2016 NUMERACY:
Student Learning:
We continue to use a range of formative and diagnostic assessment to inform the teaching of our students, ascertaining where they need to go and how best to get there. Our belief is that, although students are at different stages in their learning and may be progressing at different rates, all students are capable of learning successfully if motivated and given appropriate learning opportunities and necessary support. Our professional learning teams remain accountable for individual student data. Regular data on the achievements, progress, strengths and weaknesses of individual students are used in all of our classrooms. However, they also take responsibility collectively for improving instructional practices to achieve high yield gains in learning for all their students. Students participated in skill based math ‘Workshops’ and the hands on activities were carefully planned and designed to develop these skills and strategies. The workshops are designed to ensure each and every student have their needs targeted and effectively tracked on a weekly basis. We are very proud of the steps we have taken to have noticeable changes in our students’ enthusiasm towards mathematics.
Numeracy Team:
Our Numeracy team has worked tirelessly to ensure our classrooms are stocked with up to date / hands-on materials that support the understanding and development of numeracy concepts. As these manipulatives are incorporated into mathematic lessons in meaningful ways our students are able to grasp concepts with greater ease, making teaching most effective. Students are also accessing new and engaging technologies such as utilising the iPads available which include a range of apps to enhance learning. Students are also exploring the use of robots such as ‘BeeBots’ inside the classroom to develop understanding of mathematical concepts.
Victorian Curriculum:
In 2016, Melton Primary School commenced integrating a new curriculum, Victorian Curriculum. This new curriculum has provided our students with essential mathematical skills and knowledge and is organised in three content strands: Number and Algebra; Measurement and Geometry; and Statistics and Probability. It develops the numeracy capabilities that all students need in their personal, work and civic life, and provides the fundamentals on which mathematics are built. Victorian Curriculum also places an emphasis on four main proficiency strands Understanding, Fluency, Problem Solving and Reasoning. ‘Understanding refers to students building a robust knowledge of adaptable and transferable mathematical concepts and structures. Fluency describes students developing skills in choosing appropriate procedures, carrying out procedures flexibly, accurately, efficiently and appropriately, and recalling factual knowledge and concepts readily. Problem solving is the ability of students to make choices, interpret, formulate, model and investigate problem situations, select and use technological functions and communicate solutions effectively. Reasoning refers to students developing an increasingly sophisticated capacity for logical, statistical and probabilistic thinking and actions, such as conjecturing, hypothesising, analysing, proving, evaluating, explaining, inferring, justifying, refuting, abstracting and generalising.’ (http://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/mathematics/introduction/learning-in-mathematics)