Written by Sue Gifford Ofsted’s 2017 report, Bold beginnings: The Reception curriculum in a sample of good and outstanding primary schools, begins by arguing that the Reception Year is ‘a missed opportunity’ for many children, leaving them ‘exposed to all the painful and unnecessary consequences of falling behind their peers’. This was hardly likely to win the hearts and … [Read more...]
How do teachers describe mathematics tasks?
Written by Colin Foster and Matthew Inglis: Many different adjectives are used to describe the tasks that students are given in mathematics lessons. For example, a task could be described as ‘open’, ‘inquiry-based’, ‘procedural’ or ‘rich’. But what do these words mean to teachers and do they understand them in similar ways or in a variety of different ways? This is … [Read more...]