Virtual Maths Circles: helping young people to think like researchers

Abstract

The Edinburgh Maths Circles are free sessions for families, run by staff and students from the University of Edinburgh, UK. Their main aim is encouraging children to think and behave like mathematics researchers, as they explore open-ended questions, make their own conjectures, and explain their reasoning to others. Maths Circles started in 2016 as in-person events, with an online version created in response to the outbreak of Covid-19. To spread the initiative as widely as possible across Scotland, we have been running development workshops for over four hundred teachers and educators, and we have visited local schools and libraries. The ideas and methods of Maths Circles have moved beyond our disciplinary boundaries, as other departments at the university are planning activities based on this model. In this practice case study, we illustrate the aims and philosophy of Maths Circles, the challenges we faced, and how the initiative grew over time. We describe our work with local schools/communities, and how we adapted to Covid-19 restrictions. We also share personal experiences from researchers, university students and educators who contributed to the project. We aim to encourage colleagues to adopt a similar approach in other contexts and disciplines, and we are open to cross-disciplinary collaboration.