For Teachers


Do your students realise maths is fundamental for rollercoasters to stay on course upside down, or that luggage at the airport needs maths to arrive in the right place? 

Operational research (OR) is a ‘signpost’ career for young people who enjoy studying mathematics and problem solving, but aren’t sure how they might use these skills in the workplace. We provide examples and materials for free which are full of great examples of how maths is used to solve ‘real-world’ problems and present OR as an interesting and fulfilling career. Just complete an ORiE visit request form and we’ll sort out a free visit to your school or college.

Free resources for teachers

Interactive Session

We run workshops using fun, interactive and engaging games to show your students how (for example) playing with Lego can showcase the usefulness of maths and OR in the real world. We run these workshops free of charge at enrichment events, STEM clubs and during school lessons. Have a look at the ORiE Outline of Workshops for details of the workshops we run.

Career Talks & Case Studies

If students aren’t sure how they could use maths in the real world, why not get an OR in Education volunteer or industry speaker to answer their questions? Hear about a huge variety of jobs and companies, spanning multiple industries, in talks to inspire the students to take up a career using maths! For Years 10 and 11 and sixth form students, this can be really beneficial as it opens their eyes to a career they may not have previously been aware of.

We also have an annual careers fair held in Birmingham. 

Feedback

“Sessions were fun, interactive and engaging. Fantastic resources and great delivery. Content was fully relatable to school maths. Nice extension opportunities." – Mounts Bay Academy, Cornwall

“Liked the hands-on learning, linking maths and especially algebra to real life situations. Linked in a lot of topics. Worksheets and presentation flowed very well.” – Abbeyfield School, Northampton

“Excellent to have an interactive activity that the students could carry out. They engaged with it positively and then developed it into an understanding of Operational Research. Excellent to have someone who could give real life examples of application” – Big Bang Workshop, London

"Having spoken to students who attended, I am aware that they gained a great deal from your talk and have a much better knowledge about what roles are available in the workplace which will assist them greatly in researching their long term career plans."  Teacher, High Wycombe 

“Good content, mix of slides and video clips. He was well prepared – informative and interesting. Thank you.” – Careers Advisor, High Wycombe

CPD for Teachers

Throughout the year, we run CPD for teachers that lasts half a day and allows you to extend your maths knowledge and take fresh new ideas back to the classroom. The morning or afternoon is based around achieving the three areas detailed below:

  1. Broaden / deepen maths knowledge – understand what operational research is and the techniques it involves. Understand the background and aims of the OR in Education (ORiE) initiative
  2. Relate theory to practice – focus on application of maths to real life by demonstrating where OR is used in the real world (including using physical resources such as Lego to demonstrate this) and providing examples.
  3. Allow group reflection time – to reflect on how they found it, how their students would find it and how it can be used in class.
A man in a tshirt is sat on a sofa talking to a man in a blue shirt on an adjacent sofa, with a rack of magazines behind them.

The Maths Community and STEM

Since OR is so deeply embed within maths, we play an active role in the maths community. We provide input on policies as well as sponsoring mathematical events (such as the UK Greenwich Maths Festival 2019 and the UKMT Summer Schools) and running interactive maths workshops (most recently for the AMSP development day). Additionally we regularly attend events and conferences – such as the MEI conference where we exhibit every year and the ATM / MA branch meetings where we build our networks with teachers across the country. We are also a participating member of The Joint Mathematical Council (JMC) which meets three times a year and serves as a forum, to advance mathematics education. 

Within the wider STEM community, we have links with the STEM Learning Centre in York and encourage all volunteers to become STEM Ambassadors. Any member or individual can register free of charge as a STEM Ambassador and become part of a huge community which encourages young people in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Any outreach activity then completed on behalf of The OR Society (such as a careers talk, careers fair or workshop) will count as a STEM activity and can be recorded on your online log.

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