Swings + Roundabouts Autumn 2021

If I say the word mathematics what is your reaction? Take note! This ‘feeling’ that you have towards the core mathematical knowledge required for life will be transferred to the children you engage with. Recently there has been a lot of discussion in the media about our children’s falling mathematical abilities and the possible reasons why this could be. As teachers let us be full of confidence and knowledge for creating a love for mathematics within all children. The beginning of mathematical development starts from the very early days of a child's life. From birth, very young infants experience environmental factors that start them off on their life's mathematical journey. These might include the exposure to such things as: a) 'pattern': in the routine of an infant's day or the repetition of a musical mobile b) the feeling of 'space': in the comfort of BE CONFIDENT AND KNOWLEDGEABLE IN CREATING A LOVE FOR MATHEMATICS FOR ALL! BY LINDA WARD their swaddling blanket or the freedom to move limbs during nappy-changing c) the sound of 'geometric language': when being held by the carer who uses positional language such as 'up', 'round', 'over' or 'down'. The mathematics that occurs when a baby is sung, “It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is snoring….” is phenomenal. The steady rhythm the child hears develops an understanding of pace, pattern and numbering. I encourage all my teachers to sing to our infants as often as they can. I also encourage teachers to programme in a weekly nursery rhyme as nursery rhymes are a rich source of mathematical learning. Throughout a child’s mathematical journey the goalposts change, by primary school the emphasis on mathematics moves towards 'getting the right answer'. And so it should be. The learning of facts and how we get to those accurate answers is very important. Older children should be learning the methods used to find an answer. The ability to solve problems through logical and accurate methodology is a skill that will be constantly used throughout life. By adulthood most of the mathematical focus in people's lives is on approximations or rough calculations. "I wonder how long it will take me to get to work today, considering the rain?" or "Should I throw a bit more garlic in as last time I cooked this I am not sure if there was enough?" or "I’ll need to buy two bottles of milk, two loaves of bread and some peanut butter - will I have enough cash to pay for it? Yes $20 should cover that". As adults we spend a lot of time estimating and making approximations. But these estimates and approximations can only be ‘good guesses’ if we have a foundation of mathematical facts, accuracy and understanding. The base line for competence for teaching mathematics is a basic understanding of the definition of mathematics. We find a very good definition of what mathematics is within the New Zealand curriculum for teaching years 1 to 13 that “Mathematics is the exploration and use of patterns and relationships in quantities, space, and time. Statistics is the exploration and use of patterns and relationships in data. These two disciplines are related but different ways of thinking and of solving problems. Both equip [learners] with effective means for investigating, interpreting, explaining, and making sense of the world in which they live. March 2021 { 32 }