Overcoming barriers to learning in mathematics

'Within the school curriculum learning mathematics is uniquely challenging in that it is highly organised, sequential and progressive. Simpler elements must be learned successfully before moving on to others. ‘It is a subject where one learns the parts; the parts build on each other to make a whole; knowing the whole enables one to reflect with more understanding on the parts, which in turn strengthens the whole. Knowing the whole also enables an understanding of the sequences and interactions of the parts and the way they support each other so that the getting there clarifies the stages of the journey.' (Chinn and Ashcroft, 1998: 4.)