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Elephant in the classroom - Helping children learn and love maths by Jo Boaler

Finally a book which explains how to make maths exciting in school. It focuses mainly on the secondary schools but it does also have implications for every teacher. I must admit that I did learn a great deal about how to improve my teaching from this book.

She advocates a much more practical, real world view on maths and patterns and encourages children to develop their own skills using a mix of exciting projects and tasks in mixed groups. It is a very English thing to be proud of being bad at maths - in no other area of British social life could you wander around with a badge which said you were bad at something rather than quietly trying to improve things.

I have been really excited about the book - and as a new father, I have spent a lot of time with little baby sleeping on my tummy, making me immobile and desperate for a good educational read. It has shown me how the new numeracy framework should be taught - something which my wonder maths coordinator has been trying to explain to me for the last term.

It all comes down to talking about what you are doing and encouraging children to work in pairs and groups and actively discussing maths, their different approaches and the vocabulary useds, and to take a step back from entirely teacher led lessons - where the children are passive learners.

We are also both against setting targets for children from a young age, as if you are teaching correctly, all your children should be attaining the targets without making them so explict and posting them on a wall, only to be dusted off in time for observations and parents evening.

I would recommend that anyone who is either a maths coordinator, wants to be a maths coordinator, or thinks that their maths coordinator is not the greatest of forward thinkers to go out and buy this book. I have also added under this book at space where you can write your own book review - I am sure you will love it, but I would love to hear your own views.