Following on from our last discussion about the vital role of the teacher, today we’re focusing on another cornerstone of effective maths education: understanding how our primary school students actually learn. We’ll be drawing insights from the Grattan Institute’s “The Maths Guarantee” report and the core principles of Maths Australia’s pedagogy.
The Grattan Institute’s report makes it clear that a one-size-fits-all approach simply doesn’t work in maths. They highlight the importance of understanding the different ways children learn and the necessity of differentiated teaching. This means recognising that students progress at their own pace and grasp concepts in diverse ways. Effective teaching, therefore, is responsive to these individual learning journeys.
Maths Australia’s pedagogy strongly reinforces this idea. Our philosophy delves into the developmental stages that children go through as they build their mathematical understanding. It also emphasises the need to acknowledge and cater to learning differences, whether a student is neurotypical or neurodiverse. This understanding forms the very foundation of their multi-sensory approach. By engaging multiple senses – sight, touch, hearing, and movement – Maths Australia aims to create pathways to learning that resonate with a wider range of students and their unique learning styles.
Think about how different children might approach a new maths concept like fractions. Some might immediately grasp the abstract representation of symbols, while others might need to physically divide objects or draw diagrams to truly understand the idea of ‘a half’ or ‘a quarter’. Both the Grattan Institute’s findings and Maths Australia’s pedagogy advocate for teachers to be equipped with the knowledge and strategies to meet these varied needs.
The “Maths Guarantee” implicitly suggests that by understanding these learning differences and adapting our teaching accordingly, we can significantly improve learning outcomes for all students. Maths Australia takes this a step further by providing a structured methodology that incorporates this understanding into every lesson. Their emphasis on the Intuitive-Concrete-Representational-Abstract-Explicit, approach, for example, directly addresses the developmental progression of learning, allowing students to build a solid foundation through hands-on experiences before moving to more abstract concepts.
Ultimately, both the Grattan Institute’s research and Maths Australia’s philosophy underscore a fundamental truth: effective maths teaching is inextricably linked to understanding the learner. By recognising the diverse ways children learn, acknowledging their developmental stages, and adapting our approaches to meet their individual needs, we can create a more inclusive and successful maths learning environment for every primary school student.
To learn more about our training, visit mathsaustralia.com.au/training