Numeracy

Mathematics is an essential area of learning in our curriculum. It is important for all students to develop the essential skills needed to function effectively in society. We strive for students to become equipped with the necessary skills when reasoning, probleming solving, demonstrating understanding and seeing relevance when approaching maths in everyday situations.    

At Heathmont East Primary School we deliver a highly differentiated and dynamic maths program. We believe all students thrive when engaged therefore place strong emphasis on engaging whole class activities that cater for all learning abilities. When catering for students’ learning needs, their interests are built upon to develop rich authentic learning tasks. Open ended tasks are a strong focus during mathematics lessons, where students can use a variety of strategies to solve problems. Strategies including, make a model with concrete material, draw a picture, write a number sentence etc.

At Heathmont East, our teachers have received professional development from maths expert Rob Vingerhoets to improve planning, teaching and assessing of maths lessons that focus on the three strands of the maths curriculum.

The content strands are:

• Number and Algebra
• Measurement and Geometry
• Statistics and Probability

These strands describe the concepts being taught and learnt, and provide the basis for our mathematics curriculum.

The Proficiencies

At Heathmont East Primary School, Mathematics aims to be relevant and applicable to the 21st century. The inclusion of the proficiencies of understanding, fluency, problem-solving and reasoning in the curriculum is to ensure that student learning and student independence are at the centre of the curriculum. The curriculum focuses on developing increasingly sophisticated and refined mathematical understanding, fluency, reasoning, and problem-solving skills. These proficiencies enable students to respond to familiar and unfamiliar situations by employing mathematical strategies to make informed decisions and solve problems efficiently. The proficiencies are explored through a range of open-ended, real-life problems.

The proficiency strands are:

• Understanding
• Fluency
• Reasoning
• Problem Solving