23 February 2026
In this episode Fran Watson chats with Adil Jaffer, mathematics coordinator and an Early Years teacher at an international school in Amsterdam, about what it means to see the teacher as researcher – and why, for Adil, the two roles are inseparable.
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The descriptions and hyperlinks below provide optional follow-up information for listeners. Their inclusion here does not imply any endorsement of these resources by Cambridge Mathematics or by Cambridge University Press & Assessment, nor are Cambridge Mathematics and Cambridge University Press & Assessment responsible for any content within them.
Reggio Emilia Approach
This approach views children as capable, curious and full of potential; it uses an 'emergent curriculum' based on student interests and the 'hundred languages' of expression.
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Image © Preschools and Infant-toddler Centres – Instituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia, 2022. Used with permission.
Playful Mathematics by Helen J. Williams
This book presents some background into the literature on play and learning generally and considers what this might mean for the learning of mathematics in particular, as well as what 'playful mathematics' might look like in practice.
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Image © SAGE Publications Ltd. – Books, 2025. Used with permission of SAGE Publications Ltd., from Playful Mathematics by Helen J. Williams, 2025; permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.
Development of reflection through learning activity by Galina Zuckerman
This article refers to the curriculum developed by Daniel El'konin and Vasili Davydov through the 1950s–1980s in Russia, deliberately promoting students’ reflection.
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Caleb Gattegno and Madeleine Goutard’s Cuisenaire rods work
The articles in this booklet are written by primary teachers working with Cuisenaire rods (coloured, length-based rods from 1–10cm) exemplifying Goutard’s and Gattegno’s approaches in practice.
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