Through the teaching of Mathematics, students are empowered to develop life skills, be problem-solvers, think analytically and apply logical reasoning to life experiences.
At St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, each class has a minimum of five hours dedicated to the learning of Mathematics per week. These sessions focus on developing each student’s mathematical knowledge, understandings, skills and dispositions through explicit teaching and learning experiences derived from the Victorian Curriculum. The strands covered in accordance with the curriculum are, Number and Algebra, Measurement and Space 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 of Number and Algebra, Measurement and Space, and Statistics and Probability.
We have identified the essential learning that students need to achieve proficiency within each of these areas, and subsequently design learning cycles that respond to the needs of students based on assessment data.
We believe that our Mathematics curriculum is purposeful, current, relevant, needs based and rigorous. We aim to develop the mathematical abilities that students need to be numerically successful in their personal, work and civic life.
There are many real life contexts and problem solving opportunities provided for students across all levels. Students are encouraged to apply their mathematical learning, employ strategies, make informed decisions and solve problems efficiently.
At St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, we use a variety of assessment strategies and formats to gather an accurate understanding of each student’s level of achievement in Mathematics.
We use a digital learning and assessment platform to support mathematics learning, and to monitor student growth. Essential Assessment is a platform that provides targeted assessments, data collection tools, immediate feedback, and tracks class and individual student progression through the various components of the Victorian Curriculum.
Common Formative Assessments (CFATs) , designed collaboratively by the teachers while referencing the Victorian Curriculum requirements, further inform teachers of a student’s knowledge and skill. All data is used to build a comprehensive profile of students and subsequently plan the learning cycle to best meet the needs of the students, individually, and across the cohort.
Ongoing collection of summative and formative data ensures that we continue to meet the needs of the students, identify trends that will impact teaching strategies and professional learning, and monitor the growth of students F-6.
Integral to Mathematics planning and implementation of learning cycles is the recognition of the need to have flexible groupings in response to data collected. Additional time and support will be provided for students as needed, as part of a multi-layered approach to intervention, as well as enrichment and application experiences being provided to extend students, in order to achieve positive learning outcomes.
Teachers at St Thomas More Catholic Primary School aim to use the following structure for Mathematics lessons to ensure optimal learning opportunities for students:
- Mathematics Warm Up Activity (whole class)
- Main Teaching Focus (whole class)
- Small groups and individuals
- Share Time/Reflection