Engaging Primary Children in Mathematics

Book excerpt: Effective teaching is a combination of technical skills and knowledge but good teachers also need to understand how children learn and how they can most effectively be taught. Engaging Primary Children in Mathematics explores the various strategies for engaging children in mathematical learning in the light of theory and practice and is designed to talk straight to the teacher/student about their classroom approach to the teaching of primary mathematics. The importance of creating a learning environment in which children can learn to be young mathematicians, where they can explore, create and solve problems, cannot be underestimated. Margaret Sangster explores how students and practitioners can develop their practice by reviewing a range of approaches to the teaching of mathematics and the development of those young mathematicians, with examples of thought-provoking activities to inform their own practice.