New maths teaching technique achieving results in classroom

A program designed to target the middle school mathematics slump has been shown to boost learning among younger students.

Tested before and after the study, students whose teachers undertook professional development last year showed a benefit equivalent to two-months extra learning as a result.

A South Australian program designed to target the middle school mathematics slump has been shown to boost learning among younger students and those from low-income backgrounds.

An independent evaluation of the SA Department for ­Education-developed Thinking maths program, which aims to improve maths teachers’ depth of understanding and instructional techniques in the subject area, found it had a statistically sig­nificant impact on students in Years 5 to 7.

Tested before and after the study, students whose teachers undertook professional development last year showed a benefit equivalent to two-months extra learning as a result.

While the program will need to be refined if it is to be adopted broadly in schools, the findings of the study, involving more than 7000 students across 158 schools and believed to be the biggest random controlled trial conducted in an Australian school, are expected to spark intense interest throughout the sector.

They come amid heightened interest in what is being taught in schools — and how — in the wake of the Gonski review into educational excellence that recommended the establishment of an education research institute to help boost standards. The proposal was backed by the federal government, which is in talks with the states over the project, while the Labor opposition has also committed to spending $280 million on an independent research body if elected.

The Thinking maths program is the first of three large independent education trials being run with support from Evidence for Learning, which is backed by ­Social Ventures Australia. The group funded an independent evaluation of the trial, conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research

Aimed at arresting lagging numeracy among middle years students, as evidenced by ­NAPLAN results, the program provided 30 weeks of training for teachers to develop their capabilities in both explicit knowledge development of maths concepts and skills like metacognition — the ability to think about thinking.

Teachers were taught to use effective questioning to support students in solving maths problems in the classroom and to encourage curiosity, experimentation and make learning hands-on.

While primary students showed improvement, compared with those in the study’s control group whose teachers did not participate in the additional training, a negative result was reported for Years 8 to 10. Those students recorded a two-month decline in their maths learning and also reported significantly heightened anxiety around classes.

Evidence for Learning director Matt Deeble said the study, aside from the results, was important as teachers were “calling out for useful and reliable evidence”.

“As a result … we have learned that what has works for primary schools and their teachers will not automatically work for secondary,” he said. “By putting programs to this level of scrutiny, we’re going to improve our education system, help teachers grow confident in their teaching strategies and make sure all kids, regardless of their backgrounds, make the best possible progress.”