Setting the scene for risk-taking One of the most difficult problems to overcome when establishing a problem-based classroom is encouraging risk-taking behaviour on the part of the students. Unless students
The problem: Many teachers that I have met think that modelling means either: “showing kids how to solve a problem”, or sometimes “making something 3D”. As these everyday uses for
Parents often want to help their kids with maths, but aren’t sure how to help. Here are 27 ideas ranging from breakfast, to car trips, to grocery shopping, to afternoon tea,
Enabling prompts or life lines are a fantastic way of helping students who are stuck to get started. They do not reduce the complexity of the question, but they do help kids
Download this article here: What to do when kids already know everything Sometimes when teaching, we come across a student who blows our mind. It seems like they either already
Misconceptions in maths behave an awful lot like conspiracy theories Conspiracy theories exist to some extent in all societies and are seemingly at odds with what we think we know
When we love teaching literacy, we tend to find lots of opportunities for adding in extra literacy in the tiny pockets of time that fill space between the main teaching
It is natural that kids’ experience of maths while learning at home will vary widely. To ensure your class works well over the remaining months of the year, we have
Tierney Kennedy A few years ago mathematician Terence Tao created a Polymath1 group to work on the Twin Prime Conjecture – a project where mathematicians collaborate together to solve vexing
Ending the debate: Which teaching approach is most effective? Tierney Kennedy In 1997 a landmark study in the UK decided to define effective teaching using student improvement data… if you
Recently I’ve been pondering findings from a major report into Australian schooling that kids who are struggling in maths by the end of primary school often never catch up (Masters,
Kids who have a strong intuitive understanding of maths can sometimes have trouble slowing down their thinking to explain how they got the answer. Here are a few simple tips
>> Introducing conceptual change programs Let’s face it – nobody likes being wrong. Not kids, and not us. So, when maths becomes all about the right answers, that makes it
By Tierney Kennedy I firmly believe that the most important and most effective thing that we can do with our classes is problem-solving. And yet far and away the biggest
I find that having a bank of regularly-used, highly-motivating and quick rotation group activities saves me a lot of time and headaches when using rotation groups. Here are my top
Have you had a long and tough term? Let’s talk about how to survive the stress. Sometimes the holidays just feel like breathing room before starting the next big push. Life
I’d like to raise a contentious issue… Engagement is not the same as entertainment, or even the same as enjoyment. True engagement involves an insatiable curiosity. A driving need to
I am often asked what makes a perfect mathematics lesson. This is a difficult question to answer, as I’m not sure that there is one best lesson. It really depends
Sometimes it seems like we make maths teaching more difficult than it needs to be, but make the maths itself easier than it should be. Challenging tasks are not only
Our thanks to Pamela Barritt of Woodcroft Primary School for sharing this Blog post with us! It was originally posted on March 14, 2017 (archived) During maths lessons we focus on
When kids have persistent misconceptions it can be really hard to help them change their minds. Try thinking of teaching like doing a science experiment, where they have to disprove
With the year just beginning, it’s worth investing a few minutes putting together these simple maths hacks to save you time for the rest of the year. Phone time for
We could solve the STEM crisis in this country within five years if we could get all parents and teachers to stop saying one thing: “It’s ok to be wrong”.
Key 1: Make the maths weirder rather than making the numbers harder Give the starting and ending numbers and ask, “What happened?” Work backwards from the end point to the
Balancing time in rotation groups can be especially tricky: we need enough time to be able to work in depth with a small group, but not so much that behaviour
By Tierney Kennedy Activities are at this link. Watch a free video at the bottom. Buy convenient, pre-made cards here Almost every lower primary classroom that I have been into
By Tierney Kennedy What is your favourite maths teaching moment? One where you know that you made a life-changing difference? My all-time favourite maths teaching moment was with a boy
Download this article to print This article explains, with examples, the best process to address misconceptions and links you with resources to resolve the specific misconceptions found in your class.
As the new year starts many new teachers begin the year on contract or as supply teachers. Often this means having to run a whole day in a classroom on
This year in all of my Professional Development sessions three statements seem to have made the biggest difference to teachers. I would like to share these truths with you as
Today I was working with a year two class on understanding tens and ones. We used a hundreds chart as a tool to help the students develop deep understanding of
This question has been plaguing me a lot lately. In the last week two students have been playing on my mind. Today I taught a year eight girl who thought
In every class of students there is usually someone who considers themselves very good at maths. They are highly successful at getting the right answers to routine questions and are
The reality of classroom teaching nowadays is that no teacher has a class of students who are all working at the one level. Teachers who aim their maths lesson at
NAPLAN should not be nearly as scary for teachers as most seem to think. Great teaching should result in improvements. If you aren’t seeing growth, please check out this recorded
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