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She says in many of the countries surveyed, children spend far more time on maths in primary

school so the results arent surprising. Exit tests have shown New Zealand students perform

well compared with other countries as they leave school.

That said, she supports the Numeracy Projects on other grounds. She believes a change in

teaching methods was necessary to help equip children for a workforce in which almost all jobs

now involve some maths skills.

But she says factors such as socio-economic status, parental involvement and teaching quality

also play a big role in determining whether children do well at maths.

The Numeracy Projects

The Numeracy Projects evolved out of a New South Wales programme called Count Me In Too

that showed promising results with primary age children.

Count Me In Too was the result of two decades of research that suggests all children go through

the same broad developmental stages. These stages include :

One-to-one counting They can count up to 10 but cant solve simple problems such as 4 +

3.

Counting from one on materials They can add using their fingers or counters/beads.

But to add 4 + 3, they put the two groups together then start counting from 1.

Counting from one by imaging They can visualise objects in their mind rather than

using concrete objects.

Counting on When adding 4 + 3, they count on in ones from 4, rather than starting at 1.

Initial part-whole counting They can partition numbers into useful units to solve addition

and subtraction. Early strategies include using doubles (7 + 8 can be done as 7 + 7 + 1) and

friendly numbers (9+7 is the same as10 + 6).

Advanced/Fluent part-whole thinking They can choose from a wide range of

partitioning addition/subtraction and multiplication/division strategies to solve problems.

These stages form the basis of the Number Frame-work which underpins the Numeracy

Projects.

How does it work in the

WHOS COUNTING NOW?

Lynne Petersen is a teacher of a year 3

and 4 class at Dominion Rd School in

Auckland. She says during maths sheused to do most of the talking. Now the

children discuss their maths problems,

explaining how and why they get their

answers. She adds that a big focus at

this level is to understand multiplication and times tables.

The kids also learn vital practical skills like estimation.

Even when theyre using calculators, Lynne says, they need to

know if their answer is in the right ballpark. For instance, if

theyre calculating the cost of 15 burgers at $3.95 each, they

should be able to estimate that the answer will be a bit less tha

$60 (15 x 4).

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classroom?

The maths curriculum hasnt changed but

teaching methods have - at least in the

schools involved in the project.

Teachers assess children using diagnostic

interviews to see what developmental stage

they are at. Children are then grouped

according to that information rather than

how well they do with basic facts or times

tables.

They dont usually move to the next stage until

assessments show they have grasped theconcepts theyre working on. So teaching of the times tables is delayed, as is the introduction of the

standard written forms of calculations, until children start part-whole thinking, usually around

year 4 (eight year olds).

Other changes :

Early on, more time is spent on counting skills

Teachers make more use of counters, abacuses, beads and paper money

In years 1 to 3, children often draw pictures to show maths concepts or they write out sums

horizontally rather than vertically.

Children are encouraged to discuss with each other how to solve maths problems.

Do they still learn times tables?

Yes, most of the experts we talked to felt that by age 10, children should have good recall of the

tables, up to 10 times. Its necessary to solve complex maths problems.

But Professor Clark says putting too much

emphasis on times tables and basic facts can bedamaging to deep-thinking kids who take

longer because theyre mentally checking

whether the answer makes sense.

She says if children are making progress with

times tables, parents shouldnt worry.

Many teachers no longer bother with the 11 and

100 x 5 = 500, minus 5 = 495

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12 times tables. Peter Hughes says theyre a

hangover from the days before decimal currency.

Whats the point of learning to multiply and

divide by 12? Youre just as likely to need to do

so with 13, 14 or 15.

The order in which the remaining tables are

taught has also changed. The easiest tables (2s,

5s and 10s) are taught first and the hardest (6s,

7s and 8s) are taught last.

Teachers use a variety of methods to make

tables-learning more appealing, including

setting them to rap or action songs, and using

flash cards or card games. The aim is instant

recall.

Are all schools doing it?

Schools can choose whether to get involved. So far, around half of primary schools have participated

in the Numeracy Projects while 22 intermediate schools are involved in a pilot project this year.

The Ministry of Education says initial evaluations show the projects are successful with all groups

of children, but Maori and Pacific Island children are not doing as well as others. A version of the

Numeracy Projects has been developed for Maori immersion units and schools.