Teaching is explaining the thing behind the thing.
Every method has a reason it works. My job is to make that reason visible — so a student isn't just repeating steps, but recognising why those steps were the right ones to take.
Maya Adeyemi
Teacher · Curriculum Designer · Mentor
Maya has spent twelve years teaching mathematics, statistics and problem-solving to secondary and early university students, alongside designing curriculum sequences and mentoring newer teachers. Her background is in pure and applied mathematics, with a particular interest in how students build — and sometimes lose — confidence around quantitative reasoning.
Her specialisms are Mathematics, Statistics and Problem Solving, but her real focus sits underneath all three: how people learn to reason clearly about something that initially looks too abstract to hold onto. She designs lessons the way she'd want to have been taught — starting from a concrete case, building toward the general rule, and never skipping the "why."
A gradual move from classroom to curriculum.
First Classroom
Began teaching mathematics full-time, focused on building explanation habits that would carry across every later subject.
Curriculum Design
Redesigned the algebra teaching sequence to introduce factorising through pattern-recognition rather than memorised rules.
Mentoring Programme
Took on leadership of the school's structured mentoring programme for early-career teachers.
Digital Lesson Library
Began building a structured digital library of lesson materials, organised by prerequisite chains rather than chapter order.
What I Teach
Launched this site — a public map of subjects, lessons and teaching philosophy, open to students, parents and fellow teachers.
What keeps this work interesting.
Conceptual learning
Building understanding before speed.
Mathematical reasoning
The habits that transfer across topics.
Student confidence
Confidence that follows real competence.
Examination preparation
Technique without losing understanding.
Independent study
Designing lessons students can run themselves.
Curriculum design
Sequencing topics by real prerequisite chains.
Right now.
CURRENT LESSON PROJECT
Extending the Problem Solving strand with a unit on proof by induction, sequenced after Proof by Contradiction.
QUESTION I'M EXPLORING
How much of "mathematical confidence" is really just prerequisite security in disguise?
TEACHING EXPERIMENT
Testing whether showing the "common mistake" before the correct method changes how well it's remembered.
CURRICULUM PROJECT
Mapping every lesson on this site to its true prerequisite chain, rather than its textbook chapter order.