Nuffield Curriculum Centre

Nuffield Primary Mathematics

Organiser
Geoffrey Matthews (1960s and 1970s)

A successful and influential project

Nuffield Primary Maths in the playground
A big Nuffield curriculum project in the 1960s was Nuffield Primary Mathematics Project. This was hugely influential and commercially very successful. The project publications were translated into many languages. Over a million copies of the English version of the first edition guides were sold. The Maths 5-11 project which succeeded it in the 1980s was also very successful.

Aims
The aim of the project was to devise a contemporary approach to mathematics for children from 5 - 13. The emphasis was on how to learn not what to teach, on understanding, not rote learning. Hence the title of one of the introductory guides: I do and I understand. The course built on children’s own experience and encouraged them to think for themselves.

The publications
There were introductory guides for teachers together with the main teachers guides covering all the main strands of mathematics in the programme.

Diagnostic check-up guides were prepared by the Institut des Sciences de l'Education in Geneva giving guidance to teachers on how to find out whether a child has grasped a particular concept.

Topic guides were produced for the top of Middle School or in the first two years of Secondary School covering speciifc topics such as decimals, coordinates, symmetry, speed and gradient.

There was a book for parents written by W H Cockroft to explain the progressive approach and the aspects of modern maths.

In addition there were three handbooks to help in the training teachrs in countries other than the UK prepared in conjunction with the Centre for Educational Development Overseas.

The project produced no textbooks or publications for pupils. When the course was completely revised over ten years later, the new course Nuffield 5-11 did produce pupil texts.

Pioneering aftercare and support
The Nuffield Mathematics project built a huge network of enthusiastic teachers with advisers based in maths centres to provide support and training. This was organised regionally in partnership with LEAs, originally supported nationally by the Schools Council, and coordinated by a voluntary National Committee.

The National Committee continued to work in primary maths education and to co-ordinate inset and conferences for teachers until 2004!