Pre-requisites

None.

Co-requisites

PR935 Professional Practice: Teaching Primary (30 days)

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:

• Critically apply reflexive practice to their own learning process and ongoing development as a teacher including their understanding of the Christian faith in the context of Christian worldview, Scripture and broader vocation.

• Apply expert judgement to analyse and plan for the numeracy needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and EAL/D students. Articulate an advanced knowledge and understanding of and respect for their histories, cultures and languages.

• Analyse and synthesise numeracy requirements across curriculum, teaching and learning.

• Analyse and synthesise information gathered from policy documents and school processes, educational theory and other relevant sources for advancing numeracy learning and teaching in the classroom.

• Apply expert judgement and specialised knowledge to analyse assessment data and determine students’ numeracy proficiencies and learning needs in numeracy, and plan differentiated learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students of varying abilities and characteristics, and provide timely and appropriate feedback to them about their learning.

• Demonstrate the ability to seek and apply constructive feedback from supervisors and teachers to improve teaching practices.

• Demonstrate and apply understanding of research into how students learn numeracy to plan and critically evaluate informed and targeted interventions to enhance student learning of numeracy across the curriculum, and use a range of strategies and creative and innovative use of resources, including ICT, to differentiate teaching according to the specific learning needs of a diverse range of students.

• Select an effective range of formal and informal diagnostic, formative and summative assessment strategies to assess student numeracy proficiency, and demonstrate and apply understanding of the purpose of accurate and reliable records of student achievement, and of a range of strategies for reporting student progress to students and parents/carers.

Unit Description

This unit analyses the requirements for numeracy in teaching and learning across the curriculum. The unit includes developing knowledge and understanding of policy documents and school processes, and advanced knowledge and understanding of research-based educational theory required for improving numeracy teaching and learning.

Through the unit, pre-service teachers will examine diagnostic, formative and summative assessment strategies for assessing children’s numeracy proficiencies. The unit covers the knowledge, skills and understanding required to analyse assessment data, determine children’s proficiencies and learning needs, and plan differentiated learning goals and experiences to address a range of learning needs for diverse groups of children, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. In addition, the unit covers strategies for recording and reporting to the students, parents/carers and other stakeholders, the students’ progress and achievement in developing numeracy proficiencies, and the importance of keeping accurate and reliable records to support this. The unit also covers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages that need to be considered in the context of numeracy teaching and learning. This unit will also explore how ICT can be integrated across the curriculum for enhancing the teaching and learning of numeracy.

Through this unit, pre-service teachers will examine and develop knowledge and understanding of a range of intervention programs. Students will apply this knowledge and understanding in order to design, implement and evaluate an intervention program to address children’s numeracy needs. The unit covers effective approaches to seeking, reflecting on and applying constructive feedback from experienced teachers in order to improve their practices in order to improve children’s engagement and learning.

This unit also focuses on developing advanced standards of numeracy in the pre-service teachers as they complete the unit. In addition, the unit incorporates Christian faith, worldview and scripture related to teaching and learning processes.

Topics

• Understanding the numerical dimension of everyday life and why it is “across the curriculum”.
• Understanding the range of knowledge, skills and elements of numerical competency.
• Assessing numeracy and identifying needs.
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages impact on numeracy.
• Designing effective lessons across the curriculum. The importance of vocabulary, identifying the mathematical ideas and applying numerical ideas to solving and describing problems.
  i/ Explicit instruction
  ii/ Scaffolding and understanding how to remove scaffolding as proficiency occurs.
  iii/ Mathematical thinking and strategies – problem solving
• Practicing skills and applying knowledge;
• Working with diverse student groups
• Record keeping and reporting on numeracy development
• Reflection on practice and needs and designing effective interventions

Key Readings:

Goos, M., & O’Sullivan, K.  (2022). Numeracy Across the Curriculum. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. Retrieved 27 May. 2025, from https://oxfordre.com/education/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.001.0001/acrefore-9780190264093-e-1530

This research discusses the significance of numeracy learning for all learning and its importance across the curriculum.

Learning Experiences:

Response to Research: Using the readings above, write a 300-word blog post on ‘Numeracy as a fundamental component of learning, discourse and critique across the curriculum and how it improves student understanding and engagement within and beyond the mathematics curriculum.’

Topic 5b From modelling to Independence.
1. In Groups, PSTs are given a scenario card that specifies: i. Year level, ii. Curriculum content descriptor and iii. Numeracy skill in context
PSTs identify: i. The underlying mathematical concepts and ii. The discipline-specific application
2. PSTs use the “I do - we do - you do” model to plan explicit instruction of the identified mathematical concepts within the context of the subject discipline. Including:
- mathematical thinking prompts
- General thinking skills
- link to the Australian Curriculum numeracy progression.
3. Micro-teaching opportunity. PSTs choose one group member to be the teacher who teachers the lesson sequence:
- 2 - 3 minutes per stage of scaffolding
- include intentional fading of supports
4. Reflect as a group on the process.
Consider:
- Clarity
- Appropriateness of scaffolding and pace of removal.
- Integration of mathematical thinking prompts.
5. Write an individual reflection:
- how they balance concept and skill teaching.
- what they learnt about scaffold removal timing

Topic 5c: The importance of Independent Problem-Solving (cc 2.5.4)
Objective: To help students understand the significance of independent problem-solving, practice teaching skills and develop communication skills.
1) Pair up students and assign each pair a challenging mathematical problem.
2) Each student should first attempt to solve the problem independently.
3) Then, students come together to discuss their solutions and methods.
4) One student teaches the other how they approached and solved the problem, and vice versa.
5) Encourage pairs to develop a joint solution, integrating the best strategies from both.

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Unit offerings

Please note

The Unit Offerings listed above are a guide only and the timetable for any year is the final authority. The College may vary offerings based on demand, regulatory requirements, continual improvement processes or other conditions.

This unit may be available in different modes of delivery i.e. online and face-to-face as listed above. The unit content will not differ between these modes of delivery. There will possibly be a difference in the schedule and/or the prescribed assessment tasks, however both will cover and assess the same content.