Dumfries and Galloway: Using the RME approach
Project objectives
The aim of the project is to attempt to answer the following questions:
- Can the use of models for thinking, such as blank number lines, arrays, and ratio tables, help deepen pupils’ understanding of number?
- Can learning in a context raise motivation and have an impact on learning?
- Does spending time reflecting on strategies and developing thinking improve pupils’ confidence and understanding?
According to international assessment programmes, the Netherlands has a higher level of numeracy attainment than Scotland. It was decided, therefore, to explore the Dutch approach and use that methodology within the project. The didactics in the Netherlands is based primarily on the work of the renowned mathematician Hans Freudenthal, who claimed that people learn mathematics by actively investigating realistic problems.
The project aimed to introduce teachers to the Dutch Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) approach to teaching in order to allow teachers to help their pupils form a deep understanding of number processes. Pupils are expected to explore patterns, put forward explanations and conjectures, and be confident and adept at convincing one another of their thinking.
Key findings
The schools involved were Dalbeattie High and its main feeder school Dalbeattie Primary. Both schools are situated in the small town of Dalbeattie in rural Dumfries and Galloway. Two teachers from each sector took part in the project and the pupils involved were from the lowest sets in P7, S1 and S2.
The main resource used as valuable background information for the RME approach was the ‘Young Mathematicians at Work’ series of books and CD-ROMs which are centred on ‘Mathematics in the City’, an innovative American project based on the RME philosophy. The teachers based their lessons on examples in the books.
The project focused initially on the use of the ‘array’ as a thinking tool for developing understanding of the process of multiplication. An array, in this context, is where objects are laid out in rows and columns.
Midway through the project it was clear that the S2 pupils were not engaging as had been hoped and that some ‘thinking out of the box’ was needed. An ‘enterprise type’ project was set up where the S2 pupils would provide resource materials for a group of children at a local primary school. The pupils began to engage with their learning and motivation was high. This successful mini-project culminated in a visit from the local bank manager, who discussed the skills that the pupils had gained and how they were relevant in the workplace.
Overall, this project proved to be a worthwhile learning experience for teachers and pupils alike. It was an opportunity for cross-sector working and engaging in creative pedagogy. Lessons were learned and further development was identified - lifelong learning in action!
Future developments
In order to access the Dutch Realistic Mathematics curricula, in-depth professional development of staff is vital, to allow teachers to challenge and adapt their own beliefs about how pupils learn, and to gain knowledge of the learning processes and methodology entailed. Evidence appears to suggest that in order to have optimum engagement with this model:
- it needs to be introduced much earlier than Primary7/S1, before the pupils have acquired any negative self-belief patterns
- pupils need to be placed in mixed-ability classes in order to maximise the cognitive development of all children.
Word File: Numeracy for All - Final Report (25MB)