Maths education seminar: Jean-Baptiste Gramain on working with students as partners to build community
| Dates: | 3 November 2026 |
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| Times: | 12:00 - 13:00 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | Department of Mathematics |
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| Who is it for: | University staff |
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| Speaker: | Jean-Baptiste Gramain |
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Speaker: Jean-Baptiste Gramain (University of Aberdeen)
Title: SMEG! Working with students as partners to create opportunities and foster a sense of community.
Abstract: I launched the Student-led Maths Education Group (SMEG) in October 2025, with a group of 10 undergraduate students keen to get involved in discussions to improve the provision of Maths courses. From the very first meeting, it became obvious that what these SMEG-Heads craved the most was a sense of community, built on bonds among students and between staff and students.
In this talk, I will present the various activities, social or academic, SMEG has been running over the year, and the impact they had on their fellow students.
The main project SMEG-Heads led was the design and implementation of new strategies for running tutorials and stimulate students’ group interactions. In addition to their conclusions and recommendations for future classes, I will discuss the impact the project had on SMEG-Heads themselves, and how it developed their own sense of belonging to a community of learning.
From a staff perspective, working with SMEG has shed new light on the student experience, and provided a framework for constructive conversations with students which will inform the future teaching delivery in Maths and other disciplines.
Through this talk, I aim to demonstrate that working in partnership with students can be a fruitful and rewarding experience in community-building, and contribute to the long-term fostering of belonging in learning communities.
Speaker
Jean-Baptiste Gramain
Role: Reader
Organisation: University of Aberdeen
Travel and Contact Information
Find event
Online only this week
Alan Turing Building
Manchester
