Ep 37: Rebuilding Teacher Confidence in Maths - Insights from Patrick Renouf

In today’s episode, Jon speaks to Patrick Renouf, an international maths educator whose journey is unlike almost any other. As a child, Patrick experienced what he later recognised as maths trauma — a mix of high-stakes testing, procedural teaching, and an early sense that maths “wasn’t for him.” But what followed was a remarkable transformation.

Patrick now works with schools around the world helping teachers rebuild their relationship with maths, shift towards teaching for understanding, and create classrooms where thinking — not performing — is the centrepiece of maths learning.

Together, Jon and Patrick explore:

🔍 What’s Inside This Episode

• Patrick’s early experiences of maths anxiety and streaming — and how this shaped his later work.
• Why traditional teaching left him “adrift” and almost caused him to fail his NQT year.
• The pivotal moment a maths coach walked into his classroom and asked, “What do you want to work on?”
• How Number Talks, introduced by Sherry Parrish, completely reframed his understanding of number, fluency, and strategy use.
• Why conceptual understanding isn’t a ‘nice to have’ — it’s the anchor for long-term learning.
• The difference between deductive (“Here’s the objective, now do examples…”) and inductive learning (“What patterns do you notice?”).
• How concept-based inquiry helps children generalise, connect ideas and think like mathematicians.
• Why productive struggle, the Learning Pit, and carefully crafted questions level the playing field for all learners.
• The cultural problems that fuel maths anxiety in adults and children — and why fast answers are not the goal.
• How teachers can regain confidence in maths, even if they’ve never felt strong at it.

🧠 Key Takeaways

• Maths anxiety often stems from performance-driven environments, rote learning, and fragile early foundations.
• Teachers frequently carry their own maths trauma — and it silently shapes classroom practice.
• Mathematical fluency is about being accurate, flexible and efficient — not just fast.
• Letting pupils invent strategies develops deeper number sense than teaching algorithms too early.
• Concept-based inquiry gives children ownership over the mathematics and levels out the power dynamic in class.
• Confusion isn’t failure — it’s the entry point into real learning.

📚 Mentioned in This Episode

• Number Talks – Sherry Parrish
• The Learning Pit – James Nottingham
• Mindset & Mathematical Mindsets – Jo Boaler
• Concept-Based Inquiry – Lynn Erickson, Lois Lanning, Carla Marshall, Rachel French

🌍 Where to Find Patrick

• Website: patrickrenouf.com
• LinkedIn: Just search Patrick Renouf (there aren’t many!)