Teaching Elementary Mathematics: Learning to teach elementary mathematics through mentorship and professional development

The training of teachers to teach elementary mathematics must take the centre stage of teacher education as mathematics plays a central role in all the spheres of education, teaching and learning as every subject at school has a component of mathematics in it. It is also critical that all teachers are regarded as professional development providers, researchers and mentors of each other. This book interrogates the role elementary mathematics teachers can play in insuring effective induction as well as supervision of neophyte teachers. Its unique layout takes the reader through the stages of mentorship in mathematics by outlining the primary mathematics curricula and addressing each strand (Number, Operations and Relations; Patterns Functions and Algebra; Space and Shape (Geometry); Measurement; Data Handling) in way that enable a mathematics mentor teacher to provide professional development programmes for student teachers or neophyte teachers in the school. It offers research based instructional approaches and advice on how to develop lessons, assessment tasks, remedial and enrichment activities as well as advice on some of the research that a teacher can conduct in a school.

Dr Kakoma Luneta is the head of the Childhood Education Department and senior lecturer in mathematics education at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa. He has taught mathematics and physic in various northern and southern African counties, the UK and the USA.