1. Introducing the Mathematics Online Interview
This presentation can be used to introduce the Mathematics Online Interview to a whole staff, a leadership team in a school or professional learning team.
It details the format of the interview, the areas of mathematics assessed within the interview and provides example of interview tasks. Information is provide on setting up the online interview and using the information from the interview to inform teaching.
Links are made with other resources on the Mathematics Domain page.

2. Background
The Early Numeracy Research Project (ENRP) was commissioned by the Department of Education, Employment and Training: 1999 – 2001.
An aim of the ENRP was to challenge teachers to explore their beliefs and understandings about how children develop their understanding of mathematics
A need was identified for a comprehensive assessment tool for early numeracy.
The Interview was established on the research framework of significant mathematical points of growth.
Through the Early Numeracy Research Project (ENRP) a framework of growth in numeracy learning was created, informed by available research on young students’ mathematics learning.
The framework provided a means of tracking students’ learning through significant growth points in Number, Measurement and Space.
The growth points identified through the research project were used as the basis for the stages of mathematical growth.
This framework was then used to develop appropriate hands-on assessment tasks where students could demonstrate mathematical understanding and preferred strategies for solving increasingly complex tasks.
These tasks were presented to more than students during the research period in the form of the one-to-one interview.

3. What is the Interview? One-on-one interview away from
the regular classroom
Mainly hands-on tasks incorporating concrete materials
Focus is on mental computation
Responses focus on strategies that the students use … not only the correct answer
61 questions and sub-questions
Questions ranging from Level 1 – 4 (VELS)
Should take minutes
The Mathematics Online Interview is a powerful tool for assessing students’ numeracy development.
Evidence gathered through the Interview allows teachers to:
Build a deep understanding of students’ thinking in mathematics
Develop a detailed profile of student achievement
Inform focused teaching
The Interview highlights the importance of responses and behaviours through the focus on mental computation and the explanation of strategies used.
This is an important part of the recording online.
Through a detailed auditing process, it is evident that the questions involved in the interview have a skill range from VELS Levels 1 – 4.
This also makes the Interview a significant assessment tool for those ‘at risk’ students in Years 5 – 7.
Having the interview ‘online’ allows data to continually build from year to year in one assessment record.
Time taken to conduct the Interview depends on the student’s depth of knowledge. Questions continue to be asked where success is evident, this means that some students take considerably less time than the 30 minutes suggested. Teacher experience at conducting the Interview will also impact on the time allocation.

4. Areas assessed by the Interview
Counting
Place value
Strategies for addition & subtraction
Strategies for multiplication & division
Time
Length
Mass
Properties of shape
Visualisation
The Interview covers a broad range of skills.
The above sections are grouped as:
Number – Counting, Place value, Addition & subtraction, Multiplication & division Measurement – Time, Length, Mass
Space – Properties of shape, Visualisation
In aligning the Interview to the Victorian Essential Learning Standards for Mathematics, the links are clear across the 3 dimensions of Number, Space and Measurement.
As the Interview focuses on the strategies and thinking required to achieve these tasks, there are strong links with Working Mathematically and Structure dimensions also.

5. Example questions from the Interview
This
question is
part of the
Detour
designed
for students
in their first
year of
school.
Before conducting interviews, teachers need to be familiar with the tasks, materials and the wording to be used.
The equipment and cards needed for interview tasks are listed at the start of each section of the interview. The full list of required equipment is included as Appendix 1 on page 56 in the Mathematics Online Interview Booklet.
Note: Participants may not be able to see the detail in the screen.
It may be worth printing some of the example questions onto handouts for discussion.
This question needs the design card to be printed as well.
(You can find the design card on page 59 & 60 of the Mathematics Online Interview Booklet)

6. Example questions from the Interview
This question
(from the
addition &
subtraction
section) focuses
on strategies
used eg. using
doubles, near
doubles and fact
families.
There is a range of symbols and styles for the text used in the interview:
the sentences in italics are instructions to the interviewer and sometimes include extra advice about the task
the sentences shaded green are the words to be said to the student
the faces provide information to assist teachers to decide on which question to ask next (Note: in the online version clicking the Next button will take you to the appropriate question based on the student’s response)
Note: Participants may not be able to see the detail in the screen.
It may be worth printing some of the example questions onto handouts for discussion.

7. Example questions from the Interview
This question
is a
reasonably
challenging
question
from
the place
value
section.
Note: Participants may not be able to see the detail in the screen.
It may be worth printing some of the example questions onto handouts for discussion.
This question needs the design card to be printed.
(You can find the design card on page 74 of the Mathematics Online Interview Booklet)

8. Example questions from the Interview
This question
This question requires advanced number skills. This is a question demonstrating alignment to the Level 4 Standard.
Note: Participants may not be able to see the detail in the screen.
It may be worth printing some of the example questions onto handouts for discussion.
This question needs the design card to be printed.
(You can find the design card on page 82 of the Mathematics Online Interview Booklet)

9. Example questions from the Interview
This question
is one of the
last questions
in the
Interview
from the
visualisation
section.
Note: Participants may not be able to see the detail in the screen.
It may be worth printing some of the example questions onto handouts for discussion.
This question needs the design card to be printed.
(You can find the design card on page 92 of the Mathematics Online Interview Booklet)

10. Why use the Interview? Assessment FOR learning
Understand individual students’ needs
Find out how students ‘think’ and ‘feel’ while doing Mathematical tasks
Gain insight into student thought process in action
Generate detailed profiles showing students achievement in relation to points of growth
Track student growth over time
Inform planning for focused teaching at the point of need
The main reason for using the Interview is to develop and reinforce an assessment culture that informs teaching.
The Interview assist teachers in gathering accurate information that will guide teachers in their curriculum planning.
The information gained supports teachers to take students from the known to the unknown, building links between current understanding and new knowledge.
The time spent conducting the interview provides opportunities to focus on receptive and expressive (body language) capabilities. It shows how students think, demonstrate and articulate their mathematical understandings. It illustrates students’ approaches to problem solving types of tasks.
Consider how they attempt challenging questions – are they taking risks with their learning?

11. Enables students to showcase their skills and understandings due to
individualised pathways through the
Interview.
The Mathematics Online Interview is designed to follow a pathway which is determined by each student’s response to the tasks - a bit like a ‘choose your own adventure’ story. Every interview is different, depending on the student’s capabilities.
Students are presented with a series of increasingly complex tasks. While success is evident, students will continue with tasks within a section.
Once students demonstrate their achievement limit, a different set of questions will be asked, e.g. when limit in Counting has been reached the interview will move to the Place Value section
Interview pathways will be different for different students – this is based on what tasks are developmentally appropriate for each individual learner. It is not restricted to a set range of tasks for a particular year level.
This is especially beneficial for high achieving students. It is an opportunity for them to demonstrate their mathematical understandings.

12. Who is the Interview appropriate for?
Powerful for all students in Levels 1 – 3 (Prep – Year 4)
The ‘high ceiling’ provides scope for questions up to Level 4 in some areas
Potential for use with ‘at risk’ students in Year 5 and beyond.
There were two reasons for updating the name of this assessment tool from ‘Early Numeracy Interview’ to ‘Mathematics Online Interview’.
To highlight for users the ‘online’ nature of the new resource.
The Mathematics Online Interview can be accessed from any computer with internet access.
No other program needs to be installed.
It is now a very streamlined process.
Removing the ‘Early Years’ label from this tool highlights the breadth and depth of the questions included in the Interview.
Through a detailed auditing process, the range of tasks covers skills aligned from VELS Levels 1 – 4.
One of the main messages around the update of this resource is that the Interview has potential far beyond the early years classroom.
It is a significant assessment strategy to implement with ‘at risk’ students in Years 5 – 7.

13. The learner at the centre
The Mathematics Online Interview brings together the main messages driving the Student Learning initiatives.
Learner at the centre: The nature of the one-on-one interview captures the need for the ‘learner at the centre’ concept to be at the forefront of all learning and teaching programs. This highlights the importance of personalising learning for individual students.
Assessment: The Mathematics Online Interview is a powerful diagnostic assessment tool which provides detailed information on where students are on the learning continuum of Mathematics.
Victorian Essential Learning Standards: A detailed auditing process highlights the clear alignment of the interview questions with the standards and progression points for Mathematics.
Pedagogy: The Interview provides a best practice model of appropriate pedagogies including the focus on hands-on tasks, mental computation and probing questions that influence the classroom program.
Curriculum Planning: The information gained from conducting the Interview should inform targeted classroom curriculum planning at the students’ point of need.

14. What hasn’t changed? What has changed? All questions remain the same
Interview functions the same
Interview looks the same
Access via Edumail user name and password only
Access through any computer with Internet access
Data stored automatically in one central location
Improved and added profiles, including dated achievement of growth points
Capabilities to track cohorts across school
Different sessions recorded
Administration functions
Mac & PC compatible
Users of the early electronic version will notice similarities between the two programs.
Access to the Mathematics Online Interview is only available to Department of Education schools. Your Edumail user name and password will give access to the program.
Data is stored in a central secure database.
School Administrators can only access their own school data. A teacher can only access the class that they have been assigned to.
Access to the Interview is not restricted to school server/ network. It can be assessed from any location where you have internet access.
New features include:
Achievement dates are included on Group Profiles. Dates indicate the month and year the students achieve a growth point. This allows teachers to easily see the growth from one year to the next.
Different sessions allow a record of students’ achievement across the years.
Administration functions include managing classes and students. Administrators have the facility to generate profiles for different cohorts of students across the school.

15. Read the School User Guide!
Important points
Firstly, schools must assign a ‘school administrator’
Check the school’s internet browser functionality to ensure settings are set at a fast speed
Must create classes first – this is the first admin function listed
Import function is to import interview records from the old CD-ROM program – you can only do this once
Remember to select the right session
Read the School User Guide!
Principals automatically have School Administrator access. It is recommended Principals delegate school administrator rights to another staff member, e.g. Numeracy Coordinator, before any teachers access the program.
The School User guide is a valuable resource to assist in performing these tasks
Note:
How to assign a School Administration - Section 1: Introduction page 3
Internet browser functionality - page 3
Creating classes - page 7
Import function – page 14 (You can only import data to a class if you are assigned to that class)
Selecting session – page 4

16. Aligning the Interview with the Victorian Essential Learning Standards
Points of growth informed the development of the VELS Mathematics standards & progression points
Points of growth will support teachers to understand and implement the VELS
Powerful links with the Mathematics Developmental Continuum indicators of progress and teaching strategies
For more detailed note see next slide

17. 0.5
At 0.5, the work of a student progressing towards
the Number standard at Level 1 demonstrates, for
example:
association of number names with numerals and models of numbers (counting or subitising)
use of drawn simple symbols in place of objects; for example, B for boy
ordering of objects and sets; for example, largest to smallest
placement of a variety of objects in order from first to third
use of one-to-one correspondence and numbers 1 to 10 when counting
Using the Mathematics Online Interview, when a student is successful on:
Task 1
‘First year of schooling detour’ Q II
‘First year of schooling detour’ Q 111 (a), (b)
‘First year of schooling detour’ Q 111 (e)
this is indicative of a student having achieved part of this progression point.
1.0
At Level 1, students form small sets of objects
from simple descriptions and make simple
correspondences between those sets. They count
the size of small sets using the numbers 0 to 20.
They use one-to-one correspondence to identify
when two sets are equal in size and when one set
is larger than another. They form collections of sets
of equal size. They use ordinal numbers to describe
the position of elements in a set from first to tenth.
They use materials to model addition and
subtraction of subtraction by the aggregation
(grouping together) and disaggregation (moving
apart) of objects. They add and subtract by
counting forward and backward using numbers
from 0 to 20.
‘First year of schooling detour’ Q I
‘First year of schooling detour’ Q II (f)
Task 2 (a)
Task 2 (e)
Task 8 (b) (c)
Task 18 by counting all
Task 19 by modelling all
this is indicative of a student having achieved part of this Standard.
Note: Participants may not be able to see the detail on this screen.
It may be more supportive to print handouts of this document.
Mathematics Online Interview links with the Victorian Essential Learning Standards - this resource provides advice for teachers to link the achievement of questions from the Mathematics Online Interview to the Victorian Essential Learning Standards for Mathematics, across the five dimensions.
Download at:

18. Using the Interview results to plan your program
Step 1
It is important that interviewing is conducted by the classroom teacher for the students in their class.
An important part of the interview is the relationship building between student and teacher, and the information that can be gathered by observation.
Observations made by the classroom teacher should be noted and used to inform program planning.
On the Mathematics domain - Assessment page there is a resource titled Mathematics Online Interview: Observation Notes - These documents will support teachers to target their observations whilst conducting the interview. It will be particularly helpful for teachers using the Interview for the first time. It highlights behaviours to watch for, notes on special materials and task instructions, as well as sample student responses.
Download at:

19. Using the Interview results to plan your program
Step 2:
Feel confident with the Interview data you have received.
Ask: Is there data that doesn’t fit with your understanding/ perception of the student’s prior knowledge? If so, review the Interview results and consider what might have affected the student’s responses.
It is essential to check and reflect upon the data in the profiles.
Occasionally when interviewing, teachers only partially record the student’s response and may forget to tick the response box. This will result in inaccurate profiles being generated. In this case it is just a matter of ticking the box and the profile will then reflect the student’s data.
Another reason for profiles not being what you might expect could be due to the fact that the student has not been successful at all the necessary tasks or parts of the task to be awarded the next point of growth. If this is the case do not make any adjustment to the record of interview but take note of the point of difficulty and provide learning opportunities and materials to support students to move forward in their skills and understandings.
Note: There is not a direct correlation of one question to one point of growth.
Some points of growth require students to be successful at multiple tasks before they are awarded the growth point, e.g. Read, record, interpret two-digit numbers requires the student to complete five different tasks.

20. Using the Interview results to plan your program
Step 3:
Use the profiles to reveal the student’s highest point of growth achieved in each area.
Use ‘student profile’ or ‘group profile’ to group students together who present with similar learning needs.
Identifying the highest point of growth a student has achieved has been simplified with the new group profiles.
The points of growth for Number can be profiled separately for Counting, Place Value, Addition and Subtraction, Multiplication and Division which clarifies the points of growth that have been achieved in each area.
Looking at the group profile indicates those students who have achieved the same points of growth as well as providing information on which students have understanding above or below what is generally expected.
Each point of growth is dated by month and year when it is achieved which gives an indication of how skills and understandings have developed over time.

21. Example group profile: Number - Place value
Note: Participants may not be able to see the detail in this screen.
It may be useful to provide a copy of a ‘group profile’ for discussion.
Discussion Questions:
What does this profile tell us about these 5 students?
How is this type of profile helpful?
Which students present with similar learning needs?
Are there any students who would need to work on their own individualised program for Place Value?
If students have the same profile are their needs exactly the same?

22. Using the Interview results to plan your program
Step 4:
Determine the specific learning focus of the next mathematics session.
Using the previous profile an example learning focus may be ‘Visualising patterns in the Hundreds chart’.
Discussion Questions:
(Refer to the group profile again)
For which students would this learning focus be suitable?
How did you determine that?
What would be an appropriate learning focus for the other students?

23. Using the Interview results to plan your program
Step 5:
Consider the context for the learning experiences and activities (games, materials, resources, calculators etc).
The Mathematics Developmental Continuum can support this selection with some powerful examples of tasks and guidance on effective teaching strategies.
In selecting mathematical experiences, consider the following:
The student’s developmental stage – each experience should build on student’s known skills and understandings of mathematics
The types of materials used to support the developmental stage and the mathematics being presented
Opportunities for students to develop and extend their mathematical language and communicate their learning
The selection of prompts to scaffold student learning by providing support and challenge, as appropriate.
For learning experiences to be most effective, the purpose and intended outcomes need to be made explicit for students.

24. Links with the Mathematics Developmental Continuum P - 10
Note: Participants may not be able to see the detail in this screen.
It is suggested that participants access the Department of Education website to view this resource.
Mathematics Developmental Continuum P - 10

25. Links with the Mathematics Developmental Continuum P - 10
In this Place Value example, the indicator of progress ‘Using a hundreds chart for mental calculation’ offers advice on teaching strategies for developing visualising, as well as a variety of tasks for students with differing needs.
These have been linked to tasks achieved on the Mathematics Interview that indicate appropriate prerequisite understanding.
Indicator of Progress – ‘Using a hundreds chart for mental calculation’
Students can use the hundreds chart to find relationships between numbers. For example, 42 is the number 10 more than 32, and so 42 is directly below 32 on the hundreds chart. Likewise the number 33 is next to 32, and it is 1 more than 32.
Some students do not see the base ten patterns underlying the hundreds chart and attempt to count by ones. For example, when asked the number that is ten more than 23 they touch or say each number until they get to 33.
Research has shown that persisting with counting by ones to add and subtract is a characteristic of students who do not make adequate progress in mathematics.
Illustration 3 gives examples of the types of tasks from the interview linking mental calculation concepts and using a hundreds chart
Question 3 Give numbers before and after
Question 4 Counting by 10s, 5s, 2s starting from 0
Question 8 Reading Numerals – 2 digit numbers
Question 9 (a) (b) Use calculator to record and say numbers – 2 digits
Question 10 (a) (b) Order 1 and 2 digit number sets of cards
Question 11 Make 36 using bundles of 10 sticks and single sticks
Question 12 Find the missing number on a 2 digit chart
Activity
Have participants discuss what the above interview tasks are and how they relate to the indicator of progress ‘Using a hundreds chart for mental calculation’.

26. Links with the Mathematics Developmental Continuum P - 10
Activity 3: Missing numbers
Once students can put a complete chart together, prepare a chart with some numbers missing. Cut the chart into 'jigsaw' pieces. You could use jigsaw pieces with only one number showing for the students to complete the missing numbers. For example what numbers are missing in the boxes shown? Always, students should describe how they obtain answers in terms of adding or subtracting10 (moving vertically) or 1 (moving horizontally).
Activity 3 from Indicator of Progress – ‘Using a hundreds chart for mental calculation’
Discuss
What prior skills and knowledge do students require to begin this task?
What materials and support would provide for students who needed assistance with this task?
How would you extend this task for more able students?
What question would you use to develop deep understandings on place value concepts?

27. Building on what students already know and are able to do
By accumulating information about each student’s known skills and understanding, individual learning needs and styles, the teacher can identify where the student is in terms of being able to succeed at a given task independently. The teacher is then in a position to offer appropriate temporary support – “scaffolding” – that will allow the student to succeed in a task that would otherwise be too difficult (Wood, Bruner and Ross 1976).
When students are effectively supported in their learning, they are operating within their “zone pf proximal development”.
Through teacher scaffolding, the student internalises and assimilates the new knowledge and is later able to apply this learning in successfully completing tasks independently.
The zone of proximal development is constantly shifting.
The interview provides teachers with a tool to assist in locating each student’s zone of proximal development.

28. Interview influencing classroom planning
Types of tasks become part of classroom programming and learning experiences for students
Strategies promoted in the Interview, for example ‘near doubles’ will become powerful in the teaching environment
Focus on mental computation rather than formal written equations as the only option
Importance of articulating thinking – this should be valued and shared often
Use of materials to support students to develop visual images of their thinking – from concrete to abstract over time
The Interview incorporates powerful pedagogies that promote deep understanding in mathematics.
The Interview focuses on the development of efficient mental computation strategies. Students are asked probing questions about how they solved tasks as the teacher looks for evidence of deep understanding. It also provides insight into how strategies develop and how students begin to use more efficient strategies over time.
Many teachers and schools find that practices and the use of mathematical language from the Interview flows from the assessment into classroom planning and teaching.

29. Interview influencing professional learning for teachers …
The Interview results can provide an opportunity to discuss efficient ways to move students forward – best practice.
For example: Length – how can we more effectively support students to move from ‘using uniform units appropriately to quantify length’ to ‘using formal units for estimating and measuring length, with accuracy’?
What knowledge do teachers need to plan effective learning experiences around this concept?
The Interview results can help schools to identify areas that are well understood by students and areas that may not be as well understood.
Individual teachers can identify the needs of their class.
Teams of teachers can use this information to guide their discussions about how to move students forward. This includes considering the barriers that make it difficult for students to progress to the next point of growth and how these can be overcome by choice of materials and tasks.
With the online Interview, Principals and school administrators can run profiles for the whole school to gain an overall view of the strengths and areas for improvement of the whole school numeracy program.

30. Additional Resources
School User Guide (PDF - 3.5Mb) - a comprehensive manual including detailed instructions of all new functionality.
Mathematics Online Interview Booklet (PDF - 937Kb) - details each question in the Interview, preparation, how to administer and links with research.
Teaching strategies linked to the Mathematics Online Interview - 'I have done the Interview, now what …?' This resource links the Mathematics Developmental Continuum teaching strategies with appropriate tasks from the Interview.
Mathematics Online Interview links with the Victorian Essential Learning Standards - advice for teachers to link the questions from the Mathematics Online Interview to the Victorian Essential Learning Standards for Mathematics, across the five dimensions.
Mathematics Online Interview - Starting Points - When interviewing a student who has a current interview record, teachers should start at tasks which are suitable to the student’s developmental level based on their performance through the previous interviews.
Mathematics Online Interview - Observation Notes - These documents will support teachers to target their observations whilst conducting the Interview. It will be particularly helpful for teachers using the Interview for the first time.
Many resources have been developed to support schools using the Mathematics Online Interview.
The resources are located on the Mathematics domain – Assessment page
Download at: