“Maths anxiety, a feeling of fear about maths, is believed to affect about a quarter of the population.” (The Guardian, 2012)

Throughout Primary School I had a great passion for mathematics. For us, maths wasn’t a set subject, we incorporated maths into as many daily activities as possible. All this being said though, the most active our learning ever became was using the ‘show me boards’.

I chose this elective in order to develop my fundamental understanding of mathematics. To find new and exciting pedagogical methods for introducing and teaching mathematics that I can incorporate into my classroom.

During my years at high school, 4 out of 5 years I had a truly inspirational mathematics teacher who would take the time to reinforce what had been taught to enable us to feel confident enough to use our learning in other contexts.

However this all changed in my final year when my maths teacher wasn’t interested in the subject themselves. They would go over one example on the board and then we would be left to our own devices.

Being in that position I can truly say I will never follow the footsteps of that teacher. I know and understand that children need to have a steady foundation to be able to develop further with their mathematical skills. Once the solidity is there, the children can then progress onto more difficult tasks but because of the initial understanding they will be able to interpret these tasks into a meaningful and positive way.