Mathematics proficiencies Illustrations of practice

Introduction

Girraween developed a whole-school approach to focus their teaching of mathematics through the proficiencies. They nominated a mathematics/numeracy coach, who mentored the staff to change how they taught mathematics in the school. Teachers engaged in professional development to develop their skills on teaching interactively and using open-ended tasks. Teaching through the proficiencies became the vehicle for the teachers and students to work through the content of the curriculum.

The Girraween teachers noted that the students developed the metalanguage to talk about mathematics and that the students’ confidence to solve problems had increased. The teachers also described how students were gaining a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts and that students were independently making the connections between different mathematical concepts. By teaching through the proficiencies, teachers were able to target small groups of students in a more effective and efficient manner.