Briefing paper explaining the changes which have been made to Maths education in England in response to the Smith Report.
Introduction:
The purpose behind this briefing paper is to provide the Secretary of State for Education with an idea as to how the Smith Report, 2004 “Making Mathematics Count” has changed Maths education in England. It is important that the Secretary of State for Education to understand how important the Smith Report has been to the advancement of Maths education and what recommendations have not yet been implemented. It is important at this juncture to state that the political landscape has changed in England since the publishing of this Report, thus this may have had an impact on the continuing role which the Smith Report has had on post-14 mathematics education in England.
Mathematics Education Pre-Smith:
Mathematics is an important subject to be studied in any educational system, and this is the case within the English system. Smith (2004: p. 3) reiterates the position of mathematics within society
‘The Inquiry regards it as vital that society fully recognises the importance of mathematics: its importance for its own sake, as an intellectual discipline; for the knowledge economy; for science, technology and engineering; for the workplace; and for the individual citizen.’
Smith (2004) believes that mathematics is important to the structure of society. It is an important tool for the citizens of any society as users of the end product. Smith (2004: p. 13) believes that both children and adults should have a fundamental knowledge of mathematics
‘The acquisition of at least basic mathematics skills – commonly referred to as “numeracy” – is vital to the life opportunities and achievements of individ...
... middle of paper ...
...nal Audit Office
Education and Skills Committee, (2004) National Skills Strategy: Oral and Written Evidence, House of Commons
Hoyles, C., Morgan, C., & Woodhouse (1999) Rethinking the Mathematics Curriculum, Falmer Press
Howson, G., (2008) A History of Mathematics Education in England, Cambridge University Press
Smith, A., (2004) Making Mathematics Count, The Report of Professor Adrian Smith’s Inquiry into Post-14 Mathematics Education, TSO, February 2004 -
http://www.mathsinquiry.org.uk/report/MathsInquiryFinalReport.pdf
Royal Society, (2006) Making Mathematics Count – Two Years On, The Royal Society, 8 March 2006 - http://www.acme-uk.org/downloaddoc.asp?id=30
Educational Strategy Group, (2004) Post-14 Mathematics Inquiry 2004 and the Society’s Recommendations, Royal Statistical Society -http://www.rss.org.uk/PDF/Smith%20detailed%20response.pdf
The following assignment shows the progress I have made throughout unit EDC141: The Numerate Educator. Included are results from the first and second round of the Mathematics Competency Test (MCT). Examples from assessment two, which, involved me to complete sample questions from the year nine NAPLAN. I was also required to complete a variety of ‘thinking time problems’ (TTP’s) and ‘what I know about’ (WIKA’s). These activities allowed me to build on my knowledge and assisted me to develop my mathematical skills. The Australian Curriculum has six areas of mathematics, which I used in many different learning activities throughout this study period (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009). These six areas will be covered and include number, algebra,
Mathematics has become a very large part of society today. From the moment children learn the basic principles of math to the day those children become working members of society, everyone has used mathematics at one point in their life. The crucial time for learning mathematics is during the childhood years when the concepts and principles of mathematics can be processed more easily. However, this time in life is also when the point in a person’s life where information has to be broken down to the very basics, as children don’t have an advanced capacity to understand as adults do. Mathematics, an essential subject, must be taught in such a way that children can understand and remember.
I also learned that mathematics was more than merely an intellectual activity: it was a necessary tool for getting a grip on all sorts of problems in science and engineering. Without mathematics there is no progress. However, mathematics could also show its nasty face during periods in which problems that seemed so simple at first sight refused to be solved for a long time. Every math student will recognize these periods of frustration and helplessness.
The more common notion of numeracy, or mathematics in daily living, I believe, is based on what we can relate to, e.g. the number of toasts for five children; or calculating discounts, sum of purchase or change in grocery shopping. With this perspective, many develop a fragmented notion that numeracy only involves basic mathematics; hence, mathematics is not wholly inclusive. However, I would like to argue here that such notion is incomplete, and should be amended, and that numeracy is inclusive of mathematics, which sits well with the mathematical knowledge requirement of Goos’
In “A Mathematician's Lament,” author Paul Lockhart rants about the education of mathematics in America. While much of his essay was full of berzerk statements and assumptions about the feelings students have on math, Lockhart did have some realistic views and agreeable remarks on the education system when it comes to mathematics. Personally, I did not agree with most of the claims that Lockhart made and found them to be particularly extreme and general. I am a math person. I’ve always liked math and done very well in it.
Mathematics is everywhere we look, so many things we encounter in our everyday lives have some form of mathematics involved. Mathematics the language of understanding the natural world (Tony Chan, 2009) and is useful to understand the world around us. The Oxford Dictionary defines mathematics as ‘the science of space, number, quantity, and arrangement, whose methods, involve logical reasoning and use of symbolic notation, and which includes geometry, arithmetic, algebra, and analysis of mathematical operations or calculations (Soanes et al, Concise Oxford Dictionary,
...ett, S. (2008) . Young children’s access to powerful mathematical ideas, in English, Lyn D (ed), Handbook of international research in mathematics education, 2nd edn, New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 75-108.
The children are working towards level 1b of the numeracy learning continuum but require more opportunities to use informal units to measure objects in everyday life (ACARA 2011b, para 4). The mathematical content and processes being planned for in this activity are for children to work towards level 1b of the numeracy continuum by exploring the attributes of everyday items and make direct comparisons based on the length, mass or capacity of an object using informal units to measure the objects. The dispositions being planned for in this activity is for children to learn and be open to new mathematical concepts and adapt it to their everyday lives through relevant experiences (DEEWR 2009, p.
Mathematics is the core of our world. Mathematical skills are applied daily in a variety of personal, work and social contexts and often without knowing it. The Australian Curriculum: Mathematics offers students with vital numerical abilities and education under the six areas of the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics; Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability. The aim is to build the mathematical skills students require within their employment, community and personal lives. The proficiency strands are structured as Understanding, Fluency, Problem Solving, and Reasoning that define how content is developed and offer the language to assist in the developmental features of the education of mathematics.
Skemp, R (2002). Mathematics in the Primary School. 2nd ed. London: Taylor and Francis .
...re encompassing way, it becomes very clear that everything that we do or encounter in life can be in some way associated with math. Whether it be writing a paper, debating a controversial topic, playing Temple Run, buying Christmas presents, checking final grades on PeopleSoft, packing to go home, or cutting paper snowflakes to decorate the house, many of our daily activities encompass math. What has surprised me the most is that I do not feel that I have been seeking out these relationships between math and other areas of my life, rather the connections just seem more visible to me now that I have a greater appreciation and understanding for the subject. Math is necessary. Math is powerful. Math is important. Math is influential. Math is surprising. Math is found in unexpected places. Math is found in my worldview. Math is everywhere. Math is Beautiful.
(2007), for interest in math to be developed in students, there must be meaningful and useful connections to the use of math. Steen, L. (2007), goes on to note that numeracy is a more concrete way of teaching math concepts because it relates math computations to real life useful situations. As the author stated, students will have to vote, deal with tax issues, credit cards, home construction, and health care needs to name a few, which are valuable tangible issues that the study of math computations should be based around in an effort to build student interest. Steen, L. (2007) also makes the clear point that learning subjects like algebra or geometry is not a bad thing, but those subjects are not something that all students can
As a secondary subject, society often views mathematics a critical subject for students to learn in order to be successful. Often times, mathematics serves as a gatekeeper for higher learning and certain specific careers. Since the times of Plato, “mathematics was virtually the first thing everyone has to learn…common to all arts, science, and forms of thought” (Stinson, 2004). Plato argued that all students should learn arithmetic; the advanced mathematics was reserved for those that would serve as the “philosopher guardians” of the city (Stinson, 2004). By the 1900s in the United States, mathematics found itself as a cornerstone of curriculum for students. National reports throughout the 20th Century solidified the importance of mathematics in the success of our nation and its students (Stinson, 2004). As a mathematics teacher, my role to educate all students in mathematics is an important one. My personal philosophy of mathematics education – including the optimal learning environment and best practices teaching strategies – motivates my teaching strategies in my personal classroom.
The prominence of numeracy is extremely evident in daily life and as teachers it is important to provide quality assistance to students with regards to the development of a child's numeracy skills. High-level numeracy ability does not exclusively signify an extensive view of complex mathematics, its meaning refers to using constructive mathematical ideas to “...make sense of the world.” (NSW Government, 2011). A high-level of numeracy is evident in our abilities to effectively draw upon mathematical ideas and critically evaluate it's use in real-life situations, such as finances, time management, building construction and food preparation, just to name a few (NSW Government, 2011). Effective teachings of numeracy in the 21st century has become a major topic of debate in recent years. The debate usually streams from parents desires for their child to succeed in school and not fall behind. Regardless of socio-economic background, parents want success for their children to prepare them for life in society and work (Groundwater-Smith, 2009). A student who only presents an extremely basic understanding of numeracy, such as small number counting and limited spatial and time awareness, is at risk of falling behind in the increasingly competitive and technologically focused job market of the 21st Century (Huetinck & Munshin, 2008). In the last decade, the Australian curriculum has witness an influx of new digital tools to assist mathematical teaching and learning. The common calculator, which is becoming increasing cheap and readily available, and its usage within the primary school curriculum is often put at the forefront of this debate (Groves, 1994). The argument against the usage of the calculator suggests that it makes students lazy ...
Devlin believes that mathematics has four faces 1) Mathematics is a way to improve thinking as problem solving. 2) Mathematics is a way of knowing. 3) Mathematics is a way to improve creative medium. 4) Mathematics is applications. (Mann, 2005). Because mathematics has very important role in our life, teaching math in basic education is as important as any other subjects. Students should study math to help them how to solve problems and meet the practical needs such as collect, count, and process the data. Mathematics, moreover, is required students to be capable of following and understanding the future. It also helps students to be able to think creativity, logically, and critically (Happy & Listyani, 2011,