From the Beginning of Semester 2, members of the Primary Teaching Team have been taking part in ongoing professional development in Mathematics. They are meeting regularly to discuss their professional learning and how it can be further implemented within the school.

The main ideas are of growth mindset, inquiry and visual learning as well as inclusive, positive environments that value the contributions and methods of all.

We held a Primary-wide mathematics activity on Wednesday March 6 to allow all learning communities to take part in an inquiry that encompassed many of the ideas from the staff’s professional development.

The task was very visual and open, and what we call a ‘low floor, high ceiling’ task. This means that all students can approach the task at a level that provides appropriate challenge for them. There are many possible outcomes for the task and teachers can tailor their questioning to individual students.

The prompt we used allowed for students across the whole Primary age range to engage with the activity. In Lower Primary the students may have chosen to use it to focus on counting in 2s, 5s and 10s, as well as exploring patterns. In Upper Primary many chose to investigate multiples and factors, as well as prime numbers and the link between the type of shape represented and the number.

Feedback from staff has been overwhelmingly positive, and they have shared many examples of where it has already made an impact upon the teaching and learning within our Learning Communities. We will continue to explore these methods to benefit our students in their future studies.