Full proceedings - ALM

370 Pages·2011·10.75 MB·English

by  Felicia Testimony

Numeracy Works
for Life

th
Proceedings of the 16 International Conference of
Adults Learning Mathematics – A Research Forum (ALM)
incorporating the LLU+ 7th National Numeracy Conference
Hosted by
London South Bank University,
London
July 6 - 9 2009

Edited by Graham Griffiths and David Kaye
Local organising committee
Graham Griffiths, David Kaye, Beth Kelly, Ann McDonnell and Ruth Moulton
Published by Adults Learning Mathematics (ALM) – A Research Forum and LLU+ at
London South Bank University

Copyright © 2010 by Adults Learning Mathematics – A Research Forum. Permission to
make copies of individual articles, in paper or electronic form, including posting on personal
and class web pages, for educational and scientific use is granted without fee provided that
copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear the
following copyright notice: Copyright Adults Learning Mathematics – A Research Forum
2010. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-872972-11-4 Format – Paperback book

ISBN 978-1-872972-12-1 Format – CD-ROM

These proceedings include both refereed & non-refereed papers.

Authors submitting papers for the conference were able to choose whether or not they wanted
to go through the formal, blind, peer-refereeing process. Those papers which went through
this refereeing process are marked in the proceedings with an asterisk (*) next to the title.

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Numeracy works for life
Table of contents
About ALM vi
Preface viii
Plenary presentations 1
Robin Wilson
Communicating mathematics: a historical and personal journey 3
Tine Wedege
The problem field of Adults Learning Mathematics 13
Terezinha Nunes
Informal mathematical understandings: implications for further education 25
Paper presentations 39
Jackie Ashton and Graham Griffiths
The SfLIP side of numeracy: what teachers want (in England) 41
Diana Coben and Meriel Hutton with Carol Hall, David Rowe, Mike Sabin, Keith Weeks and
Norman Woolley
Towards a benchmark in numeracy for nursing: assessing student nurses’ performance in
medication dosage calculation 51
Javier Díez-Palomar and Silvia Molina Roldán
Family mathematics education: building dialogic spaces for adults learning mathematics* 56
Maria Cecilia de Castello Branco Fantinato
Challenges of the ethnomathematical approach in adult education* 67
Jonathan Fletcher
Participation of women in mathematics at the university level* 79
Anestine Hector-Mason and Larry Condelli
The Transitioning English Language Learners (TELLs) study: situating TELL in mathematics
in the USA 96
Pete Johnson1
A coding scheme for mathematical knowledge embedded in print media 104
David Kaye
Using the history of mathematics in teaching adult numeracy 112
Beth Kelly
From the classroom to the workplace and back again: developing an understanding of
numeracy teaching* 120
John J. Keogh, Terry Maguire and John O’Donoghue
‘Looking at the workplace through ‘Mathematical Eyes’’ – work in progress* 133

1 Article from the Philadelphia conference mistakenly omitted from ALM-15 proceedings.
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Proceedings ALM-16
Christopher M. Klinger
Adult innumeracy and the influence of negative mathematics attitudes, low self-efficacy
beliefs, and mathematics anxiety in student primary teachers – an interventionist approach for
better practice* 146
Christopher M. Klinger
Behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism, or connectivism? Tackling mathematics anxiety
with ‘isms’ for a digital age* 154
Juergen Maasz
Bet and lose: learning mathematics or losing money 162
Daniela Matovcikova
How adults cope with the conversion to the Euro in the Slovak Republic 169
Ruth Moulton and Jackie Ashton
Sharing learners' personal mathematics knowledge 178
Jana Mullen and Jeff Evans
Adult numeracy in the context of economic change: the conversion to the Euro in the Slovak
Republic* 189
Helen Oughton
“We all play teacher”: naturally-occurring student discourse as data in adult numeracy
classrooms* 201
Eugénia Pardal and Darlinda Moreira
The contribution of ethnomathematics to adults learning mathematics* 217
Katherine Safford-Ramus
Professional development for middle school teachers: a growing adult student audience 224
M Mark Schwartz
Why can’t we do it this way?* 233
Rachel Stone
“I, robot” free will and the role of the maths teacher - who decides how we teach? 246
Martha Whitty
Straight from the student’s mouth: ten freshman women reflect on their difficulties with
mathematics 254
Keiko Yasukawa
Educating activist adult numeracy teachers? 265
Workshop presentations 271
Jeff Evans, Sean Close and Terry Maguire
The new international adult numeracy survey: the design of PIAAC 273
Graham Griffiths, David Kaye and Ruth Moulton
Aggregate, investigate, and organise: the process of mathematical investigation and teachers of
adult numeracy 286
Kees Hoogland
Beyond word problems 300
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Numeracy works for life
Louise Marriott, Remy Odoeme and Bob Smith
The transition to Functional Mathematics: experience from a secure environment and the way
forward 308
Mônica Mesquita and Sal Restivo with Jorge Marques, Trindade Damasio, Margarida Matias,
Isaura Matos, Conceição Pires, São José Madeira, Fernanda Marques and Paulo Santos
Six adult mathematical workers on Literacy, Matheracy, and Technoracy for Life 310
Michael Rumbelow and Robert Nicolaides
BBC raw numbers 316
Zaeed Mohammed and Andre Smith
Numeracy market stalls 326
Poster presentations 329
Catherine Byrne
Mathematics and environmental education 331
Valerie Seabright
A culinary tour with ALM over 16 years 337
Topic groups 339
Katherine Safford-Ramus and David Kaye
An adjustment of course: research and practice for a different economic climate 341
Christopher M. Klinger and Graham Griffiths with paper by
Christopher M. Klinger and Milton Fuller
Mathematics in community service: developing pathways to build mathematical confidence for
good citizenship 344
Other contributions to the conference 353
Index of presenters 357

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Proceedings ALM-16
About ALM

Adults Learning Mathematics – A Research Forum (ALM) was formally established in
July 1994 as an international research forum with the following aim:

To promote the learning of mathematics by adults through an international forum,
which brings together those engaged and interested in research and development in
the field of adult mathematics learning and teaching.

Charitable status
ALM is a Registered Charity (1079462) and a Company Limited by Guarantee (Company
Number 3901346). The company address is 26, Tennyson Road, London NW6 7SA.

Objectives of ALM
The Charity’s objectives are the advancement of education by the establishment of an
international research forum in the lifelong learning of mathematics and numeracy by adults
by:
• Encouraging research into adults learning mathematics at all levels and disseminating the
results of this research for the public benefit;
• Promoting and sharing knowledge, awareness and understanding of adults learning
mathematics at all levels, to encourage the development of the teaching of mathematics to
adults at all levels for the public benefit.

ALM Activities
ALM members work in a variety of educational settings both as practitioners and in research,
improving the learning of mathematics at all levels. The ALM annual conference provides an
international network which reflects on practice and research, fosters links between teachers
and encourages good practice in curriculum design and delivery using teaching and learning
strategies from all over the world.
ALM does not foster one particular theoretical framework but encourages discussion on
research methods and findings.

Board of Trustees and Organising Committee
ALM is managed by a Board of Trustees and Organising Committee elected by the members
at the Annual General Meeting which is held at the annual international conference.

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Numeracy works for life
ALM Officers & Trustees 2009–2010

Chair
Dr. Christopher Klinger, University of South Australia Adelaide, Australia

Secretary
Graham Griffiths, LLU + London South Bank University London, UK

Treasurer
Beth Kelly, LLU + London South Bank University London, UK

Membership Secretary
Dr. Joanne Kantner, Joliet Junior College Illinois, USA

Trustees
Ruth Moulton Freelance London, UK
Kees Hoogland APS - National Center for School Improvement, Utrecht, Netherlands
Keiko Yasukawa University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
Jonathon Fletcher Institute of Education, University of London, London, UK
Catherine Byrne Education Unit, Wheatfield Prison, Dublin, Ireland
Rachel Stone Freelance, Sheffield, UK

Honorary Trustees:
Prof. Diana Coben, King's College, London, UK
Dr. Gail FitzSimons, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Dr. Marj Horne, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia
David Kaye, LLU+ London South Bank University, London, UK
Lisbeth Lindberg, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden
Prof. Dr. Juergen Maasz, University of Linz, Linz, Austria
Prof. John O'Donoghue, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
Dr. Katherine Safford-Ramus, Saint Peter’s College, Jersey City, NJ, USA
Dr. Alison Tomlin, King's College, London, UK
Dr. Mieke van Groenestijn, Utrecht University of Professional Education, Utrecht,
Netherlands

How to become a member
Anyone who is interested in joining ALM should contact the membership secretary. Contact
details are on the ALM website: www.alm-online.net

Membership rates:
Sterling Euro U.S. Dollar
Individual ₤15 €29 $30
Institution ₤30 €50 $60
Student/unwaged ₤3 €5 $6
Low waged – contribute between full & unwaged

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Proceedings ALM-16
Preface

ALM16
The 16th Annual Conference of Adults Learning Mathematics – A Research Forum was
held in London, United Kingdom in 2009. While only the second conference in the
capital, this was the seventh conference in the UK, reflecting the bias of the
membership. The host for ALM–16 was LLU+, based at London South Bank
University.

Welcome to London
At the welcome session, delegates were introduced to Cockney rhyming slang, a variety
of English developed by working class Londoners as a code. An example of rhyming
slang is ‘plates’ for feet because feet rhymes with ‘plates of meat’. For more examples
see below.
Delegates were asked to come up with mathematical rhymes and amongst the favourite
suggestions was ‘an Angela’ for a circle because circle rhymes with Angela Merkel.
The winners received a range of English delicacies – warm bitter, pickled eggs and
Marmite.
This year’s conference attracted participants from four continents. International
attendees travelled from Austria, Australia, Brazil, Ireland, the Netherlands, New
Zealand, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and the United States of America. The
conference addressed a wide range of areas of adult mathematics education including
context and language issues.

LLU+
LLU+ is a department within the Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences at London South
Bank University. LLU+ is a national consultancy and professional development centre
for staff working in the areas of literacy, numeracy, dyslexia, family learning and
English for Speakers of Other Languages. There are specialists in learning support,
language and maths, and the application of learning styles approaches to teaching and
learning. Within these fields the unit offers consultancy and advice, project
development, trainer education, research and development and professional
development networks. The unit also has an extensive list of publications and training
videos that it has developed including those for sector specific, national and
international projects. It is the largest professional organisation of its kind in the UK and
a centre of international reputation. The LLU+ held the seventh National Numeracy
Conference on the final day of the 16th ALM conference. As in previous conferences the
focus was very much on practitioner development with workshops on pedagogy and
materials development. The records of the LLU+7th National Numeracy Conference are
included in these proceedings.
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Numeracy works for life
Mathematics – then and now
The university is based in the Elephant and Castle area of London, just south of the
River Thames. This is the area where Michael Faraday and Charles Babbage were born,
near the City of London School of Edwin Abbott (author of Flatland), St Thomas’
hospital which houses the Florence Nightingale museum, Lambeth palace in which
some Bishop mathematicians (such as Frederick Temple) worked and, less happily, the
site of the Old King's Bench Prison where Edward Cocker was committed and Robert
Recorde died.

Aims
The aims of ALM–16, as with previous conferences, included a number of elements:
• the sharing of good practice in adult mathematics teaching and learning;
• taking stock of our area/discipline as an evolving area of study and research;
• assessing the nature and value of the combined contribution for adult mathematics
education / numeracy; and
• charting the future directions for development and research.

Presentations
All conference presentations that are submitted for publication and meet the editors’
requirements for style and presentation are published in the conference proceedings.
Presentations for which no paper was submitted are represented by their programme
abstract.
Two kinds of contributions to the proceedings of ALM–16 were possible.
1. Refereed Papers
Authors who submitted their papers for refereeing and have been peer reviewed are
identified by an asterisk (*) alongside the title.
2. Non-refereed Contributions
Papers or workshop reports whose authors did not request their contribution to be
refereed have no identification marking.

Acknowledgement
The conference committee is grateful to the staff of LLU+ London South Bank
University for welcoming the conference to the heart of the capital and their support to
the participants. Particular thanks are given to Rachel Brabazon, Julia McGerty and
Kevin Canning for their assistance in the planning and running of the event.
The editors also wish to thank Christine Weber for compiling and supporting the editing
process.

ALM-16 Organising Committee
Graham Griffiths, David Kaye, Beth Kelly, Ann McDonnell and Ruth Moulton

A contribution from ALM-15
These proceedings contain a paper from Pete Johnson who presented at ALM–15 in
Philadelphia. The article was inadvertently omitted from the ALM–15 proceedings.
ALM apologises for this error.
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Proceedings ALM-16
‘Cockney’ maths

Traditional cockney slang examples
Dog and bone = phone
Butcher’s hook = look
Trouble and strife = wife
These are then usually shortened eg ‘let’s have a butcher’s’ means ‘let me have a look’

Invented for ALM-16, examples of rhyming slang for maths
‘Currant bun’ rhymes with ‘one’ ie current = one
‘Three-piece suit’ rhymes with ‘square root’ ie three-piece = square root
‘Comfy chair’ rhymes with ‘square’ ie a comfy = square
‘Lemon and lime’ rhymes with ‘time’ ie lemon = time
‘Betty Grable’ rhymes with ‘table’, ie a Betty = table
‘Fairy tale’ rhymes with ‘scale’ ie a fairy = scale
‘Saint Peter’ rhymes with ‘metre’ ie a saint = metre
‘Colour tv’ rhymes with ‘three’, ie a colour = three
‘Deep blue’ rhymes with ‘two’, ie deep = two
‘Building site’ rhymes with ‘height’, building = height

Example question
The Betty shows information on the building of a colour of kitchen units.
Unit 1 60cm
Unit 2 100cm
Unit 3 90cm
A planner wants to produce a fairy drawing. Using a fairy of 1 : 100, work out the
buildings of the units for the drawing.

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