This booklet is aimed at tutors working with learners from Entry Level 1 to Level 2. It is not a text book, or a list of recipes for how to teach particular topics. Instead, it suggests an approach to topic based teaching that we have found effective in enabling learners to build their mathematical skills. Many learners may feel that listening to the tutor and completing their own individual worksheets is the main way of learning. However, we believe that learners learn more if they actually enjoy the activity, have a chance to discuss what they do, explain their work and reach a shared understanding. There is now widespread recognition for the value of collaborative work in developing conceptual understanding (Collaborative Learning in Mathematics: A Challenge to Our Beliefs and Practices, Malcolm Swan, NRDC and NIACE, 2006). The activities outlined in this booklet work best as shared tasks. This approach may be unfamiliar to many learners, particularly those whose previous mathematics was learned in a traditional, formal class.
Ness. C and Bouch. D (2007) Maths4Life: topic-based teaching. NRDC: London