MATHEMATICS

​At St Thomas More Primary School, each class has five hours dedicated to the learning of Mathematics per week. These sessions focus on developing each student’s mathematical knowledge, understandings and skills through explicit teaching and learning experiences related to the AusVELS strands of Number & Algebra, Measurement & Geometry and Statistics & Probability. Our staff has carefully examined the AusVELS Mathematics curriculum and for each grade level they have selected and prioritised the essential content and skills that all students must achieve proficiency in. At St Thomas More School we refer to these essential learnings as Power Standards. As a result, teachers have developed an agreed curriculum that is purposeful, current, relevant, needs-based and rigorous.
Ultimately, we aim to develop the mathematical abilities that students will need to be numerically successful in their personal, work and civic life. Throughout all levels of the curriculum, emphasis is placed on developing each student's ability to respond to familiar and unfamiliar situations, by employing mathematical strategies, making informed decisions and solving problems efficiently.
Teachers of similar year levels regularly meet to collaboratively discuss, and make decisions regarding, the four critical questions related to the learning of Mathematics:

1. What is it we want our students to learn?
2. How do we know if each student has learnt it?
3. What will we do for those students who haven’t learnt it?
4. What will we do for those students who have already learnt it?

Teachers work collaboratively to: determine what is the most essential learning for their students, devise common formative assessments to accurately inform them of each student’s knowledge and skill, and to determine what level of proficiency must demonstrate on each Power Standard. We believe that it is essential that teachers gather clear and accurate data in order to assist students to move forward in their mathematical development. Student achievement data is used at all levels to identify and monitor student achievement and to map individual student and whole school learning trends. This data also assists teachers in determining appropriate starting points for student learning and also assists teachers to personalise learning and teaching activities so as to meet the needs of all students.
Our teachers aim to use the following structure in each mathematics lesson to best optimise the student's learning and to achieve "the maximum number of children engaging in the maximum amount of Mathematics for the maximum amount of time." Anne Gervasoni, 2001.

Maths Warm-up Activity (whole class): An activity focusing on a counting skill or on developing efficient mental strategies.
Main Teaching Focus (whole class): Teacher led session focusing on:

• a major mathematical concept in order to construct mathematical ideas and develop thinking skills;
• building mathematical vocabulary; 
• using open-ended questions that encourage students to discuss the strategies they could use to solve the problem
• contextualising the learning of Mathematics by relating the content to real life situations.

Small groups and individuals: Teacher works with a small number of ‘like needs' children to teach level appropriate concepts, while other students focus on the mathematical ideas presented in the Main Teaching Focus.
Share time/Reflection (whole class): Teacher led session where:

• the students are encouraged to articulate and share the strategies used throughout the session and consolidate the learning that has been taken place,
• the teacher addresses any mathematical misconceptions and praises the progress that has been made.

At the commencement of each lesson explicit learning intentions and success criteria are provided to give the students a clear understanding of their mathematical learning for the session. These are presented to the students in student-friendly language and are referred to as “I can …” statements as they explicitly state the expected learning that should occur as a result of instruction, exploration, investigation, application and practise.
In order to help all students learn Mathematics at high levels, our teachers are committed to providing students who are experiencing difficulty learning Mathematics with additional time and support for learning. This multi-layered intervention system is timely, directive, systematic and within the school day. This system utilises flexible grouping of students, along with additional staffing and resources in order to achieve positive learning outcomes. Conversely, extension, enrichment and application learning experiences are offered to those students who demonstrate sound and consistent mastery of the various concepts and skills contained within a Power Standard.