1. AIS(ACT) Numeracy Coaching
AIS(ACT) LNCA NUMERACY Session 1
23/02/2017
AIS(ACT) Numeracy Coaching
Session 1 (Part 1)
Presented by Yvonne McGarry
Session 1 – Getting started
What is Numeracy?
Why Numeracy?
Language in Numeracy
Models for Numeracy
What data should I collect?
How should I collect this data?
Defining your goal
Effective planning
Sharing with your “pilot group” (and others)
Session 2 – Numeracy in the classroom
How do I coach others in numeracy?
What should I do to achieve my goal?
Modes of delivery in the classroom
Creating a culture of thinking
Engaging in learning
Generating units of work which are inquiry-based, student-centred and realistic
Yvonne McGarry 2017

2. AIS(ACT) LNCA NUMERACY Session 1
23/02/2017
Numeracy versus Mathematics…
What does Numeracy mean? Is Numeracy mathematics?
STOP – Spoiler Alert (Don’t turn the page)
What is the difference?
Yvonne McGarry 2017

3. AIS(ACT) LNCA NUMERACY 1(1)
23/02/2017
The Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers (AAMT, 1997) suggest that …
“To be numerate is to use mathematics effectively to meet the general demands of life at home, in paid work, and for participation on community and civic life.
It involves the disposition to use, in context, a combination of:
Underpinning mathematical concepts and skills from across the discipline (numerical, spatial, graphical, statistical and algebraic);
Mathematical thinking and strategies;
General thinking skills; and
Grounded appreciation of context.”
The National Numeracy Review Report (COAG, 2008) goes further by stating that …
“We should not make the mistake of confusing the acquisition of mathematical concepts and procedures with the competence and disposition to use mathematics in context, that is, numeracy.”
Many academics continue to debate this point and there is no agreed definition for numeracy.
Mathematics in the early schooling years is entwined with numeracy. During the middle years of schooling, around Years 5, 6, 7, the concepts in mathematics take on their own identity. By the senior years, although a student needs to be numerate to succeed in Mathematics, very few new numeracy skills are being taught. It is important to note that students who are good at Mathematics and enjoy the subject usually have good Numeracy skills; however, the reverse is not always true. Students with good numeracy skills may struggle with mathematics or not enjoy mathematics.
This being said… studies show that if you improve numeracy, there is also an improvement in mathematics ability. (Cheng, Y.L. & Mix, K. S., 2012)
Numeracy continues through life.. Some topics studied in mathematics maybe not.
Yvonne McGarry 2017

4. AIS(ACT) LNCA NUMERACY 1(1)
Yvonne McGarry
23/02/2017
What are the different skills that live under the umbrella of Numeracy?
STOP – Spoiler Alert (Don’t turn the page)
Yvonne McGarry 2017

5. AIS(ACT) LNCA NUMERACY Session 1
23/02/2017
Yvonne McGarry
Estimating and calculating with whole numbers
Recognising and using patterns and relationships
Using fractions, decimals, percentages, ratios and rates
Using spatial reasoning
Interpreting statistical information
Using measurement
The Numeracy learning continuum is organised into six interrelated elements. Refer to “Organising Elements” handout for more in-depth information.
To these six elements we can add the language we use when teaching Numeracy.
Language in numeracy
Yvonne McGarry 2017

6. AIS(ACT) LNCA NUMERACY Session 1
23/02/2017
The importance of …
Language in Numeracy
The language we use in our classrooms “…can present a barrier for students in acquiring and mastering mathematical knowledge and skills.” Independent Schools Queensland (2015)
We all need to swim in the same pond.
Yvonne McGarry 2017

7. AIS(ACT) LNCA NUMERACY 1(1)
23/02/2017
SCALE
The National Numeracy Review Report (Council of Australian Governments, 2008) stated that … “What is frequently not considered is mathematical language as being distinct from mathematical literacy. For many children, mathematics is a foreign language: the symbols and expressions provide a formidable barrier to understanding of mathematical concepts.” Furthermore, many words and symbols used in the teaching of mathematical language are also used in learning areas other than mathematics or in other contexts outside of the classroom. “This combination may be an obstacle to the learning of numeracy concepts.”
We need to help our students make connection to language they already have. For learning to occur, the learner needs to make connections to what they already know.
Yvonne McGarry
Yvonne McGarry 2017

8. AIS(ACT) LNCA NUMERACY Session 1
Yvonne McGarry
23/02/2017
ACARA states… students become numerate as they develop the knowledge and skills to use mathematics confidently across other learning areas at school and in their lives more broadly. Numeracy encompasses the knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions that students need to use mathematics in a wide range of situations. It involves students recognising and understanding the role of mathematics in the world and having the dispositions and capacities to use mathematical knowledge and skills purposefully.
When teachers identify numeracy demands across the curriculum, students have opportunities to transfer their mathematical knowledge and skills to contexts outside the mathematics classroom. These opportunities help students recognise the interconnected nature of mathematical knowledge, other learning areas and the wider world, and encourage them to use their mathematical skills broadly.
Teachers should be aware of the correct use of mathematical language in their own learning areas.
See ACARA site for links for numeracy in each subject area.
Numeracy has its roots in Mathematics
but is not exclusive to Mathematics.
Yvonne McGarry 2017

9. AIS(ACT) LNCA NUMERACY Session 1
23/02/2017
A model for numeracy in the 21st century
See article “numeracy across the curriculum” uploaded to AIS(ACT) site.
Goos, M., Dole, S. & Geiger, V. (2012)
Yvonne McGarry 2017

10. AIS(ACT) LNCA NUMERACY Session 1
23/02/2017
A NUMERACY FRAMEWORK (Willis, S & Hogan, J., 2000)
Being numerate within a context involves a blend of three types of knowledge…
Mathematical
Strategic
Contextual
and three roles…
The fluent operator
The learner
The critical mathematician
A NUMERACY FRAMEWORK (Willis, S. & Hogan, J., 2000)
“Being, or becoming, numerate involves a blend of three knowledges:
• Mathematical knowledge – having (learning) the skills, techniques and concepts necessary to solve quantitative problems encountered in a real context;
• Contextual knowledge – having (developing) an awareness and knowledge of how the context impacted on the mathematics being used; and
• Strategic knowledge – having (developing) the confidence, disposition and skills to find out what needs to be known in order to act numerately.
Being, or becoming, numerate involves being able to, or learning to, take on three roles:
• The fluent operator - being (becoming) a fluent user of mathematics in familiar settings;
• The learner - having (developing) a capacity for the deliberate use of mathematics to learn; and
• The critical mathematician - having (developing) a capacity to be critical of the mathematics chosen and used. “
Yvonne McGarry 2017