ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book aims to support pre-service teachers and Early Career Teachers, who wish to incorporate more mathematical thinking into their lessons. It provides an overview of what deep mathematical thinking might ‘look like’ and explores ideas such as ‘mastery’ and depth, the notion of ‘low-threshold, high-ceiling’ activities and some ‘big ideas’ in mathematics teaching, as outlined by the Association of Teachers of Mathematics. The book examines the ways of developing children’s mathematical reasoning in and through calculation. It focuses on the areas of geometry and statistics, areas which have not always been so closely associated with the idea of mathematical thinking. The book also focuses specifically on problem-solving and how to go about helping children to develop their skills in this area of mathematics, and discusses many of Barclay and Barnes’s ‘Big Ideas’.
