Early Numeracy: Assessment for Teaching and Intervention

This book offers schools an assessment instrument to identify and deal with children who under-achieve in early numeracy. It will enable teachers, trainers and numeracy consultants to learn a distinctive and comprehensive approach to assessing and teaching arithmetical strategies.

Based on extensive long-term research, the authors′ Mathematics Recovery Program has been successfully applied by teachers in Australia (as Count me in Too), the United Kingdom and the USA, in specialist interventions and in general classroom settings.

This book focuses on the Learning Framework in Number (LFIN) which guides the assessment and teaching. This consists of eleven key aspects of early number development, including

· Identifying the stages of early arithmetical learning

· Strategies for adding and subtracting

· Knowledge of number word sequences and numerals

· Ability to reason in terms of tens and ones

· Developing strategies for multiplication and division

Other significant aspects covered include finger patterns, combining and partitioning numbers, the role of spatial and temporal patterns, and the use of base-five and base-ten strategies.

This book includes the instruments and practical guidance to administer the assessment and analyze the results; and guides teachers in moving children on to higher-order strategies.

Early Numeracy complements the National Numeracy Strategy and other international initiatives, by providing a deeper, highly practical focus on the mathematical attainment and identified needs of young children.

Dr Robert J. (Bob) Wright holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in mathematics from the University of Queensland (Australia) and a doctoral degree in mathematics education from the University of Georgia. He is an adjunct professor in mathematics education at Southern Cross University in New South Wales. Bob is an inter­nationally recognized leader in assessment and instruction relating to children’s early arithmetical knowledge and strategies, publishing six books, and many articles and papers in this field. His work over the last 25 years has included the development of the Mathematics Recovery Program, which focuses on providing specialist training for teachers to advance the numeracy levels of young children assessed as low-attainers. In Australia and New Zealand, Ireland, the UK, the USA, Canada, Mexico, South Africa and elsewhere, this programme has been implemented widely, and applied extensively to classroom teaching and to average and able learners as well as low-attainers. Bob has conducted several research projects funded by the Australian Research Council including the most recent project focusing on assessment and intervention in the early arithmetical learning of low-attaining 8- to 10-year-olds.

Jim Martland is a member of the International Board of Mathematics Recovery and Founder of the Mathematics Recovery Council (UK and Ireland). He was a Senior Fellow in the Department of Education at the University of Liverpool. In his long career in education he has held headships in primary and middle schools and was Director of Primary Initial Teacher Training. In all the posts he continued to teach and pursue research in primary mathematics. His current work is with local education authorities in the UK and Canada, delivering professional development courses on assessing children’s difficulties in numeracy and designing and evaluating teaching interventions.