Equity Guidelines

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Numeracy

"Numeracy is the effective use of mathematics to meet the general demands of life at school and at home, in paid work, and for participation in community and civic life." (p.4 MCEETYA Benchmarking Task Force (1997))

Each student brings an individual set of mathematical knowledge, skills and behaviours to the learning process. Students from a low socio economic background may lack the exposure and therefore the understanding of the language of mathematics. They are also likely to begin at different starting points as they may have had limited opportunities to build prior knowledge in relation to learning mathematical concepts. Numeric awareness is as critical, as alphabetic and phonemic awareness.

The purpose of numeracy or mathematical skills is to assign order and value to the universe through the use of numbers and symbols. Assigning of numbers for meaning is directly linked to the student's abstract awareness. Abstract awareness is essential for functioning in the modern world. When teaching abstract concepts the use of mental models and explicitly explaining the what (content), the how (process) and the why helps students make sense of the patterns of their learning.

Students need to learn how to apply their mathematical knowledge, skills and behaviours effectively in a range of situations, including solving familiar problems and finding solutions to ones that they have not experienced before.

Key Issues/understandings

Numeracy learning and teaching for students of low socio-economic background needs to:

  • have high expectations of the students' ability to learn mathematics throughout the school community
  • be based on the belief that all students can learn mathematics given appropriate support and time
  • recognise each students' cultural, social, and linguistic resources that they bring from home as a positive base on which to build and extend their numeracy knowledge, skills and behaviours
  • encourage students to investigate ideas and to consider knowledge from a variety of perspectives. Students need opportunities to learn the language of mathematics to construct personal understandings (generalisations) and to transfer these new understandings to their own environment (metacognition) in order to function in the modern world
  • develop concepts by scaffolding the students' learning experiences and encourage them to explain and relate their mathematical understandings using mathematical language. The learning experiences should excite and/or engage students, encouraging learners to imagine, predict and test their generalisations
  • acknowledge the concern relating to the learning and teaching of mathematics. Schools need to develop community confidence in mathematics and encourage positive attitudes as they have been found to favourably influence student achievement (see below for specific examples).

What schools can do

Develop and implement a coordinated, whole school approach to improving numeracy outcomes:

  • a supportive, shared leadership team to ensure:
    • an evidence based review of the existing numeracy program and identification of successes and opportunities for improvement
    • the development and implementations of action plans with improvement goals and objectives, timelines, resourcing and professional learning based on the School Strategic Plan and the Annual Implementation Plan
    • teachers have access to the resources and support they need to maximize student' learning outcomes
    • maximize the time that teachers spend on developing students' numeracy knowledge and skills and behaviours
    • minimize the time that teachers spend on student behaviour management issues.
    • evaluate all numeracy innovations and changes in the school against their capacity to improve student learning.
  • models of school organisation and a structure to maximise opportunities for numeracy learning including flexible staffing to address specific student needs and coordination of support services within the school
  • time within meeting schedules and resources for professional learning teams to discuss numeracy issues, develop shared values and beliefs and support in-class teachers to use innovative strategies
  • continual review of the numeracy program to ensure consistency with research
  • promotion and raising of the numeracy profile in the community, for example information sessions about issues and strategies, displays, newsletter items and open days
  • build the capacity of all staff to teach numeracy across the curriculum.

Build and sustain a numeracy learning community where:

  • all numeracy teachers, and other teachers as appropriate, undertake professional learning to build capacity
  • reflective teachers and students who believe in their efficacy
  • accountability for student learning in numeracy has a focus on success through ongoing monitoring based on the achievement of targets and goals
  • the focus is on what is working and successful for staff and students in order to sustain motivation and celebrate success.

Effective numeracy classroom learning and teaching to make a difference includes:

The Principles of Learning and Teaching and the Assessment and Reporting Advice provide the essential elements for numeracy learning and teaching. In addition students from low socio economic backgrounds require:

  • a numeracy program plan for each student that focuses on what they can currently do and need to learn next
  • the student’s prior numeracy knowledge, skills and behaviours to inform teaching and learning plans
  • numeracy learning objectives that are shared with the students and are complex, challenging and culturally appropriate and which encourage student engagement
  • quality, instructional experiences that are accessible to all students and include focused, explicit basic skills numeracy teaching, direct instruction teaching and project work
  • consideration is given as to the most effective numeracy teaching approach for each learning experience for example Researching Numeracy Teaching Approaches in Primary Schools
  • the use of diagnostic mathematical assessments, for example see numeracy assessment guide tool (Word - 85Kb), supports the early identification of students requiring intervention and individual assistance is integral to the numeracy program
  • numeracy assessment tasks involve negotiation with the student and constructive feedback on assessments are a fundamental component of the numeracy program
  • teacher-student relationships and interactions reinforce the students' understanding of the numeracy learning objectives
  • students understandings of mathematical language and terms is supported by making links and connections with the way students construct their own language meaning
  • use of concrete materials to scaffold mathematical understandings and support the development of mental models leading to abstract concepts.
  • use of technology to learn mathematical concepts and to engage students in mathematics
  • numeracy is taught explicitly across the curriculum and is recognized in other classroom contexts
  • effective numeracy transition practices for all students from K-10
  • opportunities for using mathematics in real contexts and to critically evaluate and justify which mathematical process/methodology is used when problem solving.

Mathematics Program Support