Time Zones, Test Week and Teaching with Representations - AfterMaths

About this episode

Jon and Becky discuss SATs week, teaching representations in maths, and travel-inspired mathematics related to time zones.

Becky is back from America, which means Aftermaths is back to its usual rhythm of maths chat, gentle chaos and slightly overconfident linking between topics. In this episode, Jon and Becky begin by looking ahead to Key Stage 2 SATs week, reflecting on the pressure pupils, parents and schools can feel, while also remembering some of the stranger moments from past SATs papers, including giraffes, warthogs and the famous “bewilderment” question. Jon then shares a staff meeting idea about representations in maths, using improper fractions, mixed numbers and counters to explore when manipulatives help children see the structure of the mathematics, and when they can become an inefficient crutch. It leads into a wider discussion about fluency, efficiency, conceptual understanding and the importance of moving pupils intentionally from representation towards more efficient methods. For this week’s Maths of Life, Becky brings back some travel-inspired mathematics from her trip to Washington State. A flight from London to Seattle leads to a conversation about time zones, longitude, negative numbers, the international date line, China’s single time zone, and why France technically has more…

People in this episode

Host: Jon Cripwell

Guest: Becky

Topics covered

• Key Stage 2 SATs
• mathematics education
• representations in maths
• fluency and efficiency
• time zones
• mixed attainment grouping

Keywords

• SATs
• mathematics
• representations
• time zones
• fluency
• efficiency
• mixed attainment grouping

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: EEF, UCL

Places: Washington State, London, Seattle, China, France, Russia

More episodes of The Primary Maths Podcast

• Florence Nightingale: The Lady with the Graph · June 5, 2026 · 23 min
• Why Problem Solving Needs to be Taught - AfterMaths · May 22, 2026 · 34 min
• Building Maths Confidence with National Numeracy · May 19, 2026 · 44 min
• Why Doodling Belongs in Maths Lessons - AfterMaths · May 15, 2026 · 38 min
• Why Active Primary Maths Lessons Work · May 5, 2026 · 38 min
• Attainment Grouping vs Setting in Primary Maths - AfterMaths Episode · May 1, 2026 · 33 min