What this unit is about

Mathematics has several number systems: natural numbers, whole numbers, integers, rational numbers, irrational numbers and real numbers. Students often think that the distinctions between these number systems are somewhat obscure and trivial. This unit will explore the similarities and differences of these number systems, and how mathematical operations such as addition, multiplication, exponentiation, etc., function within these.

The National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE, 2009) requires mathematics lessons to be interesting, student-focused and student-participatory, and to build the students’ understanding of mathematics. That is not easy to accomplish. This unit aims to support teachers to achieve this by working on compare and contrast tasks and using visualisation. The unit will explain each of these approaches and provide examples of how they can be applied in the classroom. The unit will also discuss how to make small changes to existing classroom practice using a textbook.