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How it works
I’m a Mathematician connects students with STEM professionals online.
In the activity, students can:
- Read profiles of mathematicians in different careers
- Ask them questions
- Chat with them in a 40 minute, text-only live Chat (which you can book for your class)
- Vote for their favourite to win €500 to do more STEM engagement!
Introducing the activity to students
You can read the text below to brief your students on the activity.
It may help to display the website at the same time.I’m a Mathematician, Get me out of here is an activity where you connect with mathematicians online. We are taking part in the [Your Zone name]. There are different ways you can take part.
- As a class, we will have a 40 minute live Chat with some of the mathematicians.
- It’s text-only; there’s no audio or video.
- In the live Chat, you can ask the mathematicians any questions you like.
- You can see which mathematicians have signed up for our Chat on your dashboard when you log in.
- There will also be a moderator in the Chat, who is there to make sure everything runs smoothly.
- As well as the Chat we’ll have as a class, there may be after-school Chats you can take part in from home. See the information on your dashboard when you log in.
- You can send the mathematicians questions in the Ask section.
- You can send questions to any mathematician in the Zone, even if they weren’t in our live Chat.
- You can ask whatever you like, and you can send your questions at any time.
- If you add an email address to your account, you’ll get an email when your question has been answered.
- Questions and answers stay on the site, so have a look around and see what others have asked.
- At the end of the Zone, the student who asked the best question will win a gift voucher!
Also read the following section if your Zone features the Vote section.
Not all Zones feature voting – please check your Zone.
- Each week you can Vote for your favourite mathematician.
- At the end of the Zone, the mathematician with the most votes will win a €500 prize!
- Read how the mathematicians would spend the prize money on their profiles and ask them about it.
- The mathematicians are competing for your vote – who deserves it most?
More ways to run I’m a Mathematician
We understand that some schools may face issues in taking part in I’m a Mathematician in the “usual” way.
I’m a Mathematician is flexible. You don’t need any special software to take part, just a computer or tablet and an internet connection.
The activity can be run in a variety of ways, including from home.
Find out more ways of taking part in I’m a Mathematician ❯
How to book a live Chat
Choose your Zone
Log in to imamathematician.ie and select the Zone you want to book a live Chat in from My Current Zones in the right hand column on your Dashboard.
Book a slot
- Click the ‘Book a live Chat’ button from your Dashboard.
- Select the Zone and choose your date and time.
- Select a Class, or Create a New Class
- Live Chats last 40 minutes. We recommend you book them for 10 minutes after your lesson start time.
- After clicking ‘Confirm Booking’, you will get a confirmation email with the next steps.
Before your Chat
Make sure that students can register and log in, and that the live Chat function works on your organisation’s devices.
Give access to students
From your dashboard, click MANAGE AND VIEW CLASSES to see the list of classes you’ve created.
There are two ways to give your students access:
- Click Print login cards to generate 40 usernames and passwords on a pdf document. Print and hand these out to give students instant access.
- Give students the unique registration URL (a web link) for their class. Students will be asked to register using an email address, and create a username.
Students must have a username otherwise they will not be able to access your booked live Chat.
More information on student data ❯
Pre-Chat checklist
Before your live Chat, make sure you’ve done the following things to ensure everything runs smoothly on the day.
- Arrange IT equipment for students (e.g. book computer suite, laptops, or tablets).
I’m a Mathematician is a text-only instant messaging-style platform. Students can ask questions directly to the mathematicians in the live Chat. Inform your IT department and ask them to add the websites on this list to your network allowlist ❯
- We highly recommend that students are given access to the Zone before their Chat.
Give your students an opportunity to read the profiles of the mathematicians taking part and prepare some questions.
For more help with this, see our suggested lesson plans ❯
- Test the live Chat: Log in with your I’m a Mathematician username and visit the Staffroom Chat ❯
The staffroom is open 9am to 4pm, weekdays whilst Zones are running. We recommend you use a student computer or tablet, logged in as one of your students.
Lesson plans
We’ve prepared 3 lesson plans which are designed to increase your students’ engagement with the activity.
The lesson plans have been developed in consultation with teachers and have been extensively tested. Most teachers find them extremely helpful.
Access the lesson plans here ❯
Taking part in a live Chat
- When it’s time for your Chat, log in to imamathematician.ie with your I’m a Mathematician username.
- Go to the Zone you booked your live Chat in (you can select Zones from the My Current Zones list on your dashboard).When students log in, they will automatically be taken to the Zone of their Chat.
- Click Chat at the top of the page.
- A moderator will have set the live Chat up for you. Only students in your class can access your booked Chat.
- If you have any issues call us ASAP on 01225 326 892.
The live Chat page:
After your live Chat
After your live Chat, you can use your teacher account to download a copy of the transcript. Don’t worry if you close the Chat window – you will also be emailed a link to the transcript at the end of the day.
However, your students’ involvement doesn’t have to end after your live Chat…
Follow up and extension activities
Here are some suggested things you can do with students to continue their engagement after your live Chat:
- Follow up questions
Following your live Chat, students can submit questions to the mathematicians through the Ask section of the site.
At the end of the Zone, the student who asked the best question will win a certificate and voucher!
- Additional after-school live Chats
There may be extra after-school live Chats open to all students whilst Zones are running.
These are typically on Thursdays evenings, from 7pm to 8pm.
Students can take part in these Chats on their own, from home. They just log in – no need to book!
All Chats are fully moderated by our DBS-checked team.
- Keep up-to-date with Zone winners
Every Friday the ‘mathematician of the week’ is announced. This is the mathematician who has received the most Votes from students that week.
On the final day of the Zone, there is typically a live Chat for all students, from 2pm to 3pm.
In this Chat, the Zone Winner who wins a €500 prize will be announced.
Not all Zones feature voting and winners – please check your Zone.
- Go over the live Chat transcript and review questions, with your students
You will be emailed a link to your Chat transcript at the end of the day.
From your dashboard, you can see the questions your students have asked in the Zone.
More information
Safeguarding and privacy
All interactions between students and mathematicians are checked and moderated by our DBS-checked team.
In live Chats teachers can monitor what’s said, and you have the ability to delete messages. Afterwards, you’ll get a transcript of your live Chat emailed to you. You can also see which students have logged in, and what they’ve asked on your Zone dashboard.
Student details are private on the site – scientists only see a ‘display name’.
More about student safeguarding and privacy ❯
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Benefits for students
Taking part supports the science capital teaching approach, helping students see STEM as ‘for them’, read more about the specific details.
Research has found that I’m a Mathematician supports four of the science capital dimensions. Read the report ❯
I’m a Mathematician also supports careers development, as measured by the Gatsby Good Careers Guidance Benchmarks. Read more ❯
Tips for first timers
We asked teachers what tips they would give to other teachers taking part in I’m a Mathematician for the first time.
Here are the most common answers:
- Spend more time preparing students
Run lessons 1 and 2 before the live chat lesson to prepare students.
“We have just had our live Chat. It was the best yet I think, because we had spent much more time on preliminary activities so we had loads of questions to ask.”
- Involve more students
I’m a Mathematician is suitable for students aged 7 to 18. Each student is able to take away something different from the activity.
- Encourage students to be creative with their questions
There are better ways to use the activity than using the mathematicians as Googlers.
“Get the students to investigate the interests and subject of study of each scientist, so they can ask appropriate and useful questions.”
Contact
We’re here to help. If you should have any questions, or need a hand with anything, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at support@imascientist.ie or by calling (+44) 01225 326 892.
You can also chat with us in the Staffroom Chat ❯ weekdays 9am to 5pm, whilst Zones are running.
(you must be logged in with your I’m a Mathematician username)
