A Practical Guide to Transforming Primary Mathematics ─ Activities and Tasks that Really Work

Transforming Primary Mathematics: A Practical Guide is a companion volume to Mike Askew’s hugely successful Transforming Primary Mathematics, and provides an evidence-based approach to teaching and learning mathematics that takes research and transforms it into practical classroom resources. By focusing on a small set of consistent principles and practices, this book will help teachers to develop a coherent approach to teaching mathematics that will give them the knowledge and insight to select and adapt other resources to their classroom.

This practical guide aims to develop the ‘teaching tripod’ themes of tasks, talk and tools. By packing each of these through a collection of classroom activities that are organised around the major strands of the curriculum (including number, calculations, shape and space, measures, data handling), the following objectives are addressed:

• Helping primary school teachers (in-service or in initial education courses) appreciate the importance of careful coordination of tasks, tools and talk in support understanding of mathematics;

• Providing practical classroom examples that support teachers in developing their understanding of the 'teaching tripod' through using this in the classroom;
• Assisting teachers to appreciate the need for a coherent and consistent approach to teaching and learning mathematics that goes across the primary years and provides a sound foundation for later learning;
• Showing how the activities and suggestions here are grounded in research that has demonstrated an impact on pupil learning.

Written by an author with experience of primary teaching but also with over twenty years of experience as both a producer and consumer of research in mathematics education, this book will be of use to both practicing teachers and those on undergraduate and post-graduate courses, as well as primary school mathematics leaders.

Mike Askew is Adjunct Professor of Education at Monash University, Australia.