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Most adults' attitudes to mathematics come from their experiences of mathematics in school when they were children. Children's mathematical worlds are complex places containing both cognitive and affective elements. One cannot ignore the affective domain if one wishes to understand children's mathematical learning. Teacher education students consistently use the following words in describing their memories of mathematics: repetition, monotony, boredom, not understanding, mystery, failure irrelevance, and humiliation. These memories group into feelings relating to the teaching of mathematics and their personal reaction to themselves as mathematics learners. In this article, the authors remind readers of the importance of helping students to develop positive attitudes to mathematics and provide practical suggestions as to how to engage students in a variety of stimulating activities. (Contains 4 figures.)

The plethora of data that confronts teachers on a daily basis requires that they know more than simply being able to calculate. It demands that they understand the context in which the mathematical ideas are embedded and what those ideas are telling them in relation to that context. Also, it necessitates that they are prepared to question how data, and the associated claims, are presented. For primary teachers, the implication is that they must be prepared to help their students to develop these skills. The "Finding the Maths" strategy described in this article has been shown to be successful in helping students achieve this outcome. The aim of using this strategy is to encourage students to develop the three types of thinking referred to in the numeracy framework (fluent operator, mathematical learner, and critical mathematician) and to assume the roles of the "mathematical learner" and "critical mathematician." This strategy was used in tandem with the "Debriefing the Numeracy" strategy that was designed to focus student thinking on the embedded mathematics in a particular context. (Contains 2 figures and 6 student work samples.)

The article offers the author's insights on the importance of multiplicative thinking to primary students such as motivation and development of the ability to connect several concepts. Topics mentioned include the advantage of multiplicative thinking to mathematics education, the difference in the level of understanding of various students, and the need to learn the multiplication algorithm.

The article discusses the significance of a combination of conceptual understanding and procedural fluency in developing multiplicative thinkers in the field of mathematics. Multiplicative thinking underpins important mathematical concepts and is characterized by an ability to recognise and solve a range of mathematical problems.

The article focuses on the importance of multiplicative thinking in the mathematical language to help students in making critical transition. It mentions that multiplicative thinking is an important stage in children's mathematical understanding. It mentions that multiplication and division are taught as separate entities in mathematics.

The article offers the author's explanation on how negative experiences with mathematics can turn into learning reinforcments. The author states that the emotive response of the person to a case is one component which is significant in developing attitudes to mathematics. Information on the looping cards, collecting cards used to help a child attain a positive emotive response to mathematics is also offered.

The article demonstrates a mathematics teaching strategy called Finding the Maths. It defines numeracy as the ability of a student to recognize, understand, and apply mathematical ideas in a wide range of contexts that may be quite different to those encountered in the mathematics classroom. It explains the three types of thinking or knowledge required in numeracy, namely mathematical, contextual, and strategic. It presents examples of student works illustrating embedded mathematics.