Mathematics
At Mount Waverley North Primary School, we want every student to see themselves as a capable mathematician.
Our Mathematics program develops strong mathematical knowledge and skills alongside the confidence, reasoning and problem-solving abilities students need to use mathematics successfully at school and in everyday life.
Teaching and learning is aligned with the Victorian Curriculum 2.0, with a strong focus on developing the mathematical proficiencies of Understanding, Fluency, Reasoning and Problem Solving.
Our Approach to Teaching Mathematics
Mathematics is taught through a consistent whole-school approach from Prep to Year 6.
Our lessons combine explicit teaching, modelling, guided practice, purposeful collaboration, independent application and problem solving. Students are taught mathematical knowledge, concepts and strategies explicitly and are then provided with opportunities to practise, discuss, apply and extend their understanding.
A consistent lesson sequence across the school means students become familiar with the routines and expectations of Mathematics while the complexity of the learning increases as they progress through each year level.
Our Mathematics Lesson Sequence
While lessons are responsive to the concept being taught and the needs of students, our Prep–6 Mathematics approach incorporates several consistent elements.
Daily Review
Mathematics lessons regularly begin with a ‘Daily Review’, providing students with opportunities to retrieve and practise previously taught knowledge and skills.
Daily Review supports students to strengthen recall, maintain important mathematical knowledge and make connections between previous and new learning. It also provides teachers with valuable information about what students know, what requires further practice and when students are ready to move forward.
Explicit Teaching and Masterclasses
New mathematical concepts and strategies are introduced through clear, explicit teaching.
Teachers model mathematical thinking, demonstrate efficient strategies, explain mathematical language and make the steps involved in solving problems visible to students.
At different points within a lesson or learning sequence, students may participate in targeted Masterclasses. These provide focused teaching around a particular concept, strategy or misconception and allow instruction to be responsive to student learning needs.
Master Classes may be used to introduce new learning, revisit a concept, address a misconception or provide additional challenge and extension.
Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract Learning
Students develop mathematical understanding by moving between concrete, pictorial and abstract representations.
Concrete experiences allow students to explore concepts using hands-on materials and manipulatives.
Pictorial representations help students make their mathematical thinking visible through diagrams, models, number lines and other visual representations.
Abstract representations introduce students to mathematical symbols, notation and equations.
Students are encouraged to make connections between these representations rather than simply memorising a procedure. This helps build deeper conceptual understanding and supports students to explain not only how they reached an answer, but why their mathematical thinking works.
Our classrooms are equipped with a broad range of mathematical resources and manipulatives to support this approach.
Collaboration and Mathematical Discussion
Mathematics is not always a silent or individual activity.
Students regularly have opportunities to work collaboratively, compare strategies, explain their reasoning, justify solutions and learn from the mathematical thinking of others.
Teachers deliberately develop mathematical language and encourage students to communicate their thinking clearly. Students learn that there may be different ways to approach a problem and that discussing these approaches can deepen everyone’s understanding.
Collaboration also helps students develop confidence in taking mathematical risks, questioning ideas and recognising that mistakes and misconceptions can be valuable opportunities for learning.
Understanding, Fluency, Reasoning and Problem Solving
Our Mathematics program deliberately develops the four mathematical proficiencies identified within the Victorian Curriculum 2.0.
Students develop Understanding by making connections between mathematical concepts and representations.
They develop Fluency through regular practice, efficient strategies and increasingly accurate and automatic recall.
Students develop Reasoning by explaining their thinking, making generalisations, justifying their choices and evaluating mathematical ideas.
They develop Problem Solving by applying their knowledge and strategies to familiar and unfamiliar situations, including rich and meaningful mathematical problems.
These proficiencies are developed together so that students learn more than procedures. Our goal is for students to understand mathematics deeply and know when, why and how to apply what they have learnt.
Practice, Application and Challenge
Once new learning has been explicitly introduced, students are provided with purposeful opportunities to practise and apply their knowledge.
Tasks may involve individual practice, collaborative problem solving, mathematical investigations, games, real-world contexts and open-ended challenges.
Teachers adjust the level of support and complexity according to student learning needs. This allows students to consolidate essential knowledge and skills while also providing opportunities for students who are ready to investigate concepts in greater depth.
Assessment and Responsive Teaching
Assessment is an ongoing part of Mathematics teaching at MWNPS.
Teachers use a combination of formal assessment, classroom observation, student work, mathematical discussion and checks for understanding to determine what students know and what they are ready to learn next.
This information is used to plan teaching, form purposeful groups, identify misconceptions and determine when students require additional practice, targeted teaching or extension.
Rather than assessment simply measuring learning at the end of a unit, we use evidence of student learning to inform what happens next.
Developing Confident Mathematicians
Above all, we want our students to develop positive and productive relationships with Mathematics.
Students are encouraged to be curious, persevere when learning is challenging, explain their thinking, consider different strategies and recognise that becoming a successful mathematician involves both knowledge and a willingness to think.
Through explicit teaching, regular practice, rich mathematical discussion and opportunities to apply learning in different ways, we aim to develop students who are confident, capable and flexible mathematical thinkers.