Mathematics teaching materials

Be a Shrewd Chooser
Numeracy Through Problem Solving

Written by Malcolm Swan, Barbara Binns and John Gillespie with Hugh Burkhardt and the Shell Centre Team. Published by Shell Centre & Longman 1987 - 1989.

The box contains - a Teachers' Guide, 25 Students' Booklets, Photocopying masters, Sample materials.
Price in UK pounds: £25.

Numeracy Through Problem Solving is a sequence of five modules which develop students' ability to use mathematics together with other skills, in tackling problems of concern or situations of interest in everyday life - the original definition of numeracy, which was reinforced by the Cockcroft Report.

In Be a Shrewd Chooser, students research and provide expert consumer advice for clients in their class.

• Students listen to a radio show on audiotape which contains a number of interviews with people who have just bought different items, and an interview with two students who have been involved in producing a consumer report on choosing orange drinks. As students reflect on and analyse the tape and the report, they begin to consider important factors that are taken into account when making a choice and different methods of making consumer decisions.
• Groups now begin to work on their consumer report. They have to choose an item and decide on their research aims and methods.
• Students develop their plan. They will be involved in conducting surveys, writing questionnaires and carrying out experiments in the classroom. They will also be considering how best to present their findings. This could involve posters and oral presentations in addition to written reports.
• All the written reports are circulated around the other groups, and any group making an oral presentation does so. The reports are evaluated by the rest of the class, and then each group improves its own report taking into account these comments.

The five modules have all been designed for pupils of all abilities to complement the GCSE Mathematics curriculum for 16 year olds in England and Wales. Each module is designed to take between 10 and 20 hours to complete. Each provides a theme within which the students take responsibility for planning, organising or designing. They are based around the everyday interests of most students. Students work both individually and in groups and are able to choose which areas of mathematics to deploy. They also implement the results of their own decisions - a vital educational experience!

Students' Booklets (5 copies).
Price in UK pounds: £10.

Here is a sample page.