It is lovely to see the children in action in the classroom; I observed a Year 2 lesson where they were learning all about tallying in Maths, how to record and the quick way to total. I noticed that this skill transferred to the Unit of Inquiry lesson in which the class was investigating different modes of transport, followed by conducting a survey of the vehicles travelling along Broadway and they used tallying to record their findings. The skills they had been taught in the classroom were being applied in a real-life situation – a traffic audit.
Schools who are preparing their pupils for SATS at this time will be concentrating hard on ‘teaching to the test’ in Years 2 and 6. Pupils are taught to pass exams and produce good results for the league tables, but this style of teaching does not equip them well enough mathematically for the future.
As well as teaching core skills, through the PYP we offer a broad, in-depth understanding and encourage the children to think mathematically, analyse their findings and reflect on their answers at the same time as relating their work to everyday mathematics. It is important for every child to be equipped to use mathematics with confidence in and outside the classroom in our ever-changing society.
Katie Lee
Head of Nursery, Infants Juniors and Dragon
