This is the first post for the SMP2 project blog. The image above is a playful take on the original work in the 60s when Bryan Thwaites used symbols from a paper tape to describe the project. This one is created on this website and says: “THE SCHOOL MATHEMATICS PROJECT 2.0 BY CHRISTIAN BOKHOVE”. It’s a bit frivolous of course, as it will take some decades before we (and in particular: me) can ever hope to follow in the footsteps of such seminal work. This project can be described as follows:
The School Mathematics Project was an iconic project from the 60s and later on by the University of Southampton. Recently the archive and copyright of these materials returned to our university. This ESRC impact project will explore whether and how we can revive these quality resources and explore how we can transform SMP into an SMP 2.0. The project has four aims. First, it will map and digitise key parts of the archive. Second, it will map the archive against the current KS3 and KS4 curriculum. Third, it will collect and evaluate views on the SMP materials. Finally, these three aims will then culminate in a feasibility report. Is it feasible to breathe new life in the original project, and create new versions of the textbooks, integrating a firm research component. The project is a collaboration between the Southampton Education School, three schools in the region, and the Mathematics department. The project will have substantial user engagement, genuine collaboration and co-design with classroom practitioners. Principal Investigator is Dr. Christian Bokhove.
I did the original SMP O level in the 1960s. I know they scrapped it as it was considered to difficult but I maintian that I would never have done a Maths degree and gone inot Maths Ed had I not been amazed and excited byt learning Groups, vectors etc when I was 14. The current GCSE is interminably dull.
sorry about my spelling!
Great stuff. I’ve got most of the archive now in my office and it is a veritable treasure trove!