Victoria Wall has been an educator for 7 years and is currently a Maths teacher at Wallace High School in Stirling. After taking part in The Future We Want, we asked Victoria about how the programme impacted her professional practice.
What is your name, job title and where do you work?
I’m Victoria Wall and I’m a Maths Teacher at Wallace High School in Stirling.
How long have you been teaching maths?
Seven years.
What made you want to become a maths teacher? What did that journey look like for you?
I enjoyed Maths at school and was always keen to share my passion for the subject. I worked in HR for three years after finishing S6 then decided go to University to study Maths and Education at Stirling.
What made you want to get involved in this project?
I wanted learn how to engage pupils further through more contextualised learning, specifically linked to their community and their place in the World.
What was your understanding of Global Citizenship before the project? How did you feel about it as an approach for the maths classroom?
Prior to the project, I understood Global Citizenship to be about understanding your place and responsibility within your community and on a wider scale, but was not confident on how to deliver lessons which incorporated this. I felt it was difficult to “slot it into” the curriculum, mainly due to time constraints.
What did you do / try out in the classroom as a result of the project? How did your learners respond?
I have carried out Statistics lessons and Fractions lessons as a result of the project, both of which learners found very engaging. Feedback from young people included statements such as “I loved learning about how people in other parts of the world spend their time” and “Maths is more interesting when it’s about real life”.
After taking part in the project, how confident do you feel about taking a Global Citizenship approach to maths teaching?
I am now more confident about bringing it into my lessons. I feel the course has given me an insight on how to do it and ideas for various topics. Now, however, is about trying to embed it into the curriculum so it doesn’t feel like a “one off” lesson.
What did you get out of the project that you’ll take back to the classroom?
Different ideas for lessons as well as an understanding for how broad Global Citizenship can be in terms of topics.
How would you describe the project in three words?
Interesting, Valuable and Engaging.
Would you recommend this project to other maths teachers in Scotland? If yes, why?
Yes, it has opened my eyes to the wider concepts of Global Citizenship. I think in order for it to be more embedded in classroom learning, more teachers need to have a deeper understanding of what it is and how it can be brought into the classroom.
We are currently recruiting for the 2022/23 session after a successful first round of the project. Find out more.
