It’s the quality of classroom teaching, rather than whole-class teaching, that is the biggest factor in pupil attainment, says a new report.

While the National Numeracy Strategy is based on research showing that direct whole-class teaching makes the difference between low and high maths results, researchers at King’s College London believe the data are inconclusive.

A Teacher Training Agency study showed that teachers’ beliefs and practices affected pupils’ gains more than the amount of whole-class teaching. The teacher whose pupils made the biggest gains did not use a whole-class strategy at all. Another teacher with very high gains taught only one-to-one.

In trying to identify what characterises the most effective maths teaching, the Leverhulme numeracy research programme based at King’s has pinpointed some key factors. Among them are: challenging pupils to think mathematically; exposing and relating to children’s existing knowledge; stimulating pupils’ interest, curiosity and excitement in sustained ways; accepting and working with children’s errors and not setting artificial ceilings.

Magic Bullets or Chimeras? Searching for Factors Characterising Effective Teachers and EffectiveTeaching in Numeracy by Margaret Brown et al, King’s College London. Website: www.kcl. ac.ukdepstaeducation researchleverhul.html