{"id":1858,"date":"2017-04-27T03:47:26","date_gmt":"2017-04-27T03:47:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hfschool.net\/?page_id=1858"},"modified":"2017-10-23T03:54:37","modified_gmt":"2017-10-23T03:54:37","slug":"mathematics-in-focus","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/highfields.nsw.edu.au\/index.php\/mathematics-in-focus\/","title":{"rendered":"Mathematics that Counts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mathematics that Counts<\/h3>\n

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\u201cTo learn mathematics students must construct it for themselves. They can only do that by exploring, justifying, representing, discussing, using, describing, investigating, predicting, in short by being active in the world.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Countryman (1992) as cited in Kroll & Halaby, 1997, Young Children<\/em>, p.55<\/p>\n

Mathematics must make sense to children and as such should be learned in meaningful and functional contexts. It is for this reason that we see hands-on experiences working with mathematical concepts and understandings as an essential foundation for all our maths work with the children. Opportunities are made for children to explore ideas using concrete materials and real situations to reinforce the relevance of maths in our everyday lives. Discussions are focussed on strategies and are used strategically to introduce and model the vocabulary the children will need to communicate \u2018mathematically\u2019.<\/p>\n

By asking open-ended questions and leading the children into challenges our teachers act as insightful facilitators of learning. A simple question such as, \u2018Did anyone get the same answer in a different way?\u2019 can provide a wealth of strategies to the class as the children articulate their understandings and methods in a group context.<\/p>\n

A common sequence of events during a maths session would be:<\/p>\n