In a lecture with Elizabeth Lakin we discussed the ways in which teaching science and mathematics may be problematic.

We discussed how sometimes for a child the application of a skill set or knowledge from one subject to another can often be difficult, this is widely applied to mathematics and science. Again I am going to mention the mathematical myth which limits the application of mathematics outside of the classroom. A pupil who engages with this myth will find it hard to use their mathematical knowledge out with the mathematics lesson. It is important as teachers that we try to diminish this myth but also if we are planning a science lesson which uses the same concept being taught in a mathematics lesson to teach the concept in a scientific context in order that bridges are built between the two subjects.

We also discussed the difficult with the stage at which mathematical concepts are taught. Quite often one of the first ideas in science is the interpretation of information from graphs. However in mathematics the introduction of graphs and data analysis is in the upper stages of primary. The issue is then we are expectant of children in the science classroom to be able to interpret information from a complex source which is entirely new to them.

The idea of staging relates to Liping Ma’s idea of longitudinal coherence. If the teacher of the class had achieved PUFM they would not be tied to the idea that graphs is taught in the upper stages but would tailor the learning to the needs of the children. They would plan in order that the learning took place at the most beneficial time.