Q&A with SET22 speaker Katie Fremlin
Katie Fremlin, Maths Centre for Excellence Project Manager at City College Plymouth, will be speaking at SET22 this year on the subject of supporting FE maths learners outside the traditional classroom, in alternative learning environments. In this Q&A, Katie gives us a taste of her talk and shares what she’s looking forward to about the conference in January.
What draws you to teaching maths?
Maths really is everywhere, and each of us use our maths skills every day without always noticing. I’m passionate about making education accessible for all, and I find it so rewarding to support learners to overcome barriers they may have, which has led me to FE and maths! Maths is an emotive subject, and many of us have had moments where we feel we can’t do it, so I’m proud to be part of a national project to support learners across England to change that mindset and build their numeracy skills to open doors and embrace further study, their careers and life.
Why is it so important to explore alternative methods and learning environments for teaching maths to those who need additional support?
In an FE setting, the majority of learners completing functional skills or GCSE will be retaking the qualification and therefore there are many emotions, feelings and additional considerations attached to this. By changing the environment and exploring more holistic teaching approaches, we can help to reset some of these emotions and feelings that are caused by walking into a maths classroom, and enable learners to reach their full potential.
What do you hope attendees will take away from your talk at the SET22 conference in January?
I hope attendees will be inspired to try something new and think outside the box, newly equipped with a toolkit for taking learning outside the classroom, creating alternative hands-on lessons, motivating and engaging learners, and supporting learners to overcome barriers such as maths anxiety to build their skills and confidence.
What are you most looking forward to about the event?
To share my passion on alternative learning environments and encourage practitioners to try new approaches. I’m also really looking forward to the opportunity to meet practitioners from around the country and share knowledge and experience. Speaker wise, I’m really excited to see Bonita Norris as I am a big fan of the great outdoors and would love to hear more about her Everest experience.
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Join Katie, Judy Ling Wong, Bonita Norris, host Sarah Simons and more than 20 other speakers at this year’s SET22 conference. Don’t miss out - book your ticket for SET22 today!