Welcome to the 2024 school year, I am very excited to introduce myself as Mitcham Primary School’s Mathematics Coordinator this year. In this role I will be supporting teachers and students in the teaching and learning of mathematics from Reception to Year 6.
As we look to begin the year by getting off to a great start, building class expectations and culture, a part of this has been to discuss and develop class ‘norms’ in relation to our teaching and learning of maths. These discussions have been guided by the work of Professor Jo Boaler (Professor of Mathematics Education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education), who has been pivotal in promoting reform mathematics and equitable mathematics classrooms to allow students to be successful and confident mathematicians. When considering what our students are doing in maths, these are Jo’s 7 favourite messages:
- Everyone can learn maths to the highest level
- Mistakes are valuable
- Questions are really important
- Maths is about creativity and making sense
- Maths is about connections and communicating
- Maths is about learning not performing
- Depth is more important than speed
Students around the school have discussed these messages and what they mean for them in their classroom environment as a learner. When having conversations at home around maths, consider these messages and ways in which you can reinforce positive maths norms in all environments. An important takeaway from the work that has been in class over the first few weeks of the school year is to encourage a growth mindset when conversing/helping your child with maths tasks. It has been widely found that when children have a growth mindset, they do well with challenges and do better in school overall. Aim to use growth praise, which we utilise in class, such as “it is great that you have learned that”, “I really like your thinking about that”. When they tell you something is hard for them, or they have made a mistake, tell them: “That’s wonderful, your brain is growing!”.
So, when engaging in maths learning for this year and beyond, let us consider this:
If brains can change in three weeks, imagine what can happen in a year of math class if students are given the right math materials and receive positive messages about their potential and ability (Jo Boaler, 2015).
Laura Scriven - Mathematics Coordinator/Year 6 Teacher