numeracy review

8/13/2019 Numeracy Review

1/58

1

Teaching and Learning

Primary Numeracy:

Policy, Practice and

Effectiveness

A review of British research for the

British Educational Research Association

in conjunction with the

British Society for Research in the

Learning of Mathematics

Editors: Mike Askew and Margaret Brown


2/58

2

CONTENTS

Editors introduction Mike Askew & Margaret Brown 3

Numeracy policy Margaret Brown 6

The development of numeracy concepts Terezhina Nunes 10

Mental and written calculation methods

for addition and subtraction Ian Thompson 15

Mental and written calculation methods

for multiplication and division Julia Anghileri 22

Developing numeracy with technology Ken Ruthven 28

Teaching and learning numeracy

in the early years Penny Munn 33

School numeracy in relation to home cultures Guida de Abreu 38

Pedagogy Mike Askew 44

Initial and continuing professional

development of teachers Tony Brown & Olwen McNamara 50


3/58

3

EDITORS INTRODUCTION

Mike Askew & Margaret Brown

This monograph is one in a series, each following a national seminar held as part of the BERA National

Events Initiative. This initiative was launched by the BERA President, Professor Pam Lomax at the

BERA Annual Conference at Queens University Belfast in August 1998, with the aim of reviewing

findings from areas of British Educational Research which have significant implications for educational

policy and practice.

It was suggested that Numeracy would constitute a topic of particular relevance since the National

Numeracy Strategy was due to be introduced in all English primary schools in the year from September

1999 to August 2000. Related initiatives are also happening in other parts of the UK, in particular all are

involved in Mathematics Year 2000, which is in turn part of a UNESCO world-wide initiative.

The BERA National Event relating to Numeracy

This took place on Saturday February 26th, 2000 at the School of Education at the University of Exeter.

Although there is no BERA Special Interest Group (SIG) in mathematics education, a similar function is

fulfilled by the British Society for Research in the Learning of mathematics (BSRLM) which is formally

associated with BERA. BSRLM has been in existence for nearly 20 years and now works closely with

BERA, for example by sponsoring symposia at the BERA Annual Conference. It was decided to organise

the BERA National Event as an integral part of a BSRLM Day Conference; this would ensure a good

attendance of key researchers in the field and streamline publicity. Also by fitting it into an already

planned conference we were able to arrange it earlier than would otherwise have been possible, and close

to the launch of the National Numeracy Strategy in September 1999.

As organisers of the BERA event, and as a basis for this resulting research review to be published by

BERA, we tried to identify some key aspects of research relating to numeracy which each had clear

implications for policy and practice. We then approached an expert in each area to provide a brief (

numeracy review

Documents