Category Archives: Misconceptions

When kids get stuck and never catch up

Posted on January 1, 2019

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, 2009). I know it’s true in a lot of cases, … READ MORE

Protected: Intervention that works course resources

Posted on December 19, 2018

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

What works and what doesn’t in intervention – research summary

Posted on November 25, 2018

Some interventions that we try as schools are really effective, some less so.  This article will give you a comparative overview of a few of the most common ones, as well as some easy steps to take that are very … READ MORE

Why kids don’t get fractions

Posted on August 2, 2017

You may have noticed that kids have a few issues with fractions… but sometimes it can be tricky to understand what is going on, particularly when the difficulties only tend to show up on NAPLAN.  Here are a few simple … READ MORE

Developing multiplicative thinking

Posted on July 20, 2017

Simple ideas for assessing and develop multiplicative thinking It can be tricky to work out what our students really understand, and what they struggle with.  Here are a few short videos that explain multiplicative thinking, as well as links to … READ MORE

The power of confronting questions

Posted on August 30, 2016

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 their own hypothesis before they will listen to yours. Here … READ MORE

Finishing strong – making those last few weeks count (plus a free offer to boot)

Posted on October 9, 2015

As term 4 is upon us many teachers are struggling with how to get everything done.  Realistically, now is the time for prioritizing rather than frantic teaching.  Think about what the teacher next year needs the kids to still remember … READ MORE

Fixing Misconceptions in Place Value to 1000

Posted on July 10, 2015

We have exciting news to share! Our new Interventions project, Fixing Misconceptions in Place Value to 1000, has been receiving some fantastic feedback from teachers as well as great improvement data from both individual teachers and government projects since its … READ MORE

Why I don’t teach two-digit numbers before teen numbers

Posted on February 15, 2015

Download this article here:  Why I don’t teach two digit numbers before teen numbers There has been a lot of advice to teachers recently that we should leave teaching of teen numbers until after kids have learned about other two-digit … READ MORE

25% of primary teachers have not developed Multiplicative thinking – check your staff

Posted on September 11, 2014

Multiplicative thinking is one of the concepts that I have found about 1 in 4 primary teachers across the country are missing… and I have tried the diagnostic tasks below with several thousand of them.  Along with Place Value and … READ MORE