Whole School 'Response To Intervention' Approach To Maths Mastery
Recently, Esther White, CEO of Maths Australia, sat down with Rhonda Davis, Executive Principal of Emerald Christian College, to discuss the incredible numeracy results she’s achieved across multiple schools.
Rhonda’s journey began when she sought a solution for her own son, who struggled with dyslexia. Realising that traditional methods weren’t working, Rhonda found a new approach and implemented multi-sensory, explicit instruction through Maths Australia’s I-CRAVE framework.
What followed was transformative - not only for her son but also for the schools she’s worked with, including Emerald Christian College, where no child is finger-counting and numeracy skills are thriving from Prep to Year 6.
Esther and Rhonda discussed:
- Multi-Sensory Approach: By teaching maths through concrete blocks and hands-on methods, students—regardless of their starting point—are able to progress rapidly.
- Preventative Success: Rhonda has ensured that students enter secondary school with strong numeracy skills, effectively preventing gaps and struggles in later years.
- Widespread Impact: Across three different schools, the results have been consistent—students advanced in their maths skills, and even those who needed intervention have made significant progress.
Here’s the link to tune in to the conversation: CLICK HERE
We’re incredibly proud of the difference Maths Australia’s methodologies are making at schools like Emerald Christian College, and we’d love to explore how this program can support your school community as well.
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Rhonda's Journey:
- 1995: Rhonda decided to home-educate her 11-year old son, who was struggling with numeracy and literacy due to dyslexia, discovering the need for an alternative approach to learning.
- 2002: As an Intervention Specialist at Jubilee Christian College, Rhonda worked closely with students to provide one-on-one support, closing gaps in numeracy.
- 2004: In her role as an Intervention Specialist at a leading Distance Education School, Rhonda saw outstanding results using the Maths Australia program (Math U See).
- 2016: As Principal of Good Shepherd Christian School, Brisbane, Rhonda led a bold initiative to implement numeracy intervention across the entire primary school, seeing significant improvements in student outcomes.
- 2022: Rhonda moved north and assumed a senior leadership position as Executive Principal at Gems Christian Education, where she oversaw Little Gems, Emerald Christian College, and Ontrack College. She led the implementation of the Maths Australia program across the primary school and at Ontrack College, adapting the approach to suit the unique needs of each school. As a result, both schools experienced a significant impact on student learning.
With over 40 years of experience in education, Rhonda has served in numerous roles including Principal, Head of Department, Academic Advisor, Learning Support teacher, and classroom teacher. Her wealth of experience also extends internationally, as she has provided professional development training and academic advice to schools across Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji.
We are deeply grateful that Rhonda joined us to share her experiences and inspire a vision of what is possible for your students.
This webinar offers invaluable insights into how a whole-school numeracy approach, based on a 'response to intervention' framework that has explicit, multi-sensory instruction at its core, can drive outstanding success for both students and teachers alike.
Interested in Free PD & Webinars?
Teach the way your student's learn - by bringing in the pedagogy and research into your classroom, simply and easily.
Sign up to 'Free PD' to have a comprehensive webinar like this one we recently had with Rhonda Davis, delivered direct to your inbox every month.
Sincerely,
Esther White