Background
The Numeracy and Maths team at Cardiff West Community High School collaborated with a set designed to develop the confidence and creativity of a group of Year 7 learners who found numeracy challenging.
Activity
During the initial sessions, the teachers and creative practitioner created Escape Room style challenges that the pupils had to complete to build their confidence with using standard operating procedures. These activities also required the learners to foster their creativity by collaborating with their peers; being imaginative and persistent in response to mathematical challenges. Once the learners had a strong grasp of numeracy they began to design and create an escape room experience with the support of teachers and the creative practitioner. They had to be imaginative about how they could create puzzles that demonstrated numeracy outcomes; collaboration was required to create and deliver the escape room tasks in small groups; Persistence and inquisitive habits were nurtured by allowing leaners to explore the similarities in the process required for solving both escape room and numeracy problems.
A celebration event at the end of the project allowed the wider school community and parents the opportunity to experience the escape room experience.
Impact
The school reported an increase in the learners’ understanding and awareness of their own creativity; Learners were able to identify how they had been creative throughout the project. For example, learners could see how they had used their imaginations to bring the escape room to life; been inquisitive to solve problems, asking questions such as ‘how does this work/how can I solve this?’ When developing their own puzzles they had to consider ‘how can we make this work for someone else?’ Persistence was another area in which pupils developed and it was reported that all pupils said that they had got much better at solving problems themselves without asking for help. Working collaboratively was the biggest challenge for the group of learners. By the end of the project it was clear that they still needed to develop further in their collaborative working but they have definitely made big strides during this project; Collaboration was particular good when they were solving tasks together.
In relation to attainment, teachers reported that the ‘students ended up either on target or above which is above the expected outcomes. Students in lower sets or with specific needs can often slow in progress as they get older as they find harder topics more difficult.’ The teachers also noted that ‘the project engaged the students over a longer period of time working through the curriculum through many problem-solving tasks. This provided an alternative approach to learning and one that the students found beneficial. The project impacted in more ways than just academically. Students grew in self-belief, creativity and ability to work independently or in a group.’ At this stage in their education this was deemed to be more important for the learners participating in the project.
Students grew in self-belief, creativity and ability to work independently or in a group
The project definitely allowed learners to engage with Maths in a completely different way and this changed their attitude to learning. The session observations showed that learners were really engaged when the task they had to undertake led to unlocking a box and solving a puzzle. They didn't see the activity as a lesson. The pupils also commented that they liked being out of the classroom and making things for the escape room - this showed that the active nature and arts integration had a real impact on their perception of maths. Within the project they were generally left to solve problems on their own or in teams and this helped them develop self-efficacy and resilience.
