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Developing Primary Mathematics Teaching
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Developing Primary Mathematics Teaching
Reflecting on Practice with the Knowledge Quartet



March 2009 | 256 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
How can KS1/2 teachers improve their mathematics teaching? This book helps readers to become better, more confident teachers of mathematics by enabling them to focus critically on what they know and what they do in the classroom. Building on their close observation of primary mathematics classrooms, the authors provide those starting out in the teaching profession with a four-stage framework which acts as a tool of support for developing their teaching:

- making sense of foundation knowledge - focusing on what teachers know about mathematics

- transforming knowledge - representing mathematics to learners through examples, analogies, illustrations and demonstrations

- connection - helping learners to make sense of mathematics through understanding how ideas and concepts are linked to each other

- contingency - what to do when the unexpected happens

Each chapter includes practical activities, lesson descriptions and extracts of classroom transcripts to help teachers reflect on effective practice.

 
Inside Naomi's Classroom
 
Knowledge for teaching mathematics: introducing the Knowledge Quartet framework
 
Transformation: using and understanding representations in mathematics teaching
 
Transformation: using examples in mathematics teaching
 
Making connections in mathematics teaching
 
Contingency: tales of the unexpected!
 
Foundation knowledge for teaching mathematics
 
Using the Knowledge Quartet to reflect on mathematics teaching

This is a very useful text which develops a strong focus on teacher knowledge in the context of teaching mathematics. A strength of the book is the way it connects to concrete examples of lessons and is supported by video clips. A significant issue is that the CD Rom is NOT provided when buying the book from some online retailers and the video materials are NOT open access. Publishers need to smell the coffee and increase their sales by making multi-media resources open access.

Dr Pete Boyd
Education (Lancaster), University of Cumbria
September 21, 2020

Highly relevant text for those wanting to understand and improve their own practice, or the practices within their school.

Dr Richard Newton
School of Education, Oxford Brookes University
October 22, 2014

This is a wonderul book that is a great read for new and established colleagues in the sector. Insightful

Mr Atif Jaleel
School of Education, Northampton University
April 16, 2013

This is a valuable book to support students' understanding that subject knowledge is much more than just knowing about maths and being good at it.
The CD is extremely helpful - reassuring for students to see teaching in practice. Good to discuss what we've watched too.
The commentary on the observations is also helpful.
The range beginning from reception is brilliant for my module (3-7s) but I would have liked more on reception teaching and also on the CD as this is a fundamental stage in teaching (and learning) maths - if this bit isn't right some children never recover.

Mrs Sheena Smart
Education, Brighton University
May 9, 2012

A great book to help reflect on primary teaching.

Miss Gemma Richardson
School of Education & Training, Greenwich University
March 13, 2012

Inpressive text relating to 'The Knowledge Quartet' as a reflective tool for developing primary mathematics teaching. Excellent recommended readings at the end of each chapter. Will be recommending to students this year and will consider making it a core text in the future.

Mrs Rachel Wallis
Swansea School of Education, Swansea Metropolitan University
October 12, 2011

This book 'works' at so many levels and is written in a readily digested format. Each chapter includes subject knowledge and pedagogical knowledge which are clarified within the context of real lessons. But the book is so much more than this - it supports teachers and trainees to critically reflect on teaching and learning and to develop this as fundamental aspect of practice. I particularly like the way the individual lesson video clips can be analysed at different levels - purely based on observations, after reading the discussion, and with the authors' informed reflections. For me there is a sense of a more knowledgeable other scaffolding this process and providing a clear framework.
Clear links throughout the book explicitly model how research informs practice.
I find this book valuable as a teaching tool and plan in the first instance to use some of the video clips to encourage critical reflection of teaching approaches and the importance of trainee teachers' subject knowledge. The adoption of the Knowledge Quartet framework will naturally follow on from this.

Ms Debi Lomax
Education , Exeter University
September 5, 2011

Good use of video for examples in lectures.

Mrs Rosalind Coleridge
School of Arts and Education, Middlesex University
June 23, 2011

This is recommended to teachers on our CPD courses and to mathematics subject specialists in particular. The Knowledge Quartet provides a useful framework to focus observation and feedback on teaching practice, focused on mathematics. We have used the classroom clips successfully with both student teachers and school experience mentors to initiate discussion on assessing the mathematical aspects of teaching practice.

Ms Sandy Pepperell
School of Education, Roehampton University
November 13, 2010

Essential reading for the Primary Mathematics Specialist Teachers Post Graduate Certificate Year 2

Mrs Gina Donaldson
Department of Education, Canterbury Christ Church University
October 18, 2010

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter One PDF


For instructors

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Paperback
ISBN: 9781412948487
£44.99

Hardcover
ISBN: 9781412948470
£138.00

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