The Mathematics Department at the University of Glasgow places several final-year honours students each year in to local schools for one morning/afternoon each week from October to December. The students gain valuable experience in deciding whether or not to go into teacher training, the schools gain an extra knowledgeable body to assist in the classroom, and the pupils interact with a potential role model. This year, 13 students joined the scheme and visited schools throughout Glasgow and the surrounding areas.
In late September, each Ambassadors scheme student contacts the school to arrange to meet the Principal Teacher before the school's October break. Together, the student and teacher decide upon a period of roughly 2-2.5 hours per week until Christmas (two or more classes that take place in one morning or afternoon per week) when the student will visit the school. In the past, students have helped in a range of classes, from years 1 to 5. In the early weeks the student aims to learn from the teacher(s) and build sound relationships with the pupils in the class, and in the final three weeks the student puts into place a project of some sort. The topic of the project should be decided by the student and class teacher in consultation, but to give some examples: students who have made a very good impression on the class teacher have run classes in a topic of the teacher's choice (including trigonometry and understanding the notion of area); while others have written workbooks that contain a collection of small quizzes for the pupils.
In early December, the superviser visits the school to watch the student carry out their project and to meet the class teacher to discuss briefly the student's progress and the scheme as a whole.