Summary: The Numerate Educator

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,

It is compulsory for Australian year 3, 5, 7 and 9 school students to complete the National Assessment Program- Literacy and Numeracy (National Assessment Program, 2016) test. The NAPLAN test provides schools, governments, education authorities, students and the community statistics of schools and individual student’s weaknesses and strengths in specific areas of curriculum. One of the areas of curriculum that is tested is Mathematics. For this assignment we had to answer five questions from a year 9 NAPLAN test. I felt confident answering majority of the questions correctly; taking my time to logically work out each question with the aid of pen and paper when needed. I am a visual learner, so I was able to mentally solve most of the questions in my head. I rarely need to use a calculator as I have memorized many different strategies for working out mathematical questions.

- 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 programme has been planned to support pupil’s skills in Maths which will develop their numeracy skills and therefor enable them to use numbers in a variety of situations throughout their lives, calculation skills that will equip them with the skills to be independent with their own finances in many different situations, and with Problem solving skills which will enable them with the skills to manage their own finances throughout their lives, with the ability to develop their skills and understanding of the value of money and supporting them to control their finances effectively (Education Scotland 2016).

This assignment is a discussion of the achievements and progression made throughout the EDC171 unit. Mathematics is at the core for societies to function and has been developed over thousands of centuries. The key point learnt throughout this unit has been how much the six areas of mathematics interplay with each other, being proficient in one aids in higher-level knowledge and accomplishment in another. When reflecting upon my Disposition Survey the result was not thinking mathematics to be so integral and interrelated within the real world however; throughout this unit I have gained a deeper appreciation of mathematics and examples of this have been shown under the six key areas of; Number, Algebra, Geometry, Measurement, Statistics and Probability.

This week the assigned reading addressed the role that basic math plays in the health care field and how important it is for health care professionals to have a clear understanding and the ability to perform basic math calculations. The article that I chose this week is from a UK nursing journal called Nursing Standard. This article addresses how important it is for health care professionals to have a thorough understanding of basic math skills, how a lack of understanding can affect patient safety and suggests that the numeracy skills of health care professionals should be assessed on a regular basis (Warburton, 2010, p. 42). According to Warburton (2010), healthcare staff perform calculations every day and problems with numeracy can lead

In an effort to combat a perceived decline in the academic standards in Australian school children, an initiative was trialled to assess the literacy and numeracy standards of pre-service teachers at the conclusion of their academic study. Whilst the initiative may have merit, the timing of this assessment may be seen as dubious.

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a series of tests administered annually to all Australian students. NAPLAN is divided into separate components for Numeracy and Literacy, including Reading, Writing, Spelling and Grammar. An article published in the Sydney Morning Herald in 2013 reported that students from a language background other than English (LBOTE) were performing better than students from English-speaking backgrounds (non-LBOTE) in both literacy and numeracy. LBOTE category broadly encompasses all students who speak a language other than English at home, or whose parents speak a language other than English at home. For the purpose of this report, only the Literacy component will

Specifically, both the results of reading (518) and numeracy (522) is significantly below Australian schools' average (580 and 583) and similar schools (546 and 545) (See Figure 14). When looking at the results by bands (See Figure 15 & 16), the percentage of students’ results achieved the average standard (Band 8) in reading and numeracy is only 14% and 13% while the percentage of students results in Band 5 and Band 6 (substantially below average) accounts for 61%. It is likely that the level of literacy and numeracy of this student cohorts is very significant low, which may inhibit their further learning in the secondary school. Indeed, if taking their subsequent OP results into account, it can be implied that the progress of these students’ literacy and numeracy development is not noticeable, as they grow

unusual for “as many as 80 per cent of the pupils to be engaged in

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.’

Is it possible to get through education without the constant feeling of not being good enough? “Test anxiety disturbs the mind and body, affecting children in how they think, learn and reason” (Mayer, 2008, p. 77). One of my teaching goals is to help struggling students avoid those feelings of low self worth particularly when it is test time.

Current nationwide examination outcomes offer continuing paperwork of the should enhance the concentrate on enhancing student accomplishment in mathematics. The National Evaluation of Educational Development (NAEP) just recently launched the 2005 mathematics ratings which mirrored student accomplishment in the locations of dimension, geometry, information analysis, likelihood and algebra. Country wide, just 30 % of 8th graders were considered competent. Although mirroring a boost from previous evaluations, just 69 % of the 8th graders country wide showed a standard abilities level on the NAEP evaluation (Olson, 2005).