Numeracy And Literacy Is Essential For A Country

All teachers and their assistants are required to have the literacy, numeracy and ICT knowledge, understanding and personal skills. This will equip us to develop inclusive approaches to addressing the literacy, numeracy and ICT needs of our pupils.

The objective of EDC141: The Numerate Educator was for students to obtain the chance to develop their mathematical skills, build mathematical competency, and positively chance their disposition (as a pre-service teacher) towards the importance and the functionality of maths. The key to success is to learn from one’s mistakes and work (by practicing mathematical questions) to further improve one’s results. This I managed to do by increasing my Mathspace results from 64% to 68% (as shown in Appendices 1A). The Australian Curriculum focuses on developing student’s capabilities in six areas: number, Algebra, Geometry, measurement, statistics and probability. Using evidence from the Mathspace test results, the NAPLAN results and activities of ‘What

The aims and importance of learning provision for numeracy development are to ensure all students understand that maths is a vital part of everyday life and will continue to be used throughout their life. Primary schools will teach students to learn various methods and techniques to be able to reach the correct answer. The end goal means more students will be able to solve a mathematical problem, independently, using a method that suits them. They can then develop their learning to improve their knowledge and apply it to real life situations; such as counting in groups of numbers such as 5’s or 10’s, which in turn can be applied when paying for

Numeracy development is important for all children as maths is an important part of everyday life. The way in which maths is taught has changed greatly over the years. When I was at school we were taught one method to reach one answer. Now, particularly in early primary phase, children are taught different methods to reach an answer, which includes different methods of working out and which also develops their investigation skills. For example, by the time children reach year six, the different methods they would have been taught for addition would be number lines,

- To encourage the effective use of numeracy and maths as a tool in a wide range of activities within and out of school

activities for literacy, numeracy, ICT and problem solving when working with children in the class.

The learning provision for numeracy development for children is very important from the beginning of their learning platform as maths is a key in every day live for everyone.

The National curriculum states that in Mathematics teachers should use every relevant subject to develop pupils’ mathematical fluency. Confidence in numeracy and other mathematical skills is

This is across various sectors ranging from psychological, cross-cultural to educational investigations. In the process challenging the theories developed about how children learn and think in different mathematical domains (Mohyuddin and Khalil, 2016). Although research findings suggest that individual interventions targeting pupils’ difficulties in mathematics are effective, interventions may work better than these are targeting specific strengths and weaknesses ( Dowker and Sigley,2010). Errors and misconceptions can be corrected if teachers provide the correct alternatives to pupils. Counting sets the foundations of early algebra, therefore, it is important that pupils are provided with appropriate activities to support their learning (Earnshaw and Hansen, 2011). There is a range of resources available to support pupils counting needs, however, more needs to be done. Because while it is easy to diagnose learners’ difficulties, finding solutions for them is not that simple (Gillum, 2014). Research demonstrates that teaching pupils to avoid misconceptions is not helpful and could result in hidden misconceptions (Hansen, 2014). Instead of planning to avoid errors and misconceptions, teachers should carefully plan mathematical lessons that allow children be confronted with examples that challenge and encourage them to make connections between mathematical concepts and their own

For pupils to use a calculator effectively requires a sound knowledge of number. As children learn how to enter simple one step calculations that involve whole numbers, they can explore

The school worked on a year and a half form entry basis and so classes were generally small. During numeracy children were divided into three ability groups and each group was taught separately. My partner and I (Miss M) worked with the lower ability group. Ofsted (2009) noted that the ‘arrangements for teaching numeracy in smaller groups have had a dramatic effect on pupils' progress, improving mathematics from a relative weakness to one of the school's strengths.’ However, doing so may mean that children know that very little is expected from them. According to Cockburn (1999, p15) ‘if a child is labelled as not being able or lacking in confidence, it may not be very long before that child ceases to perform to the best of their abilities.’

Children at this age also have different skills related to numeracy. Fostering numeracy skills in early childhood education not only predicts for later Math achievement but also for greater literacy skills (NAEYC, 2009). Since mathematical concepts are often intertwined with so many areas such as science, literacy, dramatic play, block building, and more, math learning centers offering interdisciplinary materials and activities ensure that young children grow to understand and appreciate the real life applications of mathematical concepts (Fu, 2010).

Multiplicative thinking, fractions and decimals are important aspects of mathematics required for a deep conceptual understanding. The following portfolio will discuss the key ideas of each and the strategies to enable positive teaching. It will highlight certain difficulties and misconceptions that children face and discuss resources and activities to help alleviate these. It will also acknowledge the connections between the areas of mathematics and discuss the need for succinct teaching instead of an isolated approach.

Being numerate means having the confidence and skills to use numbers in all aspects of life. Language, Literacy and Numeracy are all interdependent. Comparliative numeracy is e.g. big, bigger and Superlative is e.g. biggest. Children learn their numeracy skills through play with adults, these adults can be parents/carers, practitioners, child minder’s etc. Numeracy also means being able to work out “charts and diagrams, process information, solve problems, check answers, understand and explain solutions, and make decisions based on logical thinking and reasoning.” (National Numeracy, 2014)

Mathematics, like every creation of man, have evolved without really knowing how far you can get with them: the scope of the computer, physics, chemistry, algebra, all are evidence of this. Every aspect of our culture is based in some way or another in Mathematics: language, music, dance, art, sculpture, architecture, biology, daily life. All these areas of measurements and calculations are accurate. Even in nature, everything follows a precise pattern and a precise order: a flower, a shell, a butterfly, day and night, the seasons. All this makes mathematics essential for human life and they can not be limited only to a matter within the school curriculum; here lies the importance of teaching math in a pleasure, enjoyable and understandable way. Mathematics is an aid to the development of the child and should be seen as an aid to life and not as an obstacle in their lifes.