Effective teachers of numeracy

This robust study aimed to identify and analyse the knowledge, beliefs and practices of a sample of effective numeracy teachers and to start to explore how they came to be effective. A major feature of the research, which was carried out in primary schools in England, was the use of pupil pre- and posttest data to measure gains in numeracy, which were then correlated with teacher effectiveness.

Other data that enabled the researchers to build up a picture of the characteristics of the effective numeracy teachers were drawn from questionnaire data, observations of teaching and learning in classrooms and interviews with case study teachers. Whilst the researchers recognise the complexity of the factors that contribute to effectiveness of numeracy teaching they nonetheless point to characteristics of teachers which seem to be particularly significant in leading to effectiveness.

Numeracy was and remains a topic of major interest to teachers, the public and the Government. At the time of the study, there was a climate of concern about national standards of numeracy, which was reflected in international surveys, Ofsted reports and the Teacher Training Agency. The study was a response to that concern. Whilst the focus was on the primary school, many teachers in other phases will find the description and analysis of teaching styles and their impact on pupils’ learning particularly interesting and relevant.

Pedagogy lies at the heart of the study. The researchers emphasise that while teachers do need to have sufficient knowledge, the key factors appear to be related more to how teachers engage and maintain the interest of children in their classrooms. The educational contexts in which the research took place will be familiar to many teachers. Informative illustrations are provided to show how teachers approached numeracy teaching and how they engaged pupils in learning numeracy. Teachers in all phases will find the research helpful in enabling them to analyse and build on their own beliefs and strategies.

The report is written in a lively style that engages the reader’s attention. It is free of jargon. The structure of the report is straightforward and clearly separates findings from methodology and discussion. The few technical data contained in the report are described straightforwardly; more complex data are set out in appendices.