ABSTRACT
Teaching is concerned with enhancing pupils’ development, in fact according to the National Curriculum, their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. But what is development? As a teacher I should be able to account to other professionals and to parents for statements such as ‘Mary is making good progress’. But what does this mean? Does this mean that Mary was at point x in the curriculum and is now at point y, or that she knew x but now knows x better, or a combination of the two or indeed that she is settling well into the class and is prepared to join in discussion? I suppose the Holy Grail for teachers would be that magic sequence for presenting mathematical ideas that would ensure maximum progression in pupils’ learning. Questions remain about whether this is a possibility.
