EDU10003 The World Of Maths Assessment 2 ESSAY SM

From birth, it is important for practitioners to support the early years’ mathematical development. Children learn emergent maths which is a “term used to describe children construct mathematics from birth” (Geist, 2010). The Early Years Statuary Frameworks (EYFS) (Department of Education) states that maths is one of the specific areas.

Numeracy development is important for all children as maths is an important part of everyday life. The way in which maths is taught has changed greatly over the years. When I was at school we were taught one method to reach one answer. Now, particularly in early primary phase, children are taught different methods to reach an answer, which includes different methods of working out and which also develops their investigation skills. For example, by the time children reach year six, the different methods they would have been taught for addition would be number lines,

Van de Walle, J, Karp, K. S. & Bay-Williams, J. M. (2015). Elementary and Middle School Mathematics Teaching Developmentally. (9th ed.). England: Pearson Education Limited.

Sarama, J., & Clements, D. H. (2006). Mathematics in kindergarten. (61 ed., Vol. 5, p. 38). YC Young Children. Retrieved from http://media.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/media/pq/classic/doc/1129349361/fmt/pi/rep/NONE?hl=&cit:auth=Sarama, Julie;Clements, Douglas

For this mathematical report the theme that has been chosen is Number recognition. The report will investigate how children can learn the concept related to number through everyday experiences, such as, playing and painting. The assignment will be linked to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). The report will demonstrate the planning, implementing and evaluating a range of activities which will support children in their mathematics knowledge focusing on numbers three and four years old. Activities supported by the Early Years Foundation will be displayed in the plan and evaluated in the report. The report will contain thorough key theories of learning linking to the activities that will take place. The evaluation in the report

Constructivist learning in mathematics should endeavour to encourage students to “construct their own mathematical knowledge through social interaction and meaningful activities

Curriculum for Excellence (2004) emphasises the importance of numeracy across learning and states that “All teachers, regardless of the subject being taught, are responsible for supporting, developing and extending learners’ numeracy skills and for ensuring that what a child has learned in earlier years is built upon, practiced and refreshed regularly throughout their time at school.” (CfE, n.d, page 1). Therefore, teachers’ awareness of children’s mathematical skills and understandings proves key in order for them to adapt learning experiences that will effectively benefit, support and extend their numeracy

The aim of the Australian Curriculum is to ensure students become confident mathematical communicators who are creatively able to investigate and interpret situation in a variety of context (ACARA, 2015). The are 6 areas of maths covered in the Australian Curriculum and discussing this paper are number and algebra, measurement and geometry, and statistics and probability. Through the curriculum students are guided to an increased understanding of the “concepts and fluency with process” as well as pose and solve problems (ACARA, 2015). This paper discusses my personal experience, strengths and weakness when working with each of the 6 mathematical areas, as well how my confidence and anxiety influences my attituted toward working in each area.

This article focuses on the positions of both the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) stating that having high quality, challenging and accessible math education is essential for 3-6 years olds, creating a promising future for students. Within their daily classroom setting, there needs to be a research based curriculum that includes policies, organized support and appropriate resources.

In the article 5-Year-Olds Can Learn Calculus, the author Luba Vangelova, explains how children can be introduced to mathematics with the help from the more advanced fields of mathematics. Vangelova sparks the article by reviewing the common progression that used in the American education system today. The basics of counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division learned as in grammar schools. Then the transition to algebra, geometry, trigonometry and calculus which is considered the highest level of math in our current system in the United States of America. Math educator and curriculum designer Maria Droujkov stated that this common progression “has nothing to do with how people think, how children grow and learn, or how mathematics

The recent change in the national curriculum in mathematics, as well as having positive impacts, will also cause issues in teaching and learning mathematics. One of the

Number sense refers to a child’s understanding of numbers and operations and their ability to use this understanding to make decisions and create strategies when working with numbers and operations (Reys & Yang 1998, p. 225-226 in Whitacre, 2015). Research has shown that mental computation and number sense “have strong links” (Rogers, 2009) with one another, as through a child’s performance they are able to demonstrate and reflect their conceptual understanding of how numbers operate and relate to one another. It is pivotal that students develop number sense as it allows them to respond flexibly to mathematical problems and that there can be more than one algorithm applied. This is agreed to by Whitacre (2015), as through this students can display their skills of using different strategies rather than applying a standard algorithm to the problem. Those who have developed a deep understanding of number sense are more capable of identifying the relationship between numbers, determine which form of operation is appropriate to apply and which strategy is most effective when solving the problem. Morgan (1999) and Whitacre (2015)

The emergence of 21st century learning and skills has been a direct consequence of the dawn of a technology driven century where the half life of current knowledge shrinks by the second. The domain of mathematics has consequently seen a newfound impetus on learning and innovation skills as defined by The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). The primary goals of designing learning environments have taken a turn towards ‘mathematisation of the child’s thinking’ (NCF, 2005), rather than just building on core mathematics concepts. But despite concretizing these modern goals in national policy and curriculum design

Mathematics is a word that stirs up many mixed emotions within the general population. Three in every ten Americans report that they are not good at math, and for the most part their feelings towards math stay along the same guidelines. Mathematical education in a way can be compared to teaching a child to play the piano. At first they just watch someone play a tune, and are expected to copy it without knowing what the keys mean and without much practice. Some succeed and learn the names of the keys and how they go together while the others are stuck trying to memorize simple rhythms.

A second selection of essays included here surrounds modern education. Since I worked as a mathematics instructor for 33 years at both secondary