EDST6756 Assessment - Case Study of a Numeracy Initiative

The development of numeracy requires students to experience the use of mathematics

beyond the classroom (Goos et al., 2020). According to the AAMT, numeracy is a

fundamental component of learning, performance, discourse, and critique across all

curriculum areas. Numeracy is a cross-circular issue, and it is widely recognised that all

teachers have an essential role in developing their students’ numeracy capabilities.

During my practicum, I taught a Year 8 lesson on ‘best buys’. This lesson was part of

the ‘financial mathematics’ topic in the Stage Four Mathematics Syllabus. The lesson focused

on the content statement “calculate 'best buys' by comparing price per unit, or quantity per

monetary unit, e.g., 500 grams for $4.50 compared with 300 grams for $2.75” (NESA, 2019).

The content of my lesson was part of the ‘number sense and algebra’ element of the National

Learning Progression. The sub-element was ‘operating with percentages’; the level was

‘OwP4’, and the indicator was “identifies the whole for a range of multiplicative situations

(percentages for calculating discounts and rates for best buys)” (ACARA, 2018). My lesson

began with my students completing a ‘Do Now’ activity, which was to complete a five-

minute ‘Numeracy Ninjas’ skills test. This ‘Do Now’ activity assessed students on key Stage

Three and Four mental and written numeracy calculations. After students completed the

activity in silence, they were asked to switch their worksheets and mark their partners work

using the answers I provided them. Then I selected a few more advanced questions and went

through the solutions to those questions on the whiteboard with assistance and discussion

from my students.

Following this, I began to teach my students about ‘best buys’ explicitly. I used a

PowerPoint presentation to show and explain one strategy to solving ‘best buy’ problems. I

provided two worked examples to my students and detailed the strategy they would use to
complete such questions. My examples were based on students using the ‘unitary method’,

with my first example being conceptually simpler than my second example. Students were

asked to take notes and copy down the worked examples into their exercise books. After this,

I asked students to complete a series of questions (that increased in difficulty as they

progressed). The questions were sequenced, and students were provided with prompts with

the first lot of questions, and they were like the worked examples. Following this, the next

series of questions did not have prompts and were not like the worked examples shown to

them. I set time for students to complete these questions, and when they completed a series of

questions, I went through the solutions with them through a whole class discussion and by

utilising student answers. After this, students were asked to complete a ‘best buys’ worksheet

independently and at their own pace. I provided them with the answers towards the end of the

lesson (on their Google Classrooms), and they were asked to mark their work themselves.

They were encouraged to complete the remaining questions for homework and mark their

work; if they had questions, they were encouraged to ask me.

I used specific strategies to target numeracy in this lesson. Firstly, I knew what my

students could do, and I targeted that accordingly through the structure of my lesson and the

types of questions I provided to my students. I provided my students with clear and

transparent learning goals and success criteria that focused on several core priorities (CESE,

2015). Hattie (2009) has rated a teacher’s ability to communicate a lesson’s learning

intentions and success criteria as one of the top twenty influences on student learning and

achievement (measured by effect size). Furthermore, I used explicit teaching predominately

in my lesson. Adams & Engelmann (1996) found that explicit instruction had a high effect

size for numeracy. I used writing as a means of learning, and that has been shown to lead to

numeracy learning as explicit teaching of writing in numeracy (such as through worked

conceptual understandings. It is also known that students who experience explicit teaching

practices perform better than students who do not. In my lesson, I showed a commitment to

numeracy development, which is an essential component of the NSW curriculum’s learning

areas. I did this by identifying the specific numeracy demands for the learning area, providing

my students with learning experiences that supported applying their general mathematical

knowledge and skills and using numeracy language in my teaching where appropriate.

For students to be numerate, they are required to know more than the application of

routine procedures. Instead, they need to recognise that mathematics is used constantly

outside of the classroom and must know how to apply general mathematical skills to a wide

range of familiar and unfamiliar situations (SCSA, 2014). To make numeracy better for my

students, there are a few improvements I can make. In my lesson, I made it apparent to my

students the correct use of mathematical language for the lesson’s content. However, I could

have made more efforts to ensure all my students understood this mathematical terminology,

which is essential to numeracy learning. To do this, I could have utilised the increased use of

prompts, questioning (through hand raises, polls, or short quiz questions) and self-

assessments (through feedback forms, exit tickets or reflections). For numeracy development,

mathematical ideas with which students are interacting must be relevant to the contexts of

their lives (SCSA, 2014). This is an improvement I could have made; I talked briefly about

how ‘best buys’ are helpful for everyday life, but I should have expanded on this discussion

in my lesson. Moreover, numeracy needs to be explicitly taught and teachers should use

problems set in real-world contexts, which I did in my lesson (Department of Education and

Training, 2020a). Research has also shown that there should also be an explicit focus on

different mathematical processes (such as communication, modelling, devising strategies,

should be using an explicit focus on all stages of mathematical modelling (such as

formulating, employing, interpreting/evaluation). They should teach students how to uncover

the mathematics out of context (Department of Education and Training, 2020a). These are all

areas where I could make improvements as I focused on these areas quite briefly but not

explicitly in my lesson.

Research has shown that using mathematical skills across the curriculum enriches the

study of other learning areas and contributes to developing a deeper understanding and

appreciation of numeracy (SCSA, 2014). Numeracy development influences students’

success in many different areas of learning (ACARA, 2018). However, there exists a

disconnect between secondary school mathematics and the real world (Department of

Education and Training, 2020a). Because of this disconnect, it can be difficult for teachers to

incorporate numeracy as an integral part of their teaching, but teachers must challenge how

students can be engaged in the real world and authentic numeracy tasks and activities

(Department of Education and Training, 2020a). There are issues with teaching mathematical

content and then teaching the application of the mathematical content (Department of

Education and Training, 2020a). This is because the mathematics content has already been

made specific to the students. The students do not need to formulate the problem or decide

what mathematics to use, unlike in the real world (Department of Education and Training,

2020a). This approach uses an unauthentic context and can have a negative impact on

students’ numeracy skills. Using authentic situations in numeracy activities and tasks

encourage more positive dispositions towards solving relevant mathematics problems

(Department of Education and Training, 2020a). As such, this is the practice I wish to use in

my future teaching. Moreover, research has shown word problems often do not allow

students to value the relationship between mathematics and the real world, so short realistic
mathematics questions should be used instead (Department of Education and Training,

2020a). Using problem-solving, investigative and open-ended approaches are effective

numeracy teaching practices as they use real situations to help students connect mathematics

and the real world (Department of Education and Training, 2020a). For my future teaching,

these are considerations that I am going to take on. Additionally, students should be taught

how to identify and extrapolate the mathematics from real-life situations they will likely face,

and this is another thought I will make for future numeracy lessons (Department of Education

and Training, 2020a).

In the ‘Effective Teachers of Numeracy’ study (Askew et al., 1997), it was found that

effective teachers used whole class, small group, and individual approaches to organise their

mathematics lessons. The study also found that effective numeracy teachers used teaching

approaches that connected different areas and ideas of mathematics (Askew et al., 1997).

Effective teachers also used students’ descriptions of their methods and their reasoning to

help establish connections and address misconceptions (Askew et al., 1997). They also

ensured all students were being challenged and they challenged students to think through

explaining, listening and problem-solving (Askew et al., 1997). In my future teaching, I wish

to use the results of Askew et al. (1997) study to further improve on my numeracy teaching

practice. Similarly, the ‘Early Numeracy Research Project’ (Clarke, 2000) identified that

effective numeracy teachers incorporated the use of open-ended questions, focused on

concepts and timing, and valued students’ strategies. Clarke (2000) also found that teachers

who provided their students with more time to explore concepts and share strategies used to

solve problems, emphasised ‘pulling it together’ at the end of the lesson and emphasised less

on the formal of recording and algorithms were more effective. These are all considerations I

will take on board when teaching future numeracy lessons. Furthermore, Lambdin &

Lappan’s 1997 study found that effective numeracy teachers connected and generalised what
students had learnt in the lesson. Additionally, Cognitively Guided Instructions argues that

teacher’s pedagogical decisions should be made based on an understanding of how children

learn mathematical content, their knowledge of mathematics and their knowledge of

children’s mathematical development; this is another consideration that I will take on to

further improve on my numeracy teaching practice.

Considering my reflection and numeracy teaching research, if I were to approach my

‘best buys’ lesson again to improve my student’s numeracy, I would make a few

modifications. I would still begin my lesson with a Numeracy Ninja’s skills test and

explicitly teach students how to approach ‘best buy’ problems. I would, however, instead

begin with a discussion as to the importance of determining ‘best buys’ and how this is an

essential financial skill for students and adults. I would then provide my students with a ‘best

buys’ activity (see Appendix A). I will provide them with a worked example to part of the

activity task to start them off. I would explicitly focus on how students are to devise

strategies to solve these problems, what reasoning they should be using and how to

communicate their ideas and answers mathematically. I would do this through more of an

interactive, back and forth approach, instead of presenting them with the strategy and asking

them to accept it at face value. In the activity task, students will be asked to complete a

problem solving and investigative task that helps students make connections between

mathematics and the real world. The task will allow students to refine their research skills.

Students will also be provided with an opportunity to reason and explain. The focus of the

lesson will be on the strategies the students are using and developing. Students will be asked

to complete the activity individually or with partners if they would prefer. At the end of the

lesson, I would do a group discussion about the students’ answers and reflect on what they
had learned through an exit ticket activity. This will ensure students make the appropriate

connections to the numeracy they have been developing in the lesson.

The Year 8 class I taught had students of varying learning needs and abilities. Some

students were mathematically competent, and some students were less mathematically

competent. The mathematically capable students performed at the required level for their year

and were engaged, enthusiastic and cooperative in class. The less mathematically competent

students lacked foundational knowledge in mathematics and struggled to keep up with their

year content due to underlying knowledge and skills gaps. These students were often

distracted in class and were sometimes disengaged with the classwork. My class also

contained Indigenous students and EAL/D students. These students were mathematically

competent; however, they required assistance with their written and verbal communication

and reasoning skills.

For mathematically competent and less mathematically competent students, the

motivation and purpose for understanding and using numeracy is different. The approach I

have chosen for majority of my lesson is an open-ended task that will allow students to work

through the task as far as possible; there is no right or wrong answer to the task’s questions.

Students will be able to produce a varying number of responses and the task will support their

numeracy development. For my lesson to be relevant to all students, I will incorporate

different differentiation strategies to meet the diverse needs and abilities of my students. My

lesson will incorporate group collaboration if students prefer to do so. This will help me

ensure that less mathematically competent students are grouped and receive more of my

attention and assistance (Cavanagh & Prescott, 2015). Using group collaboration also means

that students will work together to maximise not only their learning but their partners too
(Cavanagh & Prescott, 2015). I aim to use different instructional methods in my lesson to

ensure my students are taught in a manner they prefer, which would lead to increased comfort

levels and willingness to learn (Cavanagh & Prescott, 2015). In my lesson, for my less

mathematically competent students, I would slow down the pace of my instructions, provide

them with diagrams and sketches where possible instead of verbal instructions and use simple

words (Cavanagh & Prescott, 2015). I would also provide them with modelled and scaffolded

support, frequent one-to-one teaching, and reinforcement (Cavanagh & Prescott, 2015). For

my more mathematically competent students, I would provide them with opportunities to

work with other advanced learners, set them a task they will find challenging and engage

them to higher-order thinking through an extension activity or prompting. For my Indigenous

students, I would provide my students with expectations they can achieve, a well-structured

program with an achievable goal and will use a range of different learning media for my

students (Cavanagh & Prescott, 2015). For my EAL/D students, I would teach my students

the meaning of keywords before using these terms in the lesson. I will also not talk too

quickly, I will use simple sentence structures, I will repeat important information and will

provide them with written instructions also, use graphic organisers to show them how

information is connected and related and will use concrete examples to illustrate abstract

concepts (Cavanagh & Prescott, 2015).

Assessment in numeracy is more than forming judgements about a student’s ability; it

monitors their understanding of mathematical language, concepts, and skills and what they

need to do to succeed (Department of Education and Training, 2020b). Assessments can build

a clear picture of students; examples of numeracy assessments include feedback and

reflections, student self-assessments, and teacher moderated assessment tasks (Department of

Education and Training, 2020b). For my ‘best buys’ lesson, I would incorporate a formative
assessment task; in which students are required are to create their own ‘best buy’ problem,

describe the problem in words in a drawing, identify where the problem is found in the real

world and then solve the problem with working out (see Appendix B). This formative

assessment would be completed at the end of the lesson, and students would complete the

task individually. I would then review my student’s responses. By doing this, I would gain a

greater understanding of what my students know, what improvements they need to make,

what they are ready to learn next and monitor their student learning and the skills they have

to further master (Black & William, 1998). The formative assessment will also help me

identify the areas where students may require a further challenge to keep them performing at

their highest level (Black & William, 1998).

Reproduced from: NSW Department of Education, 2021