Teaching for Mastery

What is Teaching for Mastery?

The West Yorkshire Maths Hub team believe that all children can become fluent, reasoning and problem-solving mathematicians. We want children to engage in mathematical thinking that will allow them to develop a connected conceptual understanding of the subject. The teachers we work with are developing their practice in a range of ways including:

  • Making use of concrete manipulatives and pictorial representations that help learners to uncover and articulate mathematical structure.
  • Crafting lessons so that mathematical talk is encouraged
  • Using the principles of intelligent practice when choosing or writing questions
  • Promoting a positive can-do mindset that expects to learn from mistakes
  • Providing enjoyable and engaging tasks that build skills and allow misconceptions to be diagnosed

Find out more:

The NCETM has a great deal of information about teaching for mastery on their website including videos of teachers using this approach, case studies, and teaching materials. They use a diagram in their national training that describes the key ideas.

The journey to mastery in West Yorkshire