Tune into this week's episode where we meet with Dr Helen J Williams, author of the award-winning 'Playful Mathematics: For Children 3 to 7', who shares her journey towards becoming passionate about mathematics and her mission to change perceptions of math as a dry and uninteresting subject. Dr. Williams also provides practical recommendations for educators and families on how to make math lessons more fun and engaging for young children.

Want to skip ahead?

(0:00-2:30) Introduction to Dr Helen J Williams and her journey with maths

(2:30-4:50) Moving from a dislike to a love of maths

(4:50-7:42) Maths' evolution since the 80s and use of manipulatives in maths teaching

(7:42-9:20) The challenges of applying more practical approaches

(9:20-11:50) Challenging perceptions of being good vs. bad at maths and how taking risks translates into development

(11:50-14:45) Problem-solving and Pirate's Gold problem

(14:45-15:00) Break

(15:00-18:40) How practitioners can recapture the joy of maths

(18:40-20:40) Resources available for teaching maths

(20:40-27:18) Shape and space (geometry) and recalling vs. applying knowledge

(27:18-30:20) Progress in understanding how primary school children learn maths

(30:20-33:00) What is subitising and what activities can help children develop the skill

(33:00-37:31) Helen talks about her book 'Playful Mathematics: For Children 3 to 7' and final notes

You can hear more from Helen on her twitter @helenjwc

Links mentioned in podcast:

British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics - https://bsrlm.org.uk/

Association of Teachers of Mathematics - https://www.atm.org.uk/

Early Childhood Mathematics Group - https://earlymaths.org/

NRICH Maths Resources - https://nrich.maths.org/

Helen's Book - Playful Mathematics: For Children 3 to 7

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