From the Learning Specialists 

The Maths journey continues…

You may remember Maths sessions at school where teachers required students to sit quietly while completing a long list of equations, drilling a skill over and over and over again. Now Maths sessions look different, they are collaborative, busy and full of concept discussion. Our learners build their understanding and fluency through experiences. They work through challenging tasks and develop their ability to justify their mathematical thinking to help bring clarity to the solution. These experiences helps students unpack the ‘how’and the ‘why’ of Maths.

These experiences in Mathematics not only build concept knowledge but also help with learner dispositions. Students appreciate that ‘struggle’ is a part of learning and that trying something new helps us keep a strong growth mindset, that is, we can improve at anything if we work hard enough and in a purposeful way.

Some of the questions you may hear the teacher ask in Maths sessions today include, “What strategy did you use to solve that problem?” and “There is more than one solution, can you find another?” and, “What did you do when you didn’t know the answer straight away?” All these questions promote opportunities for students to think deeply about the mathematical concepts behind the challenges that are presented.

There are four key skills (proficiencies) our teachers focus on developing when delivering mathematical challenges to their students; building understanding, increasing fluency, encouraging problem-solving and promoting reasoning.

Understanding refers to building knowledge of mathematical concepts and structures. With understanding students can connect related ideas, represent concepts in different ways, describe their thinking and interpret mathematical information.

Fluency describes developing skills to work flexibly, accurately, efficiently and appropriately. It is also the ability to recall facts and concepts readily. Fluent mathematicians can make reasonable estimates, calculate answers and recall and use facts to find solutions.

Problem-solving is the ability to make choices, interpret and investigate problem situations and use concept knowledge to find effective solutions. 

Reasoning refers to analysing, evaluating, explaining, inferring and justifying. Students are reasoning mathematically when they explain their thinking, transfer learning from one context to another and compare and explain their choices.

Growing mathematical thinkers is a complex task and knowing about the important skills required helps us to appreciate that there is more to maths than just knowing the answer to an equation. A deeper understanding of the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ cements concept knowledge that we can transfer and apply to real mathematical situations we are faced with throughout life.