Written evidence submitted by NRICH (DIV0005)
About NRICH
NRICH is an innovative, multiple award-winning collaboration between the Faculties of Mathematics and Education at the University of Cambridge which focuses on problem-solving and creating opportunities for students to learn mathematics through exploration and discussion.
nrich.maths.org provides thousands of free online mathematics resources for ages 3 to 18 at, covering all stages of early years, primary and secondary school education - completely free and available to all.
We aim to:
Developing confident, resilient problem-solvers
NRICH's activities focus on developing problem-solving skills. Our rich mathematical tasks aim to build students' perseverance, mathematical reasoning, ability to apply knowledge creatively in unfamiliar contexts, and confidence in tackling new challenges. 'Low threshold, high ceiling' resources are designed to be accessible to all learners, encouraging exploration and discussion. 'Live' problems offer opportunities for students to share their solutions for publication on the site.
Supporting teachers
Mapping NRICH resources to the curriculum enables teachers to embed engaging, creative, rich mathematics in the reality of the classroom.
Extensive online teacher guidance on 'scaffolding' NRICH problems includes downloadable worksheets or activity resources where required; key concepts and questions to explore; advice on supporting students who require more help; and extension activities for students who are ready for additional challenges.
We offer face-to-face workshops, webinars, conferences and bespoke training days to enhance teachers' professional knowledge.
Putting research into practice
Our philosophy is grounded in education research, providing a strong foundation for effective impact. The NRICH content development and professional development is delivered by qualified teachers, working in partnership with teachers, schools and educational settings to ensure that our resources and advice offer practical, robust and effective support for everyday practice.
NRICH actively contributes to mathematics education discussion and debate, shaping the future through dialogue with policy makers and the mathematical community. We are members of the Joint Mathematical Council, regularly contribute towards the work of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Teaching Profession and our Director Dr Ems Lord was recently President of the Mathematical Association.
NRICH submission relating to diversity in STEM
The nature or extent to which women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and those from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds are underrepresented in STEM in academia and industry;
Females are significantly under-represented in mathematics research, just 6% of UK mathematics professors are female (LMS, 2013). Although there has been excellent progress in recent years increasing the number of students taking A-Level mathematics - entries for A-Level mathematics now exceed those for any other subject – the numbers of female students taking A-Level Further Mathematics and continuing to the study the subject at A-Level remain stubbornly low. We must invest in research exploring the reasons female A-Level mathematics students choose not to study mathematics at undergraduate level and beyond, and use those findings to inform future initiatives designed to increase the number of female mathematics undergraduates and researchers.
The reasons why these groups are underrepresented
At the time of writing this submission, the reasons for the lack of female A-Level mathematics students choosing not to pursue the subject at undergraduate level and beyond has mostly been overlooked by the research community. In a pilot study conducted by the Director of NRICH Dr Ems Lord, working with two cohorts of A-Level mathematics students aiming to continue to their academic studies at university, the findings indicated gender differences in the reasons influencing their choices of HEI courses. The findings from the pilot study, which were presented at a recent conference organised by the British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics is available here https://bsrlm.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/BSRLM-CP-40-1-09.pdf The findings revealed that the female participants were seeking courses which enabled them to pursue their vision of helping others and contributing towards a better society, and their chosen courses reflected their vision (most of the female participants choosing to study medicine and related subject whereas their male counterparts were much more focused on earning potential and following their own academic interests, such as mechanical skills, rather than an overall vision focusing on helping others).
The implications of these groups being underrepresented in STEM roles in academia and industry
NRICH has been vocal about the need for students to learn key transferable skills, especially problem-solving, collaborative working alongside developing the resilience and persistence to overcome difficulties. These transferable skills are invaluable whether learners enter the workplace or academia. This stance is supported by the highly-influential Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, as well as high profile economic and industry consultancies such as McKinsey and Co., who have recognised the changing nature of our world of work and the very different needs of future learners who require transferable skills to thrive in our rapidly changing world where the growth of AI will have a massive impact of the future roles available to them. Those who can be flexible, problem-solve and work together are more likely to thrive whatever the future may hold. Mathematics is the ideal vehicle for developing and embedding these transferable skills. We need more mathematicians to drive forward innovation and research, failing to attract the most promising female candidates will significantly reduce our talent pool limit and hence our potential to respond to our future innovations and crises.
What has been done to address underrepresentation of particular groups in STEM roles
NRICH recognises efforts to attract more female students to engage with mathematics in schools. For example, we support the initiative Maths4Girls which places female role models from academia and industry in schools. We also regualy host Girl in Mathematics events, supported by funding from the London Mathematical Society. However, more needs to be done to encourage the female studying A-Level mathematics at school to continue studying mathematics at university-level. We must investigate the reasons female students choose not to apply for maths-related undergraduate courses and use the findings to inform high-quality programmes to address the key issues.
What could and should be done by the UK Government, UK Research and Innovation, other funding bodies, industry and academia to address the issues identified.
NRICH would welcome a large-scale research programme investigating the reasons female A-Level mathematics students choose not to pursue the subject at undergraduate level and beyond. We would encourage the government to use the findings to inform significant investment in research-informed initiatives to boost the number of females studying and researching mathematics in our universities. NRICH’s pilot research study, led by our Director Dr Ems Lord, indicated possible gender differences in the reasons for choosing undergraduate courses among those studying A-Level mathematics. We would like to see this pilot study expanded, investigating possible regional differences in the reasons behind the decision-making of A-Level students.
January 2022