Everything you need for maths mastery teaching
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Mastery is not a new approach. In fact, the concept was first introduced in 1968 by American psychologist Benjamin Bloom with his idea that if learners don’t get something the first time, then teach them again and in different ways until they do. Teaching for mastery in maths is fundamental to the UK government’s education reforms and was reflected in the 2014 English national curriculum for mathematics. The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching Mathematics (NCETM) and the Department for England (DfE) have all endorsed this evidence-based approach which is inspired by some of the leading performers in mathematics education, including Shanghai and Singapore.
Yet despite all this, there is still a misunderstanding of exactly what mastery is and why it can benefit your maths curriculum.
Whether mastery is embedded within your school maths curriculum or you’re just beginning to explore how the approach could benefit your school, we’re here to support you!
We’re calling this month Maths Mastery Month as we’ve been sharing some of our popular maths mastery content and resources with our newsletter subscribers and Pearson International Schools Facebook followers. Have you been following? If not, you can find everything and more on our Maths Mastery webpage.
A roundup of our mastery support
What does effective Maths Mastery teaching look like? Watch Tony Staneff, senior leader of White Rose Maths and series editor of our Power Maths programme explain some of the common misconceptions around maths mastery and share his top tips for effective maths mastery teaching. Watch the webinar
Do you want to introduce Maths Mastery teaching in your school but aren’t sure where to start? Download our free A Leader’s Journey to Maths Mastery for school leaders and teachers as a practical interactive guide to supporting you with mastery.
What are the key principles of Maths Mastery teaching and where can you for additional resources to help? We’ve worked closely with teachers and experts to pull together a free and practical guide to making sense of maths mastery in your school. The Handy Little Guide to Mastery will help you unpick some of the key principles and to experience mastery for yourself.
Already teaching for mastery but want to get parents onboard? Use our parent factsheets to explain the key concepts and introduce the approach.
How do our primary maths programmes support teaching for mastery?
- All our primary maths programmes focus on developing the skills and knowledge that all learners need to build the confidence to achieve and progress to their next maths learning journey.
- Integrated assessment tools will give you the data you need to see where children are faring against age-related expectations and what intervention they might need to keep the whole class together.
- Schemes of work and lesson plans can be exported and highlighted to identify gaps of learning for targeted intervention at individual pupil level or for whole-class teaching.
- Printed textbooks and write-in workbooks and practice books will give pupils independence to deepen their understanding of core maths concepts.
- Digital activities will create excitement and engagement and develop a genuine love for maths.
Which one is right for you? Visit our Maths webpage and find out more about all our Primary Maths programmes.
Suzie Williams
Suzie Williams is part of the international schools team at Pearson. A graduate of the universities of Salford and Strathclyde in the UK, she has worked in education for over 20 years, is a former primary school governor, heads up the Pearson international schools blog and produces and directs the annual Pearson International School Leaders Conferences.