Numeracy Champion Action Research Project Session 3 of 4: Place Value and Decimals (South)

Do you want to become a Numeracy Champion and promote greater impact in the development of students' mathematical understanding? Are you wanting to develop the confidence and competence of your primary teaching staff? Do you want to up-skill yourself or your primary teachers in the area of mathematics? Then this action research project is for you!

Over the course of four sessions throughout the year, teachers will engage with the mathematical big ideas and misconceptions around algebraic thinking, fractions, place value, decimals and mental computation with a focus on the Primary years Foundation to Year 6. Each of the four sessions will be facilitated by Associate Professor Tracey Muir and Doctor Carol Murphy from the University of Tasmania. Support will also be provided by ACARA Mathematic Curriculum leads Rachael Whitney-Smith and Anne-Marie Benson.

Teaching strategies, practical ideas and take away activities for the classroom will be provided, to assist teachers in developing their content and pedagogical understanding of mathematics. Diagnostic tools will be provided for teachers to extend mathematical impact outside of the session to their own context. Termly opportunities will also be provided for participants to share and reflect on their project through a linked networking community of practice interactive webinar session.

Teachers will leave each session with the necessary support, greater confidence and competence to plan, lead, deliver and reflect on a bespoke action research project within their own setting over the course of the year. All teachers completing the project will have access to and be supported 1:1 by Trudy Ward, Educational Consultant at IST during the year.

Session Three

Number sense is linked to a complete understanding of place value, including extension to decimals as it develops across the early childhood and primary years. In this workshop, we will look at the development of place value from year 1 to year 6, building on from the idea that 10 of these is 1 of these, to understanding large numbers up to 1 000 000 and decimals. We will look at appropriate models and materials for teaching place value concepts and address common misconceptions that occur.