Talking about maths

In this article, I explore ideas from Jo Boaler’s recent (2009) book about children learning mathematics, some views of educationalists and academics and link these to my own observations. The article summarises a key aspect of how children learn effectively and how this is (or is not) supported by teaching methodology. This summary is put into the context of some unpublished research carried out with another colleague some years ago and observations of secondary trainee mathematics teachers. The article looks at the premise that children are encouraged to talk and the reasons why this might be effective in helping them understand concepts better by involving the input of their peers