ABSTRACT
The idea for a chapter on shape came from my primary teachers’ mathematics research group. I was happy to go along with the suggestion as they seemed keen and I thought it would add an interesting and important contrast to the chapters on numeracy and time. Having said that, I was well aware that my experience of researching shape, let alone teaching it at any level, was limited. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, the ‘shape and space’ session was cancelled and I was left rather more to my own devices than originally intended. I had two options: to forget all about it and consider the possibility of writing on a topic I knew more about, or to persevere. As you can see, I chose the second option. There were a wide variety of reasons for doing so, but most relevantly:
■ I thought if I was expecting, among others, novice teachers to adopt the approach outlined in this book then I ought to find out whether-with my limited experience of shape —I could do the same.
