Many people scrunch up their face or roll their eyes when they think of maths, many believe that it is boring. I reckon it does not have to be that way- maths can be fun! I believe that we as teachers need to liven up the idea of maths and bring in cross curricular learning as well as looking at learning mathematics through play.
Liping Ma (2010) believes in four factors in teaching mathematics- Interconnectedness, Multiple Perspectives, Basic Ideas (or Principles) and Longitudinal Coherence. Above these, he believes that teachers must have a ‘profound understanding of fundamental mathematics’. Without a doubt, it is essential that as teachers we know the ins and outs of what we are teaching before we can expect children to understand it. We need to have a confidence when teaching mathematical concepts or else children will pick up on it, lack confidence in our teaching and will likely end up confused.
Interconnectedness is when links are made between different concepts such as adding and subtracting. Research has found that children learn better and show a greater understanding when these links are made. If a child is able to make a link to another concept, they are more likely to remember that process and also apply that skill to a new process e.g. they know that subtracting is the opposite of adding.
Multiple Perspectives simply means that pupils are able to approach problems in many ways i.e. there is more than one method and solution. This means children are not limited to one method and are able to choose whichever process they prefer, allowing an aspect of flexibility.
Early mathematics is about the basics. If children are not taught the basics, how on earth are they going to be able to develop more complex mathematical skills and solve more complex problems?
Longitudinal Coherence is similar to the basic principles as what is taught now will act as a base for future learning. It is about how maths links together and concepts require previous knowledge in order to comprehend them (Ma, 2010).
Research has shown that previous traditional teaching methods have not been successful as when adults were asked to explain how to solve particular problems and why we need certain mathematical concepts, they were unable to recount their learning. These rote and drill teaching methods such as handing pupils a page of calculations to complete has been referred to as shallow learning as it did not make complete sense to pupils. Parents and teachers are now worried that the maths that parents pass onto their children is not solid and accurate yet it is crucial that parents play an active part in the mathematical learning of their children particularly during the early years (Valentine, 2017). It is important for maths to be a continuous part of the home environment through aspects such as time (for cooking), money (bills) and telling the time to help encourage the learning.
The National Scientific Council on the Developing Child recognises that child development is crucial to the future success of society. They believe that the core developmental concepts are “cognitive skills, emotional well-being, social competence, and sound physical and mental health” (Valentine, 2017). This cognitive development includes the ability to think, reason, understand and learn- all of which are crucial skills in maths. They stress the importance of developing these aspects in the early years through stimulating learning environments, nurturing relationships and engaging social interactions which should involve play (Valentine, 2017).
Piaget (1936) believed that children learned best through discovery and that development of cognitive abilities was in set stages in which only certain aspects could be learned during that period. He felt that children could not move on to the next stage until they had become expert at the stage they were currently operating in. To Piaget, cognitive development was a progressive reorganization of mental processes as a result of biological maturation and environmental experience. Children construct an understanding of the world around them, then experience discrepancies between what they already know and what they discover in their environment (Valentine, 2017). 
In early years, pupils will be introduced to adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing using concrete materials such as blocks, cubes and linking elephants. Only once they have mastered the ability to physically use these materials to do calculations will they move on to using numerals and operations to describe calculations and then doing calculations without the concrete materials. This is generally the time where children who struggle with mathematics first encounter difficulties, moving from the concrete to the abstract (Valentine, 2017).
The four stages are outlined below:
Sensory motor stage (birth to 2 years): The main achievement during this stage is object permanence– knowing that an object still exists, even if it is hidden. It requires the ability to form a mental representation (i.e. a schema) of the object.
Pre-operational (2-7 years): During this stage, young children are able to think about things symbolically. This is the ability to make one thing – a word or an object – stand for something other than itself. Thinking is still egocentric, and the infant has difficulty taking the viewpoint of others.
Concrete Operational (7-11 years): Piaget considered the concrete stage a major turning point in the child’s cognitive development, because it marks the beginning of logical or operational thought.
This means the child can work things out internally in their head (rather than physically try things out in the real world).
Children can conserve number (age 6), mass (age 7), and weight (age 9). Conservation is the understanding that something stays the same in quantity even though its appearance changes
Formal Operations (11+): The formal operational stage begins at approximately age eleven and lasts into adulthood. During this time, people develop the ability to think about abstract concepts, and logically test hypotheses (Piaget, 1936).
Margaret Donaldson believed that it was stupid to expect children to learn in unfamiliar environments, therefore, implying that children should learn mathematics through play in order to make sense of concepts and achieve great things. Lev Vygotsky was of a similar mindset and believed that learning must be done through social interaction which aids the development of learning. Friedrich Froebel viewed play as the work of the children and considered it the time when children did their best thinking. He was a firm believer in using play to develop mathematical concepts (Valentine, 2017).
Children begin to develop many mathematical skills and concepts before even entering the classroom. They encounter mathematics inside their own homes through daily routines and play e.g. the concept of big and small, empty/full, the concept of sharing and knowing what time of day it is. Another interesting one is recognising the number of things in a small group without actually counting them- a concept which was explored during the ‘Can Animals Count?” input. We discussed an experiment which took place in New Zealand where 11 worms were placed in one nest and 12 in the other. The robins were able to recognise that the nest with 12 was the best option. Some believed that this proved that robins can count, however, I believe that it show they can recognise a difference in quantity just like children can without actually counting- a process known as subitising (Valentine, 2017).
Play is important because it is a major part of children’s everyday world- for them it is a familiar environment, resulting in more successful learning as it is a meaningful context. Furthermore, play helps them to develop social skills such as sharing e.g. they can use maths in a role play situation e.g. play shop. Play also allows children to learn in their own time and be independent learners. They are able to control what happens during their learning and the outcomes of it. By using play to learn maths, children are able to visualise their learning instead of using a textbook e.g. use of 3D shapes. Play allows children to experiment in a relaxed environment where making mistakes is not an issue and written outcomes are not a focus.
There are many forms of play which can be used for learning. These include symbolic, creative, discovery, physical, technology, games, environmental and books and language. Activities may include rhymes, outdoor play, songs and role play. We looked at a video on maths in literature where mathematical concepts were used in traditional fairytales and stories such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears which changed to Goldilocks and the Three Squares. Something as simple as this is a great way to introduce children to basic concepts in maths.
It is important that children are able to shape their own learning and play. They should be learning through play in ways that suit them and meet their interests and needs. It is likely assumed that children do not learn much during play. This is clearly untrue, they develop their decision making, imagination, prediction, reasoning, planning and experimenting skills (Valentine, 2017). So to answer the original question- Yes, I believe maths can be fun if taught in the appropriate ways!
Ma, L., (2010) Knowing and teaching elementary mathematics (Anniversary Ed.) New York: Routledge.
Moseley, C. (2010) Cherri Moseley- bears and squares…. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_ywN-4YlRU (Accessed: 4 November 2017).
Valentine, E. (2017) ‘Maths, Play and Stories. [PowerPoint Presentation]’. ED21006: Discovering Mathematics (year 2) (17/18). Available at: https://my.dundee.ac.uk/ (Accessed: 4 November 2017).
