about their own areas of interest, from football to Hamlet. Whatever takes their fancy, we encourage them to do their own research, explore the topic in detail from a variety of perspectives, and then create something. Over lockdown, several of our KS3 students created short videos on areas of interest, from prized pets to quantum computing (which you can find here), as an example.

The idea is to allow them freedom in their study, away from the traditional academic models. To give them inspiration we also have a variety of different academic opportunities they can engage with. We have the Rosewell lecture programme, which will be done virtually, with speakers due to be announced soon. We will have the Explore programme, where our teachers will delve into topics that are interesting and engaging beyond the set curriculum. Tea and T’inking, a club where students can discuss and analyse topics as random as synaesthesia to meme culture, will be a safe environment where no question is unacceptable and help students stretch themselves intellectually. We also will have the Masterclasses, as mentioned in the co-curricular programme. And more than any of this, I would be delighted to hear from any student who has an area of interest and would like to pursue it. Whether it is writing an article for WimLearn, submitting an essay for a competition, or just discovering something new and wanting to discuss it. Scholarship is for everyone and should be free and open to run in any direction. We are here to help students follow that interest and passion; who knows where it may end up!

I would like to finish this article by returning to my cabbage. I will admit that I did use a particularly ridiculous example to make my point (a classic reductio ad absurdum!). However, did you know that cabbage has been cultivated for over 6000 years, almost longer than any other vegetable? That eating cabbage helps keratin production which leads to healthier hair, skin and nails? That raw cabbage juice is used as headache relief? That cabbage used to be an elixir for baldness? See, even the humble cabbage can be interesting and scholarly!

References:

https://www.blinkist.com/ – website/app that condenses non-fiction books into easily readable chunks or 15-minute podcasts.

Beard, M. (2014) Confronting the Classics: Traditions, Adventures and Innovations, Profile Books Ltd

Hirsch, E.D. (1988) Cultural Literacy: What every American needs to know, Random House USA

McInerney, L. (2012) Things to know about ED Hirsch and the ‘Common Cultural Literacy’ idea, https://cfey.org/2012/10/things-to-know-about-ed-hirsch-and-the-common-cultural-literacy-idea/

Pigliucci, M., Cleary, S., Kaufman, D., (2020) How to live a good life: A guide to choosing your personal philosophy; Penguin-Random house.

4th June 20207th June 2022

The potential of quantum computing

Isabelle (Year 9) looks at the potential of quantum computing, delivering an informative video and article outlining this fascinating innovation.

We need to know the potential of quantum computing, the powerful approach to computation that our world is moving into.

There are endless ways in which we can use quantum computing. The first is from a biological aspect. A mysterious aspect of this subject are enzymes and understanding these can help to produce medicines for various major diseases. However, we don’t know a lot about enzymes due to their incredibly complex structures. Normal computers are also unable to model such a complex structure, so we need a different solution: a quantum computer. Quantum computers could predict this structure, along with several other properties.

This is just one example, but quantum computers could resolve so many problems in healthcare and can be applied to several different industries such as finance, transportation, chemicals and cybersecurity. The promise is that quantum computers can solve problems which we have pondered for years in a matter of a few hours.

And yes, it will take years, perhaps decades for this to develop in a way where the value is significant enough for many businesses, however it is important to know how it would work and what it could solve. Then, businesses can truly use quantum computers to their full potential.

How does a quantum computer work?

It is hard for the ‘normal’ computers that we use daily to solve complex problems. But this quantum computer has to potential to be able to solve specific, very complex problems, fast. It won’t replace our ‘normal’ computers; it will improve research. But here are two differences that make these quantum computers so powerful:

1. Our ‘normal’ computers use binary numbers – bits. They are made up of two number (one and off): one and zero. But these quantum computers are designed to use ‘qubits’, which can also represent a combination of one and zero.

2. 2. Our ‘normal’ computer can manage one calculation and one input. But the quantum computers can manage more. This gives the quantum computers their speed – they will be able to process multiple calculations simultaneously, with several inputs.

So, let’s combine this: if we have ‘n’ qubits, then the quantum computer is able to process many at once. That is fast and powerful.

Classical computing has the skill to find one particular result. However, a quantum computer is able to bring it down to a small range, which is so much faster. Afterwards, we can then use a classical computer to find one particular result, but it would take much longer to only use classical computers. The idea is there, but there are challenges which stop us from developing this so far.

Obstacles

We describe something as volatile if something is unstable. Qubits are volatile. In the ‘normal’ computers today, we have a bit which is 1 or 0. It is important that this bit on a computer chip does not interfere with other bits on the same computer chip, and we have managed to do this. However, the quantum computers would need to develop a structure where the qubits can interact with each other, so that they can process several calculations and inputs at once.

What then makes these qubits so volatile is that we need to be able to control these interactions. We need to allow them to interact, while still ensuring that no inputs are changed or deleted, which would harm the accuracy. This is a technical difficulty.

So, what happens now? The idea of quantum computing has been around since 1980, but only at the end of 2019 was there proof that it was really possible.

Source: McKinsey Quarterly Feb 2020

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/a-game-plan-for-quantum-computing

11th February 20207th June 2022

Dreams – what are they and why do they happen?

Sofia, Year 9, discusses what dreams are and why they happen.

When you think of the word “dream”, many questions may pop into your head such as ‘what do they mean?’ and ‘what are they for?’ and perhaps ‘can they predict my future?’ I guess the best way to describe a dream is a story or sequence of images your mind creates while you are asleep. Except of course there is a lot more to it…

The history of dreams

It is thought that people in the third millennia in Mesopotamia were the first to record their dreams on wax or clay tablets and over 1000 years later Egyptians made themselves dream books, which also listed their potential meanings. Priests would be the ones to interpret these since they were written in hieroglyphics. Interpreters were looked up to, as they were blessed with this divine gift.

Interestingly, in the Greek and Roman era, dreams were interpreted in a religious context, thinking gods or even those from the dead were sending them direct messages. They believed dreams forewarned and they even built special shrines where those who sought a message would go to sleep.

In China, dreaming was also seen as a place where your spirit and soul left your body and went to a different world while asleep. If you were awoken, your soul may fail to return to your body. In the Middle Ages, dreams were considered to be the devil’s dirty work and fill the humans’ minds with malicious thoughts while at their most vulnerable state.

The psychology behind dreams

Dreams can sometimes be exciting, terrifying, boring and just plain random, and although it may not feel like it, we have multiple dreams in one night that actually only last approximately 15 minutes. It’s hypothesized that everyone dreams, even though people who don’t remember their dreams may think they don’t dream[1]. Within 5 minutes of waking up, you usually forget 50% and by 10 minutes almost 90% is gone[2].

Dreams typically involve elements from life such as known people or familiar locations. And yes, it has been proven that your brain is incapable of “creating a new face”. They can also allow people to act out certain scenarios that wouldn’t happen in real life and make you feel incredibly emotional if it is vivid enough. In 1899, Sigmund Freud wrote a study “Interpretation of Dreams” which has been controversial among other experts. He states that we only dream to fulfil wishes, but many have disagreed. The Continual Activation Theory explains that we dream to keep our brains working and to consolidate memories, so that when data is needed from memory storage, we have it, but it’s just expressed in a different way while we dream. It is also suggested that we dream to rehearse and practise. Have you ever had a nightmare of being chased by a bear or even a criminal? These have been proven to be very common and challenge your instincts in case you ever do come across a dangerous situation in your life.

What does science have to say?

The scientific study of dreams is called oneirology (derived from Greek word ‘oneiron’) Dreams mainly occur in the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep when brain activity is high and feels similar to being awake; it occurs within the first 90 minutes of falling asleep. During this stage, the pons in the brain shut off signals to the spinal cord causing you to be immobile while sleeping. When the pons doesn’t shut down the spinal cord’s signals, people will act out their dreams which of course could be dangerous, perhaps if you run into a wall or fall down a staircase.

Above: Brain illustration by pickpik.com

This is known as REM sleep behaviour disorder, which is rarer than sleepwalking. Even though we are immobile, the brain is very active, and you could still move and accidentally hit your sister in the face thinking you’re in a netball match. The blue represents inactive parts in the brain during REM in the image shown. Linking back to a previous point, an additional reason we may dream is to forget. This may sound confusing, but our brain creates thousands of connections by everything we think and do. A neurobiological theory known as Reverse Learning told us that during REM sleep cycles, the neocortex reviews the connections and ignores unnecessary ones, preventing your brain from being overrun with useless connections.

Even if we never know the real reason why dreams happen or whether they have any significance, it is possible that we will eventually one day find out due to developing technology. However, they may always remain somewhat a mystery to us, but hopefully, the next time you go to bed, you’ll maybe consider the complex aspects of science behind them.

References

[1] https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/does-everyone-dream

[2] https://www.manifatturafalomo.com/blog/sleep-tips/15-incredible-facts-about-sleep/

6th February 20207th June 2022

The proof behind one of the most famous theorems in mathematics

Vishaali, Year 10, looks behind the proof of one of the most famous mathematical theorems – that of Pythagoras’ theorem.

What is the difference between a theorem and a theory?

A theorem is a mathematical statement that has been proven on the basis of previously established statements. For example, Pythagoras’ theorem uses previously established statements such as all the sides of a square are equal, or that all angles in a square are 90°. The proof of a theorem is often interpreted as justification of the statement that the theorem makes.

On the other hand, a theory is more of an abstract, generalised way of thinking and is not based on absolute facts. Examples of theories include the theory of relativity, theory of evolution and the quantum theory. Take the theory of evolution; this is about the process by which organisms change over time as a result of heritable behavioural or physical traits. This is based on undeniable true facts, but more from experience and from an abstract way of thinking.

It is also important not to confuse mathematical theorems with scientific laws as they are scientific statements based on repeated experiments or observations.

The proof behind Pythagoras’ theorem

You have probably all heard of Pythagoras’ theorem, one of the simplest theorems there is in mathematics, that is relatively easy to remember. Given that it’s so easy to remember and to learn, wouldn’t it be an added bonus to know exactly how this theorem came to be?

The theorem, a²+b²=c², relates the sides of any right-angled triangle enabling you to find the lengths of any side, given you have the lengths of the other two.

This whole theorem is based on a triangle like this:

These four right-angled triangles are exactly the same just rotated slightly differently to create this shape:

Two shapes have been made by putting these triangles in this order. A big square on the outside, and another slightly smaller square in the middle. As all these triangles are the exact same you can label them A, B and C.

You can tell from the labels the triangles have been given, that the bigger square would have the sides (a+b), and the smaller triangle in the middle will have sides of c. Therefore we know the area of the smaller square is c² :

Using the exact same four triangles, we can rotate and translate them to create a slightly different shape:

Now two more squares have been added to this shape. We can call them a² and b².

Thinking back to the shape we made before, we can also see that the length of this shape is also (a+b). As we know we used the same four right-angled triangles for the shape before and now, we can infer that the two squares a² and b² are exactly the same as the square from the first shape, c². Hence we get Pythagoras’ theorem, a²+b²=c²:

References:

https://www.livescience.com/474-controversy-evolution-works.html
https://www.askdifference.com/theorem-vs-theory/

3rd December 20197th June 2022

Does Drama have a place in the A in Steam?

Emily, Year 10, asks if enough emphasis is placed on drama as part of the A (Arts) within STEAM.

What is STEM/STEAM?

STEM was originally a government initiative to “help empower future generations through science, technology, engineering and maths to grow a dynamic, innovative economy”. Recently the A was added to STEM to include the arts, but how much emphasis, if any, is put on drama as part of this addition? Traditionally within education drama has been seen as a soft option. It was often viewed as a GCSE choice for students who are less academically capable, and few links are made between the benefits of drama and other areas of the STEM curriculum.

Why do people consider Drama as a lesser part of the A in STEAM?

When considering the A in STEAM, many people think of subjects such as art, design or and/or the humanities, with the performing arts (which includes drama) very much a secondary consideration.

Commonly drama is mistaken for a break from academia. Drama, music and dance are often under threat amongst underfunded schools subject to ever-increasing budgetary constraints. Even important figures within the performing arts world cannot be relied upon to promote drama within education. The head of the National Youth Theatre said in 2014 that “drama classes should be taken off the GCSE curriculum because they are irrelevant, and the subject is seen as soft and easy”.

Above: Jungle Book by Year 8 earlier this year

How does drama help with STEAM learning in schools and in STEAM careers?

Learning drama at school, or participating in the performing arts, is beneficial and important in many different areas. The skills you develop through drama can help in all areas of your subjects including the traditional STEM subjects. Positive outcomes include:

Problem-solving – drama improves problem-solving and decision making, for example improvisation can help with quick thinking solutions. Developing problem-solving skills is a key reason why the STEM initiative started in the first place – to solve many of the world’s problems.

Imagination – In drama you need imagination; you have to make creative choices and think of new ideas. Imagination increases creativity and innovation; this is essential in, for example, engineering to design new products and processes to drive efficiency. Einstein himself said that “imagination is more important than knowledge.”

Team working skills – this is an essential skill in life which crosses all disciplines at school and in life. The ability to work well in a team, to be able to listen and incorporate other people’s ideas is as important in STEM careers as it is in any other. In drama lessons, or when putting on a school production, working well as a team is essential to the success of the project, whether you are front of stage or backstage, no project or performance succeeds unless every part of the team pulls together.

Empathy – drama teaches you the skill of empathy and develops your emotional intelligence. You have to understand a character’s motivation and actions by putting yourself in their shoes. EQ is becoming an increasingly important skill in the workplace.

Confidence in speaking – drama lessons often translate into better communication skills and self-confidence. Drama students are encouraged to ask questions and explain their thoughts, and of course to perform in front of a live audience. The ability to be able to speak effectively in public and present your ideas confidently is a key leadership skill that will help with an individual’s career progression.

WHS Play — Above: ‘Education, Education, Education’ – the WHS Senior Play this term

How else can drama help?

In 2012 the National Endowment for the Arts released a report showing that low-income student’s who had access to the arts tended to have better academic results, when music, dance and drama are part of people’s life they generally then go on to have better work opportunities. You also cannot underestimate the importance of a balanced education, and drama can act as an important emotional release from the demands of academia and the pressures of modern life.

Conclusion

Overall, I believe that drama does deserve a place in the A in STEAM. Many skills that drama help you develop are vital to those needed for success in STEAM careers and in everyday life.

References

https://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2014/11/18/ctq-jolly-stem-vs-steam.html

http://www.childdrama.com/why.html

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/take-drama-off-gcse-curriculum-insists-national-youth-theatre-boss-9831791.html

https://leftbraincraftbrain.com/what-is-steam-and-why-is-steam-important

https://www.shoutoutuk.org/

https://www.teachercast.net/

20th November 20197th June 2022

Can you smell blue? The changing beliefs of synaesthesia and ideasthesia

Talia, Year 8, explores the concept of ideasthesia and how our understanding of it has changed over time.

To understand what ideasthesia is, first we must look to its cousin, synaesthesia. The word synaesthesia literally translates as ‘union of senses’ and comes from the Greek words ‘syn’ which means ‘union’ and ‘aesthesis’ which means ‘senses’. It is a phenomenon in which some people associate external stimuli to a sense. For example, people with letter-colour synaesthesia can see individual letters as different colours. Other types of synaesthesia include musical sounds-colours, pain-colours, vision-tastes and many more.

The original understanding of synaesthesia was taken almost directly from the translation of the word. Scientists thought the sensory parts of synesthetes’ (people who suffer from synaesthesia) brain were somehow connected and, when given certain stimuli, would trigger each other. Later studies made on synesthetes suggested that this theory was not entirely correct; in one study, synesthetes made new synesthetic associations to letters they had never seen before. These associations were made within seconds which is not enough time to form a new physical connection between the colour representation and letter representation areas in the brain so this proved that the senses could not be linked.

In another study, letter-colour synesthetes were shown what could be a ‘zero’ or an ‘o’. When the shape was shown in the context of letters, the synesthetes interpreted the shape as the letter ‘o’ and viewed it as one colour; when the shape was shown in the context of numbers, the synesthetes interpreted the shape as the number ‘zero’ and viewed it as a different colour even though it was the exact same shape as before. This study shows that the inducer of these experiences is semantic rather than purely sensory.

Croatian cognitive neuroscientist, Danko Nikolic, came up with the name ‘ideasthesia’ for this new theory coming from the Greek word’s ‘idea’ meaning ‘idea’ or ‘concept’, and ‘aesthesis’ meaning ‘senses’ – it translates to ‘sensing ideas’. During Nikolic’s research, a woman came to him with a very rare case of synaesthesia called mirror-speech synaesthesia. She said “I hear any sound made by a human and it feels like I’m making that sound… in stomach, body, throat and mouth…but only in my mind. I don’t get throat pain for ‘singing’ too much.” Nikolic ran some tests on this woman to dig deeper into her curious case. He discovered that, when the woman was told that an animal was making a noise, she wouldn’t get the sensations. However, if she played the exact same noise again and was told that a human made it, she would get the sensations.

The woman in Nikolic’s study appears to be a rare case but there is a bit of ideasthesia in everyone. When asked to name one shape ‘Bouba’ and one shape ‘Kiki’, most subjects chose to name shape A ‘Kiki’ and shape B ‘Bouba’ based on the shape that the mouth makes as it is forming these words and how the words sound – this shows that we all have a basis of ideasthesia in all of us – we link concepts to sensory stimuli whether it’s shapes, colours or others. Furthermore, the subjects went on to describe ‘Kiki’ as nervous and clever, whereas ‘Bouba’ was described as lazy and slow.

Perhaps this theory of ideasthesia could help with the long-lasting mind-body conundrum: is the mind a separate entity that controls our body externally? Or, if it is part of the brain, how does it translate the input of physical senses into the non-physical state of thoughts? Some scientists are now saying that our mistake is assuming that there is a barrier between these two functions – that thoughts and senses are linked together in a complex network, comparable to our language network.

The traditional view is that the senses grasp a collection of vibrations or colours which our brain translates into the sound of a voice or the colours of a flower. Ideasthesia suggests that these processes happen as one – our sensory perceptions are based on our conceptual understanding that we hold of the world. This is what helps us understand metaphors that make no logical sense, such as the comparison of a cushion to air based on the shared sensation of fluffiness, and the apparent weightlessness of them both.

25th June 201925th June 2019

All girls are born great at Maths!

Rebecca Brown, Maths Teacher at Wimbledon High School, explores the benefits of creating a positive stereotype.

“I’m great at Maths”

A statement seldom heard. In fact, quite the opposite, particularly when introducing yourself as a Maths Teacher!

Unfortunately, many people hold strong negative beliefs about maths that they do not hold about other subjects. I often hear intelligent, highly educated adults state (almost with pride) “I was never any good at maths”. Many people seem to have been traumatised by maths, further fuelled by misguided beliefs about mathematics and intelligence. Their experience of learning Maths varied drastically from the dynamic, exciting and personalised maths teaching of today. Researchers found that when mothers told their daughters “I was no good at Maths in school” their daughters’ achievement immediately went down (Eccles and Jacobs, 1986^[1]). But why is it considered socially acceptable to be bad at Maths? And more importantly what message does it give the women of the future if their own parents, teachers and influencers unashamedly comment on how bad they were at Maths at school – or still are?

Fifteen is the exact age a girl loses her interest in Maths (Jones, 2018^[2]). I am not referring to Maths anxiety, that Ashcroft (2002) defined as a ‘feeling of tension, apprehension or fear that interferes with maths performance’, but to the time girls decide that Maths is just ‘not for them’. Recent figures show that after GCSE, 20% fewer girls than boys continue studying Maths. Yet in junior schools, Maths is often cited as a favourite subject for many girls. So why are girls not continuing with maths and what can we do about it?

Why is Maths so important?

Maths is all around us. It is in everything we do and everywhere we go. From Music to Sport, from Geography to Biology. Coding, Algorithms, Programming, Problem-solving. It is our future. It is in the technology in our hands, on our laps and on our screens. It is shaping our world and is the beauty that surrounds us.

When it comes to Maths at A Level, girls account for just 39% of the national cohort. (Although at Wimbledon High School we’re proud that over 55% of the sixth form opt to continue with Maths after GCSE).

A female underrepresentation as a nation at A Level means an underrepresentation of women in careers that involve Maths. By not taking Maths, girls limit their access to some of the more challenging, interesting and lucrative careers. For example, recent IFS research^[3] suggests that, compared to the average female graduate, five years after graduation women with a Maths degree earn 13.4% more; those with an engineering degree earn 9.7% more, and those with an economics degree – another subject in which girls are significantly underrepresented and for which Maths is often a gateway subject – earn 19.5% more. Research has also shown that students taking advanced Maths classes learn ways of working and thinking – especially learning to reason and be logical – that make them more productive in their jobs (Rose and Betts 2004^[4]).

Engineering jobs are predicted to grow at double the rate of other occupations, but there is currently a crisis of female underrepresentation in STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths careers; women comprise up only 14.4% of the total STEM population (WISE[5] ). This means that potential female candidates will have not only limited their own life chances, but also deprived the STEM disciplines of the thinking and perspectives that girls and women can bring. (Boaler, 2014a^[6]). The current UK goal is for at least 30 % of people working in STEM careers to be women.

It is not just the raw state of Maths that is useful for the future, it is the skills that develop as part of learning the wonders of Maths; problem-solving, critical and lateral thinking, quantitative and analytical reasoning to name a few, that are part of the attraction. After all, we are preparing our children for jobs that do not yet exist!

The negative connotations that prevail about Maths seldom come from harmful teaching practices; they come from one idea, which is very strong, permeates many societies (although notably absent in countries such as China and Japan) and is at the root of maths failure and underachievement: that only some people can be good at Maths (Boaler, 2016 ^[7])

Growth Mindset in Maths

A ‘Growth Mindset’ in Maths is crucial. Perseverance, grit and resilience, are common skills identified in successful students in any field, made widely known by the work of Duckworth et al. (2007[8]). ‘Economists refer to them as non-cognitive skills, psychologists call them personality traits and the rest of us sometimes think of them as character’ (Tough, 2013[9]). In Maths these skills are even more fundamental.

In her 2006 book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck summarised her evidence from decades of research with differently-aged subjects, showing that when students develop what she has called a ‘growth mindset’ then they believe that intelligence and ‘smartness’ can be learned and that the brain can grow from exercise.

Everyone has a mindset, a core belief about how they learn (Dweck, 2006b[10]). People with a ‘growth mindset’ are those who believe that smartness increases with hard work, whereas those with a ‘fixed mindset’ believe you can learn things, but you can’t change your basic level of intelligence.

The fixed mindset thinking that is so damaging, cuts across the achievement spectrum, and some of the students most damaged by these beliefs are high-achieving girls (Dweck, 2006a). General mindset interventions can be helpful, but if students return to approaching maths in the same way they always have then the growth mindset about maths erodes away (Boaler, 2016[11]).

So, our focus should be on developing strong Mathematical mindsets within the classroom and at home.

What holds girls back from Maths?

Confidence, self-belief and mindset. It is lack of confidence and not lack of ability that deters girls from taking Maths after GCSE. Lack of self-confidence can limit a girl’s learning and her potential. We need to develop their confidence and self-esteem and teach them to not be perfect! Getting an answer incorrect does not mean failure. A mistake is a portal to better understanding, discovery and part of an important learning journey. Mistakes are invaluable lessons and help up us to develop. Generation Z is under pressure to look and act a certain way, a problem amplified by social media. Role models are extremely important to young people and girls are often more influenced, judging themselves by more restrictive standards reinforced by the media and society at large, further reducing their confidence in the classroom.

When it comes to Maths, girls rate their abilities markedly lower than boys, even when there is no observable difference between them, according to Florida State University researchers.^[12] The authors note boys are encouraged from a young age to pursue challenge, including the risk of failure, while girls tend to pursue perfection.

‘Sticking with it’ is something girls need to be encouraged to learn, says Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, whose mission is to close the gender gap in technology. “We have to rethink the way we raise our girls. We have to teach girls to be imperfect. Teach them to be brave and not perfect” (Saujani, R 2016^[13] ).

As leaders in educating girls, at the GDST, we focus on developing the skills and character to prepare them for the future. As teachers, we are dedicated to inspiring every one of our girls and trained to unleash their potential. Especially in Maths.

At GDST Schools, girls can learn without limits. We can influence the next generation of women to have a positive view of maths. We can all create and believe in a new stereotype– All girls are born great at Maths.

References:

^[1] Eccles, J. & Jacobs, J (1986) Social forces shape math attitudes and performance.

^[2] Jones, P. (December, 2018). Phylecia Jones: All Girls Are Great at Math [Video File] Retrieved from https://www.phyleciajones.com/tedx/

^[3] https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/13036

^[4] Rose, H., & Betts, J.R (2004). The effect of high school courses on earnings. Review of Economics and Statistics, 86 (2), 497-513

[5] https://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/statistics/women-in-the-uk-stem-workforce/

^[6] Boaler, J. (2014a). Changing the conversation about girls and STEM. Washington DC:The White House.

^[7] Boaler, J (2016). Mathematical Mindsets. Unleashing Students’ Potential Through Creative Maths, Inspiring Messages and Innovative teaching.

[8] Duckworth AL, Peterson C, Matthews MD, Kelly DR. Pers Soc Psychol. 2007. Grit, perseverance, and passion for long term goals.

[9] Tough, Paul. 2013. How Children Succeed.

[10] Dweck, C.S (2006b). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Ballantine Books.

[11] Boaler, J (2016). Mathematical Mindsets.

^[12] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170406121532.htm Florida State University. “Under challenge: Girls’ confidence level, not math ability hinders path to science degrees.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 6 April 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170406121532.htm>.

^[13] Sujani – Teach girls bravery not perfection. https://www.ted.com/talks/reshma_saujani_teach_girls_bravery_not_perfection?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

18th June 2019

Making a WISE choice

Mrs Mary McGovern, Head of Chemistry, looks at some of the reasons behind the low representation in the workplace of women in STEM roles, and how teaching STEAM Skills from early years can help to allow pupils to make informed choices.

In the UK and many other countries, there are long-standing patterns regarding who continues with science post-16. In the physical sciences — and engineering in particular — women, working class and some ethnic groups are notably under-represented¹. Furthermore, women make up less than 20% of the UK STEM workforce (the lowest in Europe).

Women into Science and Engineering, WISE, enables and energises people in business, industry and education to increase the participation, contribution and success of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

A report published by WISE in November 2014 entitled “Not for people like me?” looks to previous research to explain why girls are under-represented in science, technology and engineering, arguing that a fresh approach is needed.

Understanding the research

It’s not what you think! It is a myth that girls and women are not choosing STEM subjects. In fact, girls outnumber boys in STEM subject choices overall and girls outperform boys in STEM qualifications at all levels, both academic and vocational. The real issue is that girls are NOT choosing physics post 16 – physics is the third most popular A-level for boys but only the nineteenth for girls, and of 14,000 engineering apprentices, only 450 were girls. Girls report being concerned that physics limits their career options. This means that girls are losing or rejecting the opportunity to choose engineering post 18, as well as making it harder to find jobs in technology. The data also suggests that the numbers of girls taking A level physics has not changed in the UK in the past 30 years despite various initiatives.

Data from UNESCO’s UIS. Stat database from 2013 was used to create the charts above. The charts show the uptake of STEM subject at tertiary level within the worlds nine largest economies (by GDP) for which data is available. Each plot represents students who chose to study one of the subjects and is divided by gender. As identified by the WISE research, it is not that women are not choosing STEM subjects; instead, it is that their choices in all cases support the fact that girls are losing or rejecting the opportunity to choose engineering post-18. In every country represented above, this section showed the greatest imbalance².

“We are regularly bombarded with literature depicting young women in hard hats and high-vis jackets. This says to me – and I expect other women – that the sector is desperate to attract women. Instead of highlighting the problem, we need to get better at saying what’s brilliant about a career in engineering, regardless of sex.”
– Female engineer, quoted by the Royal Academy of Engineering

High-quality careers advice to young people is essential to demonstrate to students the benefits of studying STEM.³Girls’ experience in schools and the quality of career guidance are critical elements in their decision making. Out of date or poor quality teaching and limited availability of triple award science reduce the likelihood of girls having the confidence and desire to progress beyond GCSE.

“Whilst many of the major engineering companies and institutes run school outreach programmes, these often see an individual with a particular expertise give a talk that is likely only to appeal to a very small percentage of the class. By allowing untrained and narrowly prepared speakers to address this key audience, it could be that these outreach programmes are doing more to discourage prospective engineers than to incite the intended excitement and interest.”
-Royal Academy of Engineering

Photo of female scientist — Women account for just 8% of engineers

What are we doing at WHS?

We firmly believe that to start raising the profile of science in Years 10 or 11, can in many cases, be far too late. With this in mind, we look to plant seeds at any given opportunity that incorporate a basic “scientific thinking” across as many subjects as possible, from Reception up.

Alongside all the work and co-curricular activities (including clubs, competitions, workshops, guest speakers and departmental trips) our two Scientists in Residence are central to our ‘scientific thinking’ philosophy. An approach we are working hard to weave across the Senior and Junior Schools and throughout all departments. Bespoke ‘STEAM lessons’ explore non-science/art subjects from a science perspective (plant/animal dyes in Joseph’s technicolour Dreamcoat, PTSD in war poetry/Mrs Dalloway, how the voice box works in music etc). This allows our pupils to connect subjects, seeing the inter-disciplinary potential of thinking creatively across a range of different areas.

Our STEAM Lead is a fully trained WISE ‘People Like Me’ trainer and has conducted the WISE ‘People Like Me’ survey with Year 8s, the focus being on opening minds to the possibilities of perusing careers in all areas of STEM. The survey involved the girls using adjectives to describe themselves, the results were then processed and the girls were provided with information on skills, places and job roles where ‘people like them’ work. This, therefore, raised awareness of where ‘people like them’ actually work and what their job involves.

Moreover, our STEAM Lead is currently working on a fully funded project with The Wellcome Genome Campus on a project to reduce “unconscious bias” amongst parents and teachers towards influencing A level and career choices. This project starts with primary students.

“Parents have a huge role in influencing the career choices and aspirations of their children – a fact that to date has not been reflected in the outreach and engagement programmes run by the engineering industry. Mothers in particular wield significant power in directing their daughters down specific career paths.”
– Royal Academy of Engineering

At WHS we aim to ensure that every girl striding out of WHS leaves with ‘STEAM skills’, with the drive, passion and self-belief to work in whatever field they so choose.

References

1 WISE, 2012; Smith, 2011

2 https://www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/our-research/data-bytes/the-international-popularity-of-stem-subjects/

3 https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201213/ldselect/ldsctech/37/37.pdf (p21)

4 http://web.archive.org/web/20171016144625/http://www.independent.co.uk/extras/jobs/female-engineers-equalising-the-path-to-a-career-at-the-forefront-of-science-a6699671.html

What is the DLS Method?

The basic principle is that each team in a limited-overs match has two resources available with which to score runs (overs to play and wickets remaining), and the target is adjusted proportionally to the change in the combination of these two resources.

The Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method converts all possible combinations of overs (or, more accurately, balls) and wickets left into a combined resource remaining percentage figure (with 50 overs and 10 wickets equalling 100%), and these are all stored in a published table or computer. The target score for the team batting second (‘Team 2’) can be adjusted up or down from the total the team batting first (‘Team 1’) achieved using these resource percentages, to reflect the loss of resources to one or both teams when a match is shortened one or more times.

In the version of DLS most commonly in use in international and first-class matches (the Professional Edition), the target for Team 2 is adjusted simply in proportion to the two teams’ resources i.e.

The actual resource values used in the Professional Edition are not publicly available, so a computer which has this software loaded must be used.

Table of results — A published table of resources remaining percentages,
for all combinations of wickets lost and whole overs lost

If, as usually occurs, this ‘par score’ is a non-integer number of runs, then Team 2’s target to win is this number rounded up to the next integer, and the score to tie (also called the par score), is this number round down to the preceding integer. If Team 2 reaches or passes the target score, then they have won the match. If the match ends when Team 2 has exactly met (but not passed) the par score then the match is a tie. If Team 2 fail to reach the par score then they have lost.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duckworth–Lewis–Stern_method#Target_score_calculations

http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/19577040/how-duckworth-lewis-stern-method-works

https://thenortheasttoday.com/archive/the-saga-of-south-africa-and-duckworth-lewis-method/

20th May 2019

How is climate change impacting the planet?

Abhini, Year 10, looks at some of the issues surrounding climate change, and the potential impacts this will have on our lives.

During the Easter holidays, London and other parts of the UK witnessed a significant protest against the government with over 1,000 people being arrested for blocking streets. The wave of protest began with Swedish born 16-year-old Greta Thunberg who, every Friday, would sit outside government buildings in September, accusing her country of not following the Paris Climate Agreement.

What are the concerns?

So what is it that everyone is worried about in terms of climate change? The world is seeing more extreme temperatures being recorded increasingly across the globe. The 21st century has seen records broken with increased temperatures all through the season and the rise in temperatures also has an impact on the Arctic and melting ice caps. 2016 was the hottest year on record since 1880, with average temperatures measuring 0.99 degrees Celsius warmer than the mid-20th century mean. Since the 1950s, every continent has warmed substantially.

New Scientist graph on global temperature change

An additional impact that climate change is having on the earth is on sea levels, as they are rising at their fastest rate in 2000 years and currently changing at a rate of 3.4 mm per year, causing major impacts such as increased flooding. If sea levels continue to rise, countries like Bangladesh will cease to exist, leading to a refugee crisis, as an average of 21.5 million people have already been forcibly displaced since 2008 due to climate change-related weather hazards. Not only are our water levels increasing, but the ocean is now 26% more acidic than before the Industrial Revolution. This also means that the waters are now more acidic than at any other point in the last 300,000 years.

NASA data on sea rise change from 1880-present

Another shocking fact that is due to climate change, is the damage of two-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef. In April 2017, it was revealed that two-thirds of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has been severely damaged by coral bleaching, usually a result of water temperatures being too high. However, there are many more important and recent events due to climate change such as last week’s cyclone attack in Mozambique and the wildfires that took place in California late last year. The pictures below show these significant, global events.

Is climate change real?

What about the people who deny climate change? A large proportion of the public in Western democracies deny the existence of climate change[1]. Some climate change denial groups say that because CO₂ is only a trace gas in the atmosphere, it can only have a minor effect on the climate. Climate denial groups also argue that global warming stopped recently, or that global temperatures are actually decreasing. However, these arguments have been made clear to be false and are only based on short term alternates. Climate change deniers are often those who are economically making a financial interest in it and, in some cases, their generation is not necessarily going to be impacted by it.

We all know about ‘being green’ by walking to school or unplugging electronics when we are not using them. However, it is not enough anymore to just switch our light off as times now call for drastic change. The energy sources in our home need to be renewable, gas must go, and people should start investing in an electric or hybrid vehicle rather than using petrol or diesel.

We cannot sit and wait on the government to change. Change is in the hands of the people. We need to force the government’s hand and can only do so if we unite to try and save a world which we are currently destroying. Change occurs when we take action.

References:

[1] See https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/14/germanys-afd-attacks-greta-thunberg-as-it-embraces-climate-denial

Category: STEAM

What is Scholarship?

References:

The potential of quantum computing

Dreams – what are they and why do they happen?

The history of dreams

The psychology behind dreams

What does science have to say?

The proof behind one of the most famous theorems in mathematics

What is the difference between a theorem and a theory?

The proof behind Pythagoras’ theorem

References:

Does Drama have a place in the A in Steam?

What is STEM/STEAM?

Why do people consider Drama as a lesser part of the A in STEAM?

How does drama help with STEAM learning in schools and in STEAM careers?

How else can drama help?

Conclusion

References

Can you smell blue? The changing beliefs of synaesthesia and ideasthesia

All girls are born great at Maths!

References:

Making a WISE choice

Understanding the research

What are we doing at WHS?

References

Further Reading

The Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method: how does it work to ensure a result in an interrupted cricket game?

What is the DLS Method?

References:

How is climate change impacting the planet?

What are the concerns?

Is climate change real?

References: