ABSTRACT
For some, a memory of learning algebra is the moment when mathematics became hard. It is seen as impenetrable. Others wear it as a badge of pride. Algebra is so much more than this. In fact, we are all doing algebra from the moment that we start to notice patterns in numbers and in things like bead strings. This chapter shows practising teachers what algebra really is. It describes how they can introduce algebraic ideas from the moment that pupils start school and how they can draw on pupils’ intuitive algebraic understandings. It shows practising teachers the power that algebra has in generalising patterns that they notice and how it can help them come to a better understanding of the number system. In 2009 a team of researchers including Anne Watson shared the research they had carried out exploring how children learn mathematics. A section of this research discussed the learning and teaching of algebra. They described the nature of school-level algebra.
