Evaluation and Research in Education
Editor: Professor Keith Morrison, Inter-University Institute of Macau
Associate Editor: Professor Stephen Gorard, University of York
Statistical Adviser: Professor Colin Baker, University of Wales Bangor
Reviews Editor: Dr. Emma Smith, University of York
|
Volume: 15 Number: 3 Page: 136–142
|
|
|
|
|
Teaching for Understanding in Primary Mathematics
|
|
Andrew Davis
|
|
Mathematics consists of a complex interconnected set of concepts and rules. These 'exist' within the practices of adult communities. Individual learners have to assimilate these concepts by making appropriate
connections with what they already know and by means of appropriate interactions with expert communities. Mathematical understanding that is worth having can be used and applied in the real world in a flexible
fashion. In the light of this account, and of the high stakes testing regime currently in force in the United Kingdom, some aspects of the National Numeracy Strategy do not seem well designed to support
the development of mathematical understanding. The paper advocates a return to some classroom mathematics in which pupils have a degree of control.
© Multilingual Matters 2001
Full text PDF
|
