Mathematics
"Without mathematics, there's nothing you can do. Everything around you is mathematics. Everything around you is numbers."
Shakuntala Devi, writer and mental calculator.
In our school children become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems, so that they develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.
In our school we teach mathematics following the mastery approach through the White Rose Maths Scheme. Pupils learn maths skills and identify connections between strands of mathematics. Mathematics is an interconnected subject in which pupils need to be able to move fluently between representations of mathematical ideas.
The curriculum is split into distinct areas of mathematics but teaches children to make rich connections across strands of mathematics to develop fluency, reasoning and competence with increasingly sophisticated problems.
Mathematical resources and images are used throughout all key stages to cement conceptual understanding. Where appropriate, the application of mathematical knowledge is used in other subject areas e.g. science, in order to cement the children’s understanding and for them to see how maths can be used in the real world.
What is teaching for Mastery?
Mastering maths means pupils acquiring a deep, long-term, secure and adaptable understanding of the subject. The phrase ‘teaching for mastery’ describes the elements of classroom practice and school organisation that combine to give pupils the best chances of mastering maths. Achieving mastery means acquiring a solid enough understanding of the maths that’s been taught to enable pupils to move on to more advanced material. The teaching of mathematical mastery centres of five BIG ideas:
Coherence
Lessons are broken down into small connected steps that gradually unfold the concept, providing access for all children and leading to a generalisation of the concept and the ability to apply the concept to a range of contexts.
Representation and Structure
Representations used in lessons expose the mathematical idea being taught, the aim being that children can do the maths without recourse to the representation.
Mathematical Thinking
If taught ideas are to be understood deeply, they must not merely be passively received but must be worked on by the child: thought about, reasoned with and discussed with others.
Fluency
Quick and efficient recall of facts and procedures and the flexibility to move between different contexts and representations of mathematics.
Variation
Variation is twofold. It is firstly about how the teacher represents the concept being taught, often in more than one way, and to develop deep understanding. It is also about the sequencing of the activities and exercises used within a lesson and follow up practice, paying attention to what is kept the same and what changes, to connect the mathematics and draw attention to mathematical relationships and structure.
