ABSTRACT
The NNS was organised through the application of constructivist learning theories and Bruner’s (1974) suggestion that the most effective curriculum is based on a spiral of experience, where constructs are repeatedly revisited and where the content is chosen to suit the increasing age, experience and interests of the learner. The intention is that the curriculum is always intellectually challenging and problematic, rather than simplified. Successive visits to the same mathematical idea are made distinctive through the teacher adjusting the pitch or level of difficulty so that each turn of the spiral allows the learner to rethink, consolidate and extend their mathematical understanding. The most useful NNS section to look at in terms of coverage and development is the one with the sheets laid out term by term. These sheets show a high level of repetition both within each term, so that key ideas are revisited before and after the half-term, and across the three terms in each year.
