Review of "Numeracy for adults: Latest findings from teaching and learning research

This is a report published by the Ministry of Education and written by Gill Thomas and Jenny Ward. It is intended to be one of a series on "Literacy Language and Numeracy Research".

It is one of the very first publications in New Zealand (aside from the adult numeracy progressions) that actually removes numeracy from its usually coupling with literacy and language (as LNL and then later LLN) and looks at it on it own terms (more or less). The LLN bond still , however, appears quite often throughout the report.

The report was published in July, 2009 and to a considerable degree recapitulates information in a TEC (Tertiary education Commission) report of February, 2009 called Strengthening literacy and numeracy: Theoretical framework , which does not specify particular authorship. A key difference between the two reports is that where the February report use the expression literacy and numeracy, the July report simply uses Numeracy.

The situation then with these two reports is trying to figure which comes first (and thus which relies on which). The publication dates are not necessarily indicative of actual precedence in writing. Comparing the the two is not unlike comparing the synoptic gospels Matthew, Mark, and Luke. This is known as the synoptic problem.

Anyhow on to the review.

The report looks at 3 main issues:
1. How adults develop their numeracy expertise.
2. The features of effective embedded numeracy provision.
3. Managing and sustaining change to achieve effective long-term embedding of numeracy.

It tackles these 3 in terms of a quick over view. It then looks at the three in turn in greater detail.

The claim that it offers the latest findings from research is somewhat overstated. Indeed, much of the material covered has been mainstay stuff in adult maths education for the last 20 years. One only has to be vaguely familiar with areas like situtated cognition and learning (Lave and Wenger), constructivist orientations, Piagetian theory and the socio-cultural work of Vygotsky to realise this.

The report offered no clear understanding of what is really meant by "embedding". It is a term, I fear, that has gained currency recently, but has yet to be defined and clarified.

It was important to see the issue of maths anxiety covered and the references to research on short term memory






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