Professional Development for Early Years

This page is dedicated to the CPD video resources for teachers of Early Years Mathematics.

Some are presented by colleagues from within Loughborough University's Department of Mathematics Education, and others by external experts within mathematics education.

If you are interested in resources for primary, secondary and higher education, please return to the main CPD page.

Dyscalculia: What's new?

This video presents information about the typical symptoms of dyscalculia, and how our views about dyscalculia and diagnostic approaches have changed in recent years.

Executive Function: Part 2

In this video, Professor Camilla Gilmore considers different ways in which the working memory can play a role in mathematical thinking and what this means for designing mathematical activities.

Executive Function: Part 1

In this video Professor Camilla Gilmore considers the different ways in which inhibitory control can play a role in mathematical thinking and how this might inform the design of mathematical activities.

Exploring computation fluency connecting structures, strategies and symbols

Dr Ruth Trundley explores the importance of connecting different representations of mathematics and in particular how the meaning attached to symbols is essential in supporting fluency.

A small-scale action research project on spatial reasoning

In this video Dr Alison Borthwick describes a project with teachers who were keen to find out more about spatial reasoning with 5-11-year-olds. The video includes a flavour of the international research, the activities the teachers completed and the impact on both adults and children.

Playful Mathematics

Dr Helen Williams presents some background into the literature on play and learning generally, and considers what this might mean for the learning of mathematics in particular, as well as what 'playful mathematics' might look like in practice.

Comparative judgement in the mathematics classroom

Comparative judgement offers a novel approach to assessing important but fuzzy learning outcomes, such as problem solving and conceptual understanding. In this video, Dr Ian Jones introduces comparative judgement and how it can be used in the mathematics classroom.

Early Counting

In this video, Dr Catherine Gripton explores the development of counting in early childhood and discusses ‘counting collections’ as an approach which can support children’s participation, agency and enjoyment of counting.

Maths without mistakes

In this workshop by Dr Dan Meyer, he discusses curriculum, technology, and strategies that celebrate and develop that thinking instead, helping learners grow in their maths identity and knowledge.

Effective teacher professional development

Research is increasingly providing insights about how pupils learn. However, our understanding of how to design professional development in order to help teachers put these insights into practice remains limited. In this talk, Dr Sam Sims outlines a new theory of effective professional development.

Parental Engagement in Mathematical Learning

Drawing on over 10 years of research in this area, Professor Tim Jay talks about why out-of-school mathematics thinking and learning is so important, why parental engagement interventions often don’t achieve their aims, and how an alternative approach to working with parents can help.

Mathematical Learning Difficulties Following Preterm Birth

This video by Camilla Gilmore reviews current evidence about the long-term development of children born preterm and the impact on their attainment at school, in mathematics and across the curriculum. It includes information about strategies for supporting children born preterm in school.

Developing Pattern Awareness in the Early Years

In this video, Dr Sue Gifford describes a project with teachers of 3-5-year-olds who developed a range of pattern activities in different contexts, with some surprising responses from the children.

Supporting Spatial Reasoning in the Early Years

Dr Helen Williams explores the importance of early spatial reasoning on later, and wider, mathematical achievement.