Numeracy


At St Therese we provide opportunities for students to become engaged in rich and authentic learning experiences that respect and suit their stage of development and are within the context of real-life situations.

 


 

These learning opportunities encourage the children to develop and use efficient strategies to solve problems. They are designed to challenge the existing skills of each individual student and promote the need to analyse and reason when solving problems and to apply these skills to new and challenging Mathematical concepts.

 

We believe that it is of great importance to have students articulate their thinking, not just their answers, in all areas throughout the school. We encourage opportunities for reflective practice within these learning experiences. Formal assessment occurs at different times throughout the year throughout all levels.

 

Numeracy at St. Therese is based upon the Victorian Curriculum which focuses on the strands of Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability. The proficiencies of Understanding, Fluency, Problem Solving and Reasoning are fundamental to learning mathematics and working mathematically and are applied across all three strands.

 

The Mathematics Assessment Interview (MAI) is conducted with all children from Foundation to Year 2, and with some children from Years 3-6. PAT Maths (an online tool) Assessment takes place twice per year with all students from Grades 1-6. Naplan assessment also occurs each year for Year 3 and 5 students.

 

Informal/ongoing assessment is incorporated in weekly mathematics sessions which provides valuable information in the planning and future learning of all students throughout the year.

 

As a school, we believe that powerful learning occurs in mathematics when student reflections are shared with peers and relevant questions are asked to challenge thinking. It is of great importance to have students articulate their thinking, not just their answers. In all areas throughout the school, we encourage opportunities for reflective practice within these learning experiences. We strive to promote the enjoyment and wonderment that working in mathematics can provide.

 

Learning sessions have learning intentions and success criteria embedded within them. Students are able to showcase their learning at our 3 Way Learning Conversations. 3 Way Learning Conversations is an opportunity for teachers to share mathematical data with parents about their child. Mathematical comments can be found on each student's individual Google Sheet.

 

 
Below are some general principles taken from "Helping your children with mathematics - MTLC Australian Catholic University" that you can apply at home and help support your child:

 

  • Building on success is important. Create the impression that learning mathematics will is desirable. Reward effort and see errors as part of the learning process.
  • People learn, not so much by being told things, as by working things out for themselves and linking new ideas to ideas they already have. You can help by asking your children questions, letting them work out answers for themselves, and then discussing their answers and strategies with them.
  • Children need time to think and time to answer. When asking your children questions or talking to them about mathematics, give them time. Be patient. Wait for them to answer. Also, explain to older children that they need to give younger children time to answer questions, rather than always answering for them.
  • Encourage children to talk. Talking about mathematics is an effective way of learning, especially when a mathematical situation arises naturally.
  • Use mathematical words when you describe things. For example, instead of saying, “the big red bucket” you might say, “the 10 litre bucket”. Instead of saying the “the large packet of rice”, you might say, “the 2kg packet of rice”. In this way, children get to hear the quantities being stated as an everyday way of describing things.
  • There is no hurry. Children develop their mathematics skills gradually and there is no urgency about developing any particular skill. It is necessary to work progressively on helping them to learn mathematics. Start now, but there is no particular need to accelerate your child’s development.
  • Help your child’s teacher. Your child’s teacher is vitally interested in your child’s mathematical development. Talk to the teacher about how your child is going in mathematics and find out whether there are any ways that you can help your child. Supporting teachers if they recommend any homework or home-based activities is highly desirable. Speaking positively about the school and teachers builds a positive feeling in the child about school and learning.