When you hear or see the word ‘maths’ what do you think? It’s more likely to bring about an actual feeling than a thought for most of us. Maybe you feel excited, interested and challenged when you hear this word? Sadly however, the common response is one of dread, failure and fear. For generations maths has been a subject that caused many of us to be turned off learning and our experiences in school led us to believe we could never be successful nor enjoy the subject. It may surprise you to hear that many people who are considered ‘good at maths’ dislike it equally and rarely go on to study beyond 16 or 18 years old, significantly impacting  on the pool of expertise available to us as a country.

So what if I was to tell you that it’s not the actual maths that makes you feel like that but the way you were taught maths? What would you say if I suggested we could change things for your children and foster a genuine love of the subject now and forever? Maths is absolutely essential to life. Try thinking of a job where you don’t need maths; is there one? Having strong mental maths skills and a true ‘feel for number’ arms you with the ability to make sense of the world and, more importantly, enables you to take control and ultimately make your own choices. For far too long the maths of the classroom has been separate from the maths we use every day where we see a point and the real application of our learning.

The research that exists around this subject is extensive to say the least and spans many decades. The findings tell us without doubt that we’re still not getting it right. ‘Why’ said Einstein famously, ‘are we surprised that when we continue to do the same thing, we get the same result?’ One piece of recent research which I would recommend to all parents as essential reading is ‘The Elephant in the Classroom’ by Jo Boaler. This highly accessible book follows the progress of thousands of children from childhood into adult hood and looks at the effects of different approaches to the learning and teaching of maths impact upon their lives. Full of suggested activities for home and school alongside articles which will feel all too familiar to you when you reflect upon your own childhood, this book has the potential to change your mind about maths forever. Not a claim I make lightly!

As Jo Boaler begins by explaining:

   ‘In many classrooms a very narrow subject is taught to children that is nothing like the maths of the world or the maths that mathematicians use. This narrow subject involves copying methods that teachers demonstrate and reproducing them accurately, over and over again. But this narrow subject is not mathematics; it is a strange mutated version of the subject that is taught in our schools. When the real mathematics is taught instead – the whole subject that involves problem solving, creating ideas and representations, exploring puzzles, discussing methods and many different ways of working, then many more people are successful.  This is the classic ‘win win’ situation – teaching real maths, means teaching the authentic version of the subject and giving children a taste of high level mathematical work, it also means that many more children will be successful in school and in life.’

 J Boaler  ‘An Elephant in the Classroom’ 2010 Souvenir Press

So when do we start our revolution and where? The great news is that it’s already begun. Changes are happening in more and more schools as educators wake up to the fact that learning needs to be relevant, have an application, be challenging, rewarding and enjoyable. To achieve this learners need to feel engaged and develop their thirst for knowledge based upon familiar experiences. My work as an Independent Primary Maths Consultant is first and foremost about helping children remain excellent learners for life in maths and every other subject. I say ‘remain’ because if you’ve ever watched a baby grow into a toddler and learn to walk, talk, feed themselves and all of the other wonderful things they achieve by such a young age you’ll know that this didn’t come about in a ‘walking lesson’ on a Wednesday afternoon! Children learn by imitating, taking risks, trying out new ways of doing things and adapting their learning. Young children are resilient, resourceful learners and it is this that needs to be preserved to support their learning in life. In my role I help teachers and parents start with the real maths in everyday life so that children engage confidently with the purpose and application of the subject first. Then we look at the ‘tools’ we’ll need to develop in ‘maths world’ to help us solve these problems before returning once again to the real world to apply and consolidate our skills.

So now we know we can make a difference where do we start? It’s a lot easier than you might think. Begin by remembering ‘relevance and application’ and then add ‘noticing, talking and doing’. These are the essential ingredients you’ll ever need to breed a fantastic mathematician in any home I promise. A very simple place to start is with time. How often do you need your child to be ready to leave the house and a familiar story begins to unfold….. ‘Stop doing that and go and get your bag. I need you at the door in five minutes. What do you mean you don’t know where your kit is? I told you half an hour ago you’d need it and you said it was ready!’ Sound familiar? Time rules all of our lives and the strange thing is we work with it backwards. We need to be out of the house for swimming by 6 o’clock so we think ‘Right, we’ll need to get our bags ready at 5:50pm (to allow for the usual toilet rigmarole and lost shoes etc). We’ll need to have dinner by 5pm so I’ll need to start cooking at …etc’. Try taking a photograph of the clock at a time you regularly leave the house and stick it up alongside the real clock. This way the real time gradually ‘catches up’ the photographed time and shows children how long is left. You could have clocks for bedtime as well as leaving for school or swimming. Learning to read time and understand that it is divided into groups of 60 seconds, 60 minutes, 5 minutes, hours, half hours, quarter hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 7 days, 28, 29, 30 or 31 days and 12 months is challenging stuff and not made easier (nor more interesting!) when you meet it on a worksheet or a model clock in school for the first time. By involving children in reading the time throughout the day, both digitally and using a traditional analogue clock, you can use familiar and relevant experiences to get them noticing the time and talking about what the hands and numbers are doing to become certain time. Allowing children to use timers on mobile phones or in the kitchen for ‘countdowns’ to get dressed or ready to leave can be highly motivating too, especially f you allow them to set it and check it at intervals as it ticks down.

Maths is a truly fascinating subject and all of us were born with the ability to do maths, admittedly to different levels of potential, it’s there in us all I promise. How you talk about maths to your children will influence the way they learn and engage with the subject now and for the rest of their lives. So look around you and begin to capture the maths you use every day when you are cooking, shopping, driving and planning your time. Share it with your children and support them in using their developing skills to solve problems with meaning and application. Tell them that this is real maths and the all important lessons they have in school are there to enable them to do this kind of maths well now and in the future. (Oh, and read ‘The Elephant in the Classroom’ by Jo Boaler; you’ll never be the same again!)

This article was originally written for the website ‘Family Allsorts’  aimed at supporting families across Shropshire. Visit http://www.familyallsorts.co.uk/ for more information.

Karen Wilding is an Independent Primary Maths Consultant working with educators across the UK and abroad

Visit www.karenwildingeducation.co.uk  Email info@karenwildingeducation.co.uk

or follow on Twitter @karenwildingedu

This month the wonderful ‘Woodland Trust’ are offering every school a chance to receive a pack of seeds (delivered in March) to plant trees in celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee later this year. Simply visit the Woodland Trust ‘Nature Detectives’ website or click on the link below to find out more:

http://www.naturedetectives.org.uk/schools/diamond_jubilee_resources.htm

Also available are a number of high quality free teaching resources including videos, activities and fascinating facts for use in the classroom including the BBC active iposter and  the Woodland iposter

Using natural studies as a starting point for engaging, rich mathematics is a truly ‘win win’ combination. Children working outside in their local environment, talking, collaborating and using and applying their key skills in both mathematics and literacy, can only serve to raise standards across the board.

So why not sit down as a staff and identify how planting trees (and other seeds) could be used to teach key mathematics in a way that every learner sees the purpose of their learning and the need to develop and extend their skills?

Don’t be constrained by the planning ‘Blocks and Units’ of the strategy, but instead take ownership of your maths curriculum and focus upon making connections between areas of maths, building skills and using and applying existing knowledge. It won’t surprise anyone to hear that ensuring coverage is not difficult when your learners are immersed in authentic mathematical learning that knows no boundaries.

So go ahead and research which months to plant, monitor growth rates, explore seed arrangements (arrays), calculate average tree heights, estimate the area available for planting, measure the depth the seeds need to be planted, find the difference in height of seeds…….securing  relevant, engaging learning in maths for everyone!

In two weeks time it is Remembrance Day in the UK. The day that back in 1918, on the 11th hour of the 11th day on the 11th month, World War 1 finally came to an end. Whilst I was growing up, this day focused upon the important memory of the huge numbers who fought and in WWI and WWII and although this continues to play a very significant role, we now also remember those who are fighting today. A subject that touches many of our children’s lives.

Dealing with war and remembrance requires great understanding and sensitivity and this is an ideal opportunity to link areas such as PSHE with Maths (as well as subjects such as Geography and History). Bringing maths to life is not primarily concerned with making maths ‘fun’ but instead showing children how maths skills  help them make sense of their world.

So how about trying out a few of the following ideas with your children? The links with history and geography in particular offer ample opportunity for collaborative tasks and rich mathematical discussion.

On each occasion ask the children to discuss the maths skills they think they will need before the task and the reflect upon the skills they used afterwards:

• When did WWI and WWII take place and how long did they last?
• How long was the world at peace between WWI and WWII?
• Do we know about anyone in our family who was born during these times? How old are they/would they be today?
• Can we make a giant timeline outside and plot when WWI and WWII took place along side other events we’ve studied or know about? What’s the difference between each of these dates?
• How many soldiers were involved in these wars? What was the average age? How would we work this out?
• Where did the men fight? How far away is this and how did they get there? How long did it take then and how long would it take now?
• Where are people fighting today? How far away is it and how long do they typically go away for? What would this mean if they left today? When would they return?

Fund raising with poppies:

• What is the money raised used for?
• What do the facilities provided by ‘Help the Heroes’ and other organisations do for returning soldiers and what do these facilities cost?
• How could we raise money and how would it be used?
• What is the average donation in our school and how much have we raised?

By sharing articles, videos and stories with the children, they could begin to contribute their own ideas and make suggestions that could take the learning further if you wish. Perhaps select one or two ideas as starting points or be brave and abandon your planning altogether and see what wonderful opportunities are born from such a ‘talk and thought- worthy’ context!

Interesting observations have been made about need to improve primary teachers’ subject knowledge and confidence in maths; a view widely shared within the profession. Is there a need to question why so many teachers feel this way about maths and make sure we don’t subject another generation to experiences which bring about similar results?

The report also looks at the importance of making maths ‘real and relevant’ so that children leave school being able to successfully apply their skills in their work and home lives. The report suggests that this is necessary for our lowest attainers. Surely meaningful application is not only the main point of maths for most people but also a reason to engage and enjoy the subject?

So let’s look forward optimistically to reforms that support primary teachers in developing their skills as effective maths teachers and offer a curriculum that is relevant and meaningful;  engaging every learner at every level. Hurrah!

Click here to read whole report.