Ask any group of maths teachers about the strongest influence on their work and career and very many will name Professor Malcolm Swan, who has died at the age of 64. Those who have met him will remember his warmth, passion and creativity, but all who have been touched by his work will feel the influence he has had on their thinking and their very nature as teachers.

The impact of the rich resources created by Malcolm and his colleagues at the University of Nottingham’s Shell Centre has been truly transformative, changing the thinking of mathematics teaching and improving the mathematical learning experience of countless students.

In a subject where lessons were largely teacher-led and involved a deal of demonstration of technique followed by exercises to practise the same skills, a lesson based on Malcolm’s work was for many a revelation: students, often working in groups, discussing mathematical points and arguing over a solution - sometimes passionately! - with the emphasis always on prompting students to do the thinking. Getting students to stop working at the end of a lesson became a frequent but welcome headache for teachers.

Malcolm was a leader of the international movement to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics, recognised worldwide for the design and development of materials that have enriched the learning of millions of children. But for many, many teachers he was “one of them”; a man who loved learning from teachers as much as they did from him.

His warm, modest manner and great sense of fun were combined with considerable skill in gently challenging and encouraging teachers to try out new ideas. He passionately believed that “teachers are the solution, not the problem” and it is the direct influence on their work in the classroom for which teachers will remember him. As one teacher wrote: “He is the reason I love being a maths teacher.”

An influential design genius

A delightful person of many talents, Malcolm’s exceptional skill was in the design of tools that enable teachers of mathematics to turn research insights into happy learning in their classrooms. He did this through a combination of a deep understanding of the mathematics and the learning process, creative ideas and a genius for design.

His lessons contain surprise and delight, humanity and humour: qualities not always associated with mathematics classrooms, but ones that helped students’ understanding, particularly the many who struggle with the subject.

After a few years teaching, he joined the University of Nottingham’s Shell Centre for Mathematical Education, a research team where he played a leading role throughout his career. Amongst his early projects, Malcolm designed The Language of Functions and Graphs to help teachers prepare their students for this new exam topic. Its quality was recognised years later when he was awarded the International Society for Design and Development in Education’s prize for excellence in design.

Later, Improving Learning in Mathematics, developed with the (then) Department for Education and Skills, was sent to all secondary schools, colleges and prisons. This work is not only still widely used, but also influenced many other projects, including in other disciplines.

Motivated by classroom success

For the last 25 years, international collaborations widened the impact of the Shell Centre’s work. In a recent US-based project, Malcolm led the design of 100 lessons that took forward teaching on concept development and on problem solving. There have been more than 7,000,000 lesson downloads so far from the Mathematics Assessment Project - an impact reflected in teacher enthusiasm in the Twittersphere and beyond.

In 2015, the work was recognised by a new award of the International Commission for Mathematical Instruction “for more than 35 years of development and implementation of innovative, influential work in the practice of mathematics education...”. Malcolm was surprised and pleased to be honoured but remained even more delighted when he heard about the impact in classrooms.

Malcolm died peacefully at home on 24 April. He is survived by his wife, Margaret and two children, Philip and Catherine.

Jane Imrie is the deputy director of the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCTEM)

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