2. Key Messages
The role of the link teacher is to help promote numeracy in the school
Developing positive attitudes and an awareness of numeracy is the responsibility of the whole school community
Whole-school collaboration is key to consistent approaches to numeracy across subject departments
Learning outcome: ( Time 1 min) To remind participants of the context and key messages of the Numeracy Link Seminars which underpin a whole school approach to numeracy
Key Points:
This is Day 2 of a 2 Day in-service being provided as part of the National Strategy to improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People ( 2011 – 2020) “ Literacy & Numeracy for Learning and Life” (DES 2011).
“ Teachers of all post-primary subjects have an important role to play in developing and consolidating students’ ability to use literacy and numeracy “(Literacy and Numeracy for Learning and for Life, Pg 11) . The role of the link teacher is to act as a facilitator and a catalyst for improvement with the support of PDST, school leadership , individual subject departments and colleagues. It is the responsibility of individual teachers to develop and consolidate students’ numeracy as part of the teaching and learning that takes place in their classroom i.e. improving numeracy is a shared whole school responsibility not the sole responsibility of the link teacher
A key factor in improving numeracy is that students would experience a consistent approach to numeracy in all their classes. This consistency can only be achieved through collaboration between between teachers e.g the maths department and other subject departments
Developing students’ awareness of numeracy in contexts other than maths class and developing a more positive attitude to numeracy amongst students is the responsibility of everybody in the school community , the Board of Management , school leadership , teachers and parents etc

3. Definition of Numeracy
Numeracy is NOT LIMITED to the ability to use numbers, to add, subtract, multiply and divide.
Learning outcome: Awareness of this common misconception.
Key points:
This is a common misconception. Again, leading to the idea that numeracy is the responsibility of all subject teachers.
Literacy And Numeracy For Learning And Life 2011
National Literacy & Numeracy Strategy 2011

4. Definition of Numeracy
Numeracy encompasses the ability to use mathematical understanding and skills to :
solve problems
meet the demands of day-to-day living in complex social settings.
Learning outcomes: An awareness that numeracy is a life skill.
Every corner we turn we are faced with decisions or in some cases problems. It’s imperative that students leaving our education system are equipped to solve these.
With data and numbers everywhere in today’s society it is important that student’s can make informed decisions and that they have the skills and knowledge not to take everything they are told or exposed to at face value.
National Literacy & Numeracy Strategy 2011

5. Definition of Numeracy
Numeracy involves being able to:
Think and communicate quantitatively
Make sense of data
Have a spatial awareness
Understand patterns and sequences
Recognise situations where mathematical reasoning can be applied to solve problems.
Learning outcome: Highlight the difference between mathematics and numeracy.
Key points:
Most mathematics problems that students work on are contrived or decontextualized. In contrast, real life numeracy situations are always embedded in a life stream of some personal meaning to the individuals involved.
Therefore a means of communicating quantitavely and of analysing data are key skills of any numerate citizen.
Quantitative literacy is less mathematics itself than the contexts in which people are most likely to encounter the need for mathematical insights and skills, therefore making numeracy applicable to all subjects across the curriculum.
National Literacy & Numeracy Strategy 2011

6. The evidence (to date) suggests that:
Irish performance in mathematics in TIMSS (2011) is significantly above the international scale centre point of 500. However, results show that the percentage of Irish pupils reaching the Advanced Benchmark (9%) is lower than would be expected from overall Irish performance. (Close 2013)
1 in 5 fifteen year olds do not have enough maths to function in day to day living (PISA)
The drop to significantly below average in PISA (from 17 to 26) can in part be attributed to the “ comparatively low performance of higher-achieving students” (ERC)
Learning Outcomes:To share Irish comparative results in both TIMSS and PISA
TIMSS 2011 is Ireland’s first time to participate in an international assessment of mathematics achievement at primary level since TIMSS takes place every four years, assessing the mathematical and scientific skills of pupils in Fourth grade and/or Eighth grade (equivalent to Fourth class and Second Year in Ireland). (ERC
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an international assessment of ‎the skills and knowledge of 15-year-olds.  PISA ‎assesses students’ performance on ‘real-life’ tasks that are considered relevant for effective ‎participation in adult society and for life-long learning.
The subject areas or ‘domains’ assessed by PISA are reading, mathematics and science. In each ‎cycle of PISA, one of these subjects is the main focus (‘major domain’) of the assessment, with ‎less emphasis placed on the remaining subjects (‘minor domains’). (ERC)
PISA is implemented every three years, ‎starting in 2000, and 2012 saw the fifth implementation of the study. The number of countries ‎participating in PISA has increased from 32 in 2000 to 64 in 2012, making it the largest study of ‎its kind‎.

7. SEC Chief Examiners’ Reports: Leaving Certificate
Geography (2012)
‘Some candidates found measuring on the Ordnance Survey map difficult. Location by grid reference and location on the aerial photograph continues to challenge some candidates’ (Ordinary Level)
‘The absence of correct labelling of the axes on the graph work was noted by many examiners both in the Geographical Investigation report and in the written examination paper’ (Higher Level)
Engineering (2011)
‘Successful candidates gave structure to their answering by, where appropriate, tabulating their answers, using bullet points to highlight and give emphasis, producing neat and accurate graphs, and using sketches and diagrams to illustrate their answers’
Music (2012)
‘Candidates responded well in questions where a choice of answers were presented to them but experienced difficulty in questions requiring descriptive or explanatory answers’
History(2011)
‘Some candidates ignored the date parameters of the question or of the topic
Accounting (2011)
‘common errors in part (c) were: incorrectly treating subscriptions due and
subscriptions prepaid; treating lotto receipts and payments separately; expenses
due were treated incorrectly or omitted; a number of candidates omitted the
heading Surplus of Income over Expenditure’
German (2010)
‘A minority of candidates still have difficulty with number and letter recognition in German, particularly numbers with a decimal point and the letters ‘e’ and ‘i’ ‘
Learning Outcome: To show how numeracy as a set of procedures and skills, and as a process of inquiry whereby justification and elaboration are required is an issue throughout the curriculum as stated by the SEC chief examiners’ reports.

8. Practical Subjects & PE
Link Model
Link Model
WHOLE STAFF
SUBJECT DEPARTMENTS
Modern
Foreign Languages
History & Geography
Business
Careers
&
SEN
English
&
Irish
Science
Maths
Practical Subjects & PE
This is an example of a School Improvement Team that could be set up in your school. As was stated earlier your school has to focus on literacy or numeracy this year. If your school focuses on numeracy this year and if they set targets and devise and monitor progress over the next three years, next year the focus will begin on literacy. Therefore we feel it would be best to have a School Improvement team rather than separate literacy and numeracy teams. Ideally, one participant from each subject department will be required along with senior management
Core Team
Link Teacher
Numeracy Training
SSE Training
Management
Whole Staff

9. The Teaching and Learning Quality Framework
Teaching & Learning
Learner outcomes
Learning
experiences
Teachers’ practices
Theme
Attainment of curriculum objectives
Learning environment
Students’ engagement in learning
Learning to learn
Preparation for teaching
Teaching approaches
Management of pupils
Assessment
The Teaching and Learning Quality Framework
The SSE guidelines provide schools with a teaching and learning framework which ensures that schools engage in SSE in a focussed and cohesive way. It prevents the process from becoming ad hoc or random.
The school in considering all 3 themes, will scan now the subthemes in order to broadly identify what is going well/not so well in the teaching and learning of numeracy. There will as a result choose subthemes or aspects of subthemes which will provide the lens for the evaluation of numeracy
For example they may choose to structure the evaluation of numeracy as follows
Outcome ( Attainment of curriculum objectives)
Teacher Practice (Teaching approaches, Assessment)
Pupil Experience (Student engagement in learning. Learning to Learn)
NB:
Not all subthemes need to be evaluated.
Not all criteria within a subtheme need to be evaluated
It is best for schools to choose a small number to begin with.
The selection of specific subthemes for evaluation and undertaking an in-depth enquiry into teaching and learning with regard to these only keeps it manageable
The rewards are reaped when commencing the 6 step process - step 1 will now have a definite focus and the questions that we pose in step 1 will be based on the aspects of the subtheme that we want to evaluate.
Sub-themes 9

10. Whole-School Approach to Numeracy

11. Whole-School Approaches
“Numeracy Moments”
Common Approaches
Mathematical Language
Estimate-Calculate-Check
Problem Solving
Positive Attitude
Numeracy Rich Environment
Learning Outcomes: To share with teachers ideas on how to get started.
7 possible strategies to get started.

12. Subject Plan

13. Are these linked to what our school wants to improve in numeracy?
Moving Forward
Consider some of the strategies/ideas mentioned today that we might use in school.
Are these linked to what our school wants to improve in numeracy?
What evidence do we have?
Learning Outcome: Consider as a staff what area evidence needs to be collected.
e.g. (Under Curricular Attainment- Comparisons with national average at Junior Cert, Maths Competency Tests)
e.g. (Under Learner Experiences- Student questionnaires regarding numeracy)
e.g.(Under Teachers’ practices- Subject Department Questionnaires etc.)

14. September 2013: Link Teacher Day 1
Future Supports
September 2013: Link Teacher Day 1
Sept 2013– Jan 2014: Back in school + follow on support/ link clusters
Spring 2014– Link Teacher Day 2
Learning Outcome: To inform participants of our plan for the year ahead
PDST are available for in-school support. See
To explain what the learning outcome of the clusters will be, and to reiterate that the participants themselves will have great ideas themselves which we will be delighted to share at the clusters.
Follow on support
(school/clusters/on-line)