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My experience with teaching Mathematics. What is yours?

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My experience with teaching Mathematics. What is yours?

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I taught primary mathematics over the course of two weeks. My school used the programme 'Power Maths' The Year 4 children had maths for at least an hour a day. Power maths models and embeds a growth mindset to maths.
I found that children were able to learn what they did on Monday benefited their learning for the rest of the week.
Power maths used both the practical textbook and interactive smartboard. The lesson would start with a 'Power up' which was normally something challenging of what they had learnt previously, it then moves on to the 'Discover section.' Within my classroom, the children used their maths journals which were used to show their workings out using, pictorial representation and abstract to show as many ways in which they could work out the question. This would then link on to the main learning focus; I taught the topic 'area' over the course of a week.
- What is area?
- Counting squares (1)
- Counting squares (2)
- Making shapes
- Comparing area
The benefits of Power maths is that children were using their newly learnt knowledge repeatedly which proved to be effective, the children were able to realise what they learnt yesterday could aid their learning the following day. This scheme was used throughout the school. Often the children remembered the things they had learnt in Year 3.
Overall, I loved teaching maths and I found the scheme Power Maths so useful.

Gemma Webster

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Resources help younger children with links between the written number, how it’s said and what it actually means. Making these links in young children helps further on in school life!

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Concrete pictorial & Abstract Definitions 

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Concrete pictorial & Abstract Definitions 

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Concrete Resources are objects or physical resources that children can handle and manipulate to aid their understanding of different maths concepts.

Pictorial representation of data is the pictures or symbols which represent different information. - This can be presented in forms such as; bar charts, part-whole models, and graphs.

Abstract concepts is the stage which uses symbols such as numbers to present a problem. For example: 5 + 2 = 7. Abstract also looks at the mathematical symbols for example +, -, x, /

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Resources help with real life problems like money problems and problem solving- providing a context to learning is very important!
In my experience of teaching mathematics, the children responded extremely well with physical resources. We used base 10 blocks to help children visualise the numbers of their sum. this allowed to physically put the numbers in the correct column. We also used number coins when working with money. Both used to these resources had a very positive impact on the children's work.

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Resources help in maths all the way through primary school, they help children to physically see what is happening! In my experience on placement , children in the higher classes sometimes need those physical experiences to be able to grasp a concept so it embeds in their brain.

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Other sources that provide further information for mathematics teachers

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Other sources that provide further information for mathematics teachers

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Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education (ACME)- The aim of the ACME is to enable an effective and constructive partnership between government and the mathematics community. It aims to provide an authoritative, credible, balanced and coherent position, which inevitably does not always represent the diverse views that might exist across the mathematics education community.

Cognitive Acceleration in Mathematics Education (CAME)- Draws on the research of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky and focuses on questioning, collaborative work, problem solving, independent learning and challenge. It uses a selection of challenging classroom tasks which emphasise ‘big ideas’ or conceptual strands in mathematics.

Department for Education (DfE)- The department’s website provides links to information on many aspects of mathematics education, for instance on the current National Curriculum and its review.

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It is suggested there are 3 forms of knowledge needed to teach mathematics effectively. The first is subject knowledge itself and being confident to teach the subject. The second is having an understanding the curriculum and being clear with the concepts and ideas which are appropriate for your specific age group. Finally you need to understand appropriate strategies and activities that will teach the children but also engage them in the learning.

Within placement, we found it extremely important to consider the misconceptions that the children may have. We began covering these within our lesson and it soon became apparent that the children had less misconceptions.

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Consistently higher standard of teaching, better assessment and a well-organised, mathematically rich curriculum are some ways to be an effective mathematics teacher. Effective mathematics teacher use a variety of strategies to improve all pupils’ learning of mathematics, such as revising schemes of work, helping other staff to enhance their subject expertise, and extending intervention programmes to all pupils who were in need of support, not just those at key borderlines or about to take national assessments. The schools were effective mathematics took place focused on building pupils’ fluency with, and understanding of, mathematics. Pupils of all ages and abilities tackled varied questions and problems, showing a preparedness to grapple with challenges, and explaining their reasoning with confidence.

Within my placement, my teacher received training on how to teach mathematics. This was just to further enhance her teaching strategies and model this to her class. She asked the children questions, to ensure they understood what they were doing. As well as this, she stripped back her lessons back to basics. This was carried out so that she could show the reasoning for doing specific areas of mathematics. For example, she explained the multiplication of numbers, 2+2+2+2=8 which then is the equivalent to 2x4=8. My teacher did this with a lot lessons and I noticed a huge improvement within their classwork. I believe using the resources available and being open to variety of different teaching methods is a huge part of being an effective mathematics teacher.