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Operational Research Ambassadors in Schools. Noel-Ann Bradshaw, Paul Harper, Vincent Knight and Louise Orpin. OR in Schools. - Visibility of OR: raise awareness in schools - OR in Schools Taskforce and Education Officer. Wider maths issues.
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Operational Research Ambassadors in Schools Noel-Ann Bradshaw, Paul Harper, Vincent Knight and Louise Orpin
OR in Schools - Visibility of OR: raiseawareness in schools - OR in Schools Taskforce and Education Officer
Wider maths issues • Half of those taking GCSE mathematics do not achieve grades A*- C • Desire to increase the numbers of pupils taking A-level maths • Recent initiatives (More Maths Grads etc)
The pilot scheme • 5 ambassadors • 5-6 weeks in local secondary schools (from early June) • Development of enrichment resources • Initial focus on GCSE
One-day training session (ambassadors, university supervisors, Louise & Sue de Pomerai)
Example resources • Bin Packing and linear programming (theatre booking) • Queueing Theory (theme parks & festivals) • Critical Path Analysis (cooking bolognaise) • Graphs and matching algorithms (sports) • Scheduling (swimming gala) • Prim’s and Kruskal’s algorithms • The travelling salesperson problem • Game theory
Feedback & impact:ambassadors “Being able to work with in partnership with the school was extremely beneficial, in that we were able to acknowledge the different ways teachers taught their lessons and use/slightly alter some of their ideas and methods in our lesson plans. This all helped to make our lesson plans much better.” • Progression to PGCE (Greenwich ambassador) • Confirmation of desire to be a teacher (Cardiff year 2 ambassador)
Feedback & impact: schools “Very pleased to have been involved in the project; our pupils have gained mathematical confidence as a result.” • Enthusiastic and supportive • Benefit from pool of resources • Desire to be involved again
Impact for the ORS • New resources for OR in Schools programme • Links with schools • Project to continue with wider university and undergraduate involvement • Ultimately, more teachers and young people aware of OR