Mathematics

What is Maths Pathway?

Maths Pathway is a Learning and Teaching Model that is re-imagining the way mathematics is taught in Stage 4 at Mater Dei Catholic College. The model is research-driven and has been developed to support success for all students in mathematics. Maths Pathway combines a range of teaching methods and classroom practices with an online learning environment to support individualised learning for each student.

Effort, Accuracy and Growth

There are 3 key metrics that indicate the progress a student is making. Growth is the most important, with Effort and Accuracy helping to diagnose the cause of low Growth when it occurs.

Effort

Effortis the amount of the teacher-assigned work (a number of modules) that the student completed in the lead up to a test.

Accuracy

Accuracy is the amount of modules that were mastered on the test, compared with the amount completed.

Growth

A student’s Growth rate is the most important of the 3 metrics, as it reflects the new maths that they’ve mastered over time. It emphasises the value of continual development, as well as building on pre-existing or new knowledge.

Growth rates are based entirely on the number of modules that a student masters on a test. The table below summarises these values:

Number of Modules Mastered	Growth Rate
0	0%
1	33%
2	67%
3	100%
4	133%
5	167%
6	200%
7	233%

Effort, Accuracy and Growth Data at Mater Dei Catholic College:

Students who have shown significant growth in each of the Year 7 and 8 classes are listed below:

Year 7:

Class	Average Growth for 2022
7.1 - Sienna Heffernan	267%
7.2 - Harrison Uphill	221%
7.3 - Juliet Pearce	277%
7.4 - Stephanie Shaw	224%
7.5 - Jack Redmond	214%

Year 8:

Class	Average Growth for 2022
8.1 - Stephanie O'Brien	171%
8.2 - Erica Baker	190%
8.3 - Isabella Maynard	133%
8.4 - Claire Barclay	179%
8.5 - Lucy Halloway	183%

STEM Pathway

This Pathway is written to elevate these students to achieve the 5.2 Outcomes recommended as minimum preparation for a Stage 6 Mathematics Standard and mathematical understandings that are applicable to a range of VET courses. Additionally this Pathway provides opportunity for students to engage with the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) level 3 numeracy standard.

Student’s in the new NESA designed STEM Pathway have been working towards mastering the mathematical concepts of scale, ratio and proportion. We have spent some time in class working on understanding the mathematical ideas through application to real world situations. To conclude the unit we looked to apply what we had learnt in the classroom to a practical application of upscaling a favourite image using grids.

The students applied themselves well to this endeavor and the results can be seen below:

Mr Kurt McPherson | Mathematics KLA Leader