Presented and produced by Seán Delaney.
This week I conclude my interview with Dr. Alf Coles from the School of Education at the University of Bristol. Among the topics we discuss this week are:
- Planning for the unexpected in mathematics classes
- His work with the charity “Five by Five by Five Equals Creativity”
- Using Cuisenaire rods and a tens chart to teach mathematics
- How the number naming system in the English language makes learning mathematics more difficult and what you can do about it
- Using the tens chart to teach decimals
- How our current curriculum limits children’s understanding of number
- Creativity in primary school mathematics
- What inspires him
- Whose work in education he likes to read
- What he would change about his current institution
- How his own schooling influences his practice in education today
