Understanding and Enriching Problem Solving in Primary Mathematics - Brossura

Barmby, Patrick; Bolden, David; Thompson, Lynn

Brossura

ISBN 10: 1909330698 ISBN 13: 9781909330696

Casa editrice: Routledge, 2014

Riassunto

This up to date book is essential reading for all those teaching or training to teach primary mathematics. Problem solving is a key aspect of teaching and learning mathematics, but also an area where teachers and pupils often struggle. Set within the context of the new primary curriculum and drawing on research and practice, the book identifies the key knowledge and skills required in teaching and learning problem solving in mathematics, and examines how these and can be applied in the classroom. It explores the issues in depth while remaining straightforward and relevant, emphasises the enrichment of maths through problem-solving, and provides opportunities for teachers to reflect on and further develop their classroom practice.

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Informazioni sull?autore

Patrick Barmby is a Lecturer in Primary Mathematics at Durham University and is the Programme Director for the BA Primary Education course at Durham. Patrick’s area of research is in primary mathematics, with a particular focus on developing children’s understanding in maths. He has also carried out research projects on developing teachers’ knowledge in primary maths. For him, one of the best parts of teaching on the Primary Education degree at Durham University is not only influencing student teachers’ practice in primary maths, but also being influenced himself by the wealth of experiences and expertise from the classroom that students bring to the sessions.

David Bolden is a Lecturer in Mathematics Education at Durham University. After earning his first degree from Newcastle University he went on to teach and obtain an MSc in Social Research. In 1999 he took up a research post at the University of Northumbria where he stayed for six years, primarily conducting evaluation research and lecturing on ITE programmes. While at Northumbria, he completed his doctoral thesis at Durham University, focusing on primary teachers’ epistemological views of mathematics. He moved to Durham University’s School of Education in 2006, where he teaches on the BA Primary Education, PGCE Primary Education and the MSc Mathematics Education courses. His research interests include, and he has published in the areas of, creativity in mathematics, the use of representations in developing confidence and understanding in mathematics and teacher epistemologies (particularly in relation to primary mathematics).

Lynn Thompson is an educational consultant and founder of North East School Support (NESS), supporting schools to raise standards and improve the teaching and learning of mathematics. She also teaches part time on the Primary BA and PGCE courses at Durham University.

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Understanding and Enriching Problem Solving in Primary Mathematics

By Patrick Barmby, David Bolden, Lynn Thompson

Critical Publishing Ltd

Copyright © 2014 Patrick Barmby, David Bolden and Lynn Thompson
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-909330-69-6

Contents

Acknowledgements, 
Meet the authors, 
1 Introduction, 
2 What is problem solving?, 
3 Representing problems, 
4 Reasoning with problems, 
5 Creativity and problem solving, 
6 Assessing problem solving, 
7 Open approaches to mathematics, 
8 Enrichment and engagement with problem solving, 
Conclusion, 
References, 
Index, 

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Key issues in this chapter

• This introductory chapter begins by outlining the reasons for writing this book and why we feel that it is important for teachers to be clear about the teaching and learning of problem solving.

• It sets out a short history of the ways in which problem solving has been conceived and incorporated into the different iterations of the primary curricula, and why this book is timely.

• Having justified 'why' we have written this book, the chapter outlines 'what' the book contains in terms of problem solving and 'how' we have approached the topic.

Introduction

This book is about problem solving in the primary mathematics classroom. We should state at the outset that we are acutely aware that there exist a number of very good books already published on the subject (for instance, Polya, 1957, Burton, 1984, and Mason, Burton & Stacey, 1985, to name just a few), but we think we have something to add. Reflecting upon the teaching, understanding and use of problem solving skills, we felt there was now a need for a complementary yet different style of book which would not only inform teachers, but would directly support their teaching in the classroom. This book is akin to a high-quality training course, a course that you can complete at your own leisure and that will undoubtedly improve pedagogical practice and impact upon children's understanding, engagement and achievement. This book is an amalgamation of previous and current research findings that will question your thinking and test your subject knowledge. It unpicks the problem-solving process in detail and discusses classroom implications that relate directly to the requirements of the national curriculum (DfE, 2013). We present chapters that ask questions like What is the nature of a problem and of the problem solving process? What type of characteristics should genuine problems exhibit? And what does all this mean for the mathematics classroom, the child and the teacher? Each chapter deals with a different part of the process as we view it and provides an up-to-date review of the research and theory relating to that particular aspect. In addition, each chapter also provides concrete pedagogical examples of those aspects in action in the primary classroom. We encourage current trainees, NQTs and established teachers to question their own practice in the light of what we discuss in this book. We acknowledge that developing and incorporating problem solving as we view it in the classroom is not always easy, but we think that the results will be worth the effort, both for the teacher and the child.

Why now?

Problem solving has always been viewed by many in the field of mathematics education to be at the very heart of mathematics. We think the book is particularly timely because problem solving now seems to be taking on greater importance in the eyes of policy makers, for w

Dettagli dell'edizione

• Editore: Routledge
• Data di pubblicazione: 2014
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 1909330698
• ISBN 13: 9781909330696
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero edizione: 1
• Numero di pagine: 142
• Contatto del produttore: non disponibile
• Persona responsabile: non disponibile