During my first (of two) sessions at OCRs maths conference at Queen Mary University last week, the matter of students not having enough “resilience” when learning maths came up. There were lots of nods and general agreement to the comment, at which point I shared this idea (I was “winging” this bit, but to be honest I don’t think I’ve ever done a session and not gone “off-piste”) …

Last September I used an idea that I’d stolen borrowed from Julia Smith (@TessMaths) with my new year 7s. You will see below a picture of lots of cards that look like “nets” but they aren’t really “nets” – they are basically 8 squares arranged around a central hole. I’ve done the worlds worst sketch to show that there is a “cut” into the middle of the shape and the idea is to fold it to make a cube. 

Anyway, atter the students had done their usual Times Tables Rockstars sheet (complete with my choice of music!) I handed them one of these sheets and as I showed them a completed cube, I announced “your challenge is to turn your sheet of 8 squares into THIS” and off they went. There were of course, lots of “it’s impossible”, “I can’t do it”, “give us a clue” type comments and to each of these I just stated “it IS possible” and unfolded my cube to show them mine was just like theirs. I then turned my back, folded my sheet back into a cube and pronounced “TA-DA!!”. 

After about 15 minutes, one or two of them managed to complete the cube but had no idea how they did it; others in the group needed a gentle nudge and I asked them “how many faces does a cube have?” and once they’d got the idea that they had to hide two faces they were off again.

Those students that had got it, were becoming better and better at folding it. They were then set off to help other students with one proviso that they can’t touch the other persons card but could only help through instructions. One student didn’t want any help and when they solved it they let out the loudest scream … it was brilliant. I ran over and asked them “how good does that feel?” Their response was “amazing!”.

Once the whole group had it nailed they were set challenges such as doing it behind their back, with their eyes closed or with one hand – I stopped short of letting them do it standing on their heads!

For those purists out there you may wonder what the point of the lesson was and why I would invest a whole lesson in folding and unfolding a cube. The point came during the last 15 minutes – I asked them if they would now consider themselves “cube experts” and all of them undoubtedly agreed they were and we went onto discuss as a group what they thought I was trying to prove by doing this activity with them. We pulled it all together to discuss that “eureka!” moment each and every one of them felt when they solved the cube and they themselves could see that they had gone from complete beginners to experts in a very short space of time. They even suggested to me that it was an analogy (OK they didn’t use that word .. I did) for learning , different routes to a solution open up in front of us and then there is a rush of excitement as it becomes easier until we get the answer and there is a great feeling (I referenced the squeal and how good it felt). However, the thing with maths is that this cycle continues ad infinitum because it starts again with the next question but now they know what to expect … what I want to do as a teacher is make them want more of those “eureka” moments. (I love this pic from spikedmaths as it really sums up what happens a lot in a maths classroom)

The discussion finished with the group agreeing that it is possible to learn almost anything if they try hard enough and keep on trying when it gets really tough … they used the word “resilience” themselves. What surprised me was the maturity of such young students who could see what I was trying to show them but also knew that there were limiting factors .. there were some interesting conversations about what could be possible if only they tried.

I also used the opportunity to discuss the importance of trusting me as we work together over the next few years; by that I mean I want them to trust that I would never give them work that I didn’t think they were capable of even if at first glance it seemed impossible. A great lesson with them to set the tone for the rest of the year and I’ve certainly referenced it a few times since then with the group. 

I know Julia uses this resource with all sorts of ages and teases out different things to what I’ve mentioned above so why not have a go and see what you can do with it. You’ll find Julia’s original resource here -> QR cube and no I’m not giving you a clue!

NB: If you came to my session you should get a dropbox link from OCR shortly if you haven’t already had it.