Handbook on best practice methods for Basic skills trainings Best practice handbook | Seite 21

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Research shows that it is not necessarily the usefulness of maths in learners’ working and
everyday lives that keeps them in the classroom. If adults have intrinsic reasons for learning
and see numeracy as intellectually stimulating and challenging, their motivation is likely to be
high. For example, one student in our Numeracy course said she wanted to learn maths to
help her son with homework, while another just wanted to improve his ability to calculate his
bank payments. Focising on the student’s background context – ex: how to calculate a
interests of bank deposits more easily – might increase motivation as well as making learning
relevant to the student.
Methods for numeracy skills training
Strategies adopted should be appropriate to the learning situation and should include some of
the following:
• small group and whole group activities
• undertaking out-of-class activities or investigations such as trips to learn about reading and
using maps and costing of such trips; planning meals, purchasing the ingredients and cooking
them in a kitchen; planning, designing, costing and planting a garden • classroom based
activities, investigations, problem solving
• using the Internet to find out about mathematical topics or to find data to analyze
• oral presentations
• where appropriate writing essays, reports, timelines, posters, flowcharts
• producing multimedia and/or web based reports or documents
• valuing students’ own approaches to solving problems including effective use of supporting
technologies.
Assessment
Assessment should be undertaken as an ongoing process which integrates knowledge and
skills with their practical application over a period of time. It will require a combination of
evidence collected mainly through teacher observations and some collection of written
records of students’ attempts at tasks
Resources section
Resources useful to use in this topic training is pen, paper and PC/mobile phone/pad.
Transferability
The entire module will be translated into Romanian, Norwegian, Spanish, Turkish and Italian,
thus it will assure its usage across the globe.
Contact details
Asociatia Edulifelong - email: [e-mail]