This strand of design research is part of an on-going study that aims to evaluate the impact of domain specific self-questioning prompts and regular exposure to common mathematical methods and formulae in the form of ‘Numeracy Mats’. The motivation came from observing a Year 10 Set 1 class struggling to make mathematical connections and on occasions failing to recall the necessary methods or formulae when tackling GCSE Numeracy problems (WJEC).
The concept of the mats are based on the theory of metacognition and its influence on problem solving. Important mathematical information was connected on the mats by questions that model a self-regulatory approach to arriving at the methods or formulae needed to calculate solutions. The colour and font on the mats was considered as these have been found to influence the recall of learnt information.
The mats are currently implemented in the classroom and referred to on a daily basis.