A new study shows little kids who count on their fingers do better at maths, reports Jennifer Way and Katherin Cartwright If you ask a small child a simple maths question, such as 4+2, they may count on their fingers to work it out. Should we encourage...
Australian teenagers are curious but have some of the most disruptive maths classes in the OECD, writes researcher Lisa De Bortoli Australian teenagers have more disruptive maths classrooms and experience bullying at greater levels than the OECD average, a new report shows. But in better news, Australian...
It's a real thing! Write Ben Zunica and Bronwyn Reid O'Connor From 15 March 2023, more than one million young Australians will sit the NAPLAN numeracy test. For most students, this will just be a routine part of the school day (albeit less fun than running...
Boys perform better than girls in tests made up of multiple-choice questions, says Silvia Griselda. Multiple-choice questions are considered objective and easy to mark. But my research shows they give an advantage to males. I compared around 500,000 test results of boys and girls who sat the...
Sue Thomson reports that almost one in four (23%) Australian year 8 students were being taught maths in 2018 by teachers whose major qualification was in a field other than maths, hitting disadvantaged schools even harder. Internationally, on average, just one in ten year 8 equivalent...
Not every student needs senior maths, but we can make maths more engaging in the earlier school years, writes John Fischetti. In late 2019, New South Wales announced it would make maths compulsory all through school. Victoria will have an additional, easier, year 12 maths subject...
Results from the longest running large-scale international assessment of maths and science show Australia has significantly improved in Year 8 maths and science, and Year 4 science, reports Sue Thomson More than 580,000 students from 64 countries participated in the latest Trends in International Mathematics and...
Australia hasn't performed well at maths and science recently. We're about to find out if we've improved Sue Thomson, Australian Council for Educational Research Every four years, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) releases data on how effective countries are in teaching...
In lots of simple ways parents can help their kids understand and enjoy maths, writes Kylie Robson Teaching maths concepts has long been considered the domain of the classroom teacher, with many parents often feeling unable to help their kids develop this skill. However, parents already...
