Since the introduction of NAPLAN in 2008, there has been no significant difference in the maths results of Australian students at a national level.
What's concerning for many educators and policymakers is that these results are mirrored on an international level with Australia’s results in both TIMSS and PISA.
Richard Wilson, founder of Maths Pathway, identifies one of the problems as a barrier to student performance as the traditional ‘one size fits all’ approach to teaching maths.
“With an eight-year spread of ability in the average Year 7 classroom, teaching all students the same level of content at the same time inevitably leads to problems,” Wilson told The Educator.
“Differentiated learning aims to address these diverse learning needs but teachers are constrained by solutions that provide limited insights and require them to do a lot of the admin heavy lifting.”
The solution to this, says Wilson, is leveraging technology to do the “grunt work” of analyzing data and assigning content, while teachers focus on delivering high-impact teaching to their students, right at the point-of-need."
Wilson said teacher professional development is essential to improving education outcomes for all students.
“After all, teachers are the most powerful resource in the classroom,” Wilson said.
“This is backed by the recently released Gonski 2.0 report, and the work of John Hattie that shows that teacher efficacy has the highest effect size as an intervention.”
Wilson said teachers having the chance to improve their practice not only improves the quality of education that students receive, but also ensures that Australia’s teaching practice as a whole is constantly striving to be better.
To help educators, Maths Pathway is offering ‘trainer retreats’ and teacher development courses over the coming weeks.
Wilson said teachers who attend Maths Pathway training events are exposed to a variety of AITSL-aligned professional development opportunities that are grounded in the latest research into improving student mindsets, engagement, and outcomes, with a focus on providing the tools and strategies teachers need to be able to achieve truly differentiated learning in their classrooms.
“In addition to learning more about the Maths Pathway Learning and Teaching Model itself, teachers receive instruction on encouraging growth mindsets in their students, classroom management techniques, rich learning tasks, and change management,” Wilson said.
Wilson said change management is a “highly valuable” skill that can be used in all areas of a school context but is of particular interest to school leaders as the driving force behind new teaching initiatives.
“Managing stakeholder expectations is an important step to ensure the long-term success of any change within a school, and without a strong vision, strategic leadership, and the right implementation, these initiatives are less likely to achieve success,” he said.
“Teachers who attend Maths Pathway training events are equipped with practical tools and skills to lead change in any given context.”
Wilson said that in a rapidly changing world – and as educators prepare students for newly invented jobs, technologies and problems – having the capacity to adapt quickly is essential for positive outcomes.
“The task for educators and policymakers is to help countries rise to this challenge,” he said.
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