Scaffolding Numeracy in the Middle Years

SNMY: In the Beginning.... The Scaffolding Numeracy in the Middle Years (SNMY) was an Australian Research Council Project awarded to RMIT, the Victorian DEECD and the Tasmanian Education Department from July 2003 to June The project investigated the efficacy of a new assessment- guided approach to improving student numeracy outcomes in Years 4 to 8. In particular, it was aimed at identifying and refining a learning and assessment framework for the development of multiplicative thinking at this level using rich assessment tasks. The project was investigated by an expert team at RMIT led by Professor Dianne Siemon

What is it? Multiplicative thinking is indicated by a capacity to work flexibly with the concepts, representations, and strategies of multiplication (and division) as they occur in a wide range of contexts. From Additive to Multiplicative thinking – Key concepts and strategies Important in preventing a prolonged reliance on inefficient strategies such as ‘make-all-count-all’

Why? We identified a large number of students struggling with the concepts of Multiplication in 5/6 SNMY - Highly reflective for students with many opportunities to articulate thinking Students feeling/experiencing success as a result of being in a like minded group High achieving – experiencing failure too!

Teacher Inquiry & Knowledge Building Cycle

Pre and Post Assessment The assessment materials are used to initially locate students against the LAF and then to assess students’ progress after targeted teaching has taken place.

Our Experiences Pre Assessment – All 5/6 students Arranged students in LAF groups Additional staffing required to support implementation Weekly LAF sessions (45 mins) Record keeping – observations of students articulating their thinking

Things to Consider Space Resources – set up Uninterrupted time

Farmers’ Market