Maths mastery: a key buzz-word in current education. But is it just the latest fad, or is there some merit to this initiative?It is visual, it is practical, and it is something that I have found can build strong foundations in the classroom from which to build greater things. And most importantly, ALL children can access a mastery curriculum.
When was this method of teaching maths introduced in your school?
We began dabbling with mastery approaches towards the end of the summer term in 2016, but we launched it whole-heartedly as a school this academic year, and with great success. Our children are responding fantastically to this approach and progress is really being made.
What resources do you rely on to deliver maths lessons in this style?
Teachers follow the concrete-pictorial-abstract approach in their teaching, and use a wide range of resources to support learning including Singapore Maths Textbooks and mastery curriculum aids such as the White Rose scheme. Maths mastery requires lots of work with physical objects first to help visualise the concept; anything from cubes, to toy animals, to biscuits and cake (that was a good lesson!)Base Ten Classroom Set
Have you seen an improvement in your pupils understanding of maths concepts since introducing this method?
One of the changes that came with making the move to a mastery  approach was something we call the ‘anchor task’ – a child led learning opportunity where the teacher takes a step back and guides the learning instead of dictating it. For example; during a lesson on different types of angles I put three pairs of congruent lines on the board and asked the children “What’s the difference?†The first 5 minutes or so were unfruitful, to say the least. However, it only took one child to pick up his ruler and start trying to measure the angles to trigger a train of thought amongst the others: we can measure this, but how? Eventually they came to the notion of measuring the size of the turn between the two lines (thankfully not with a ruler) and were using language such as “this is bigger than a right angle, smaller than a right angle.†This was something we as teachers found difficult at first – it’s hard not to leap in and intervene – but by letting them arrive at the answer for themselves, the children retain that information for longer and receive a greater sense of satisfaction for having been successful in their discovery.
What type of maths activities are the most popular amongst pupils?
I’ve developed something in school which we call Rainbow Maths – it’s something I keep tight lipped about as it’s a closely guarded secret, but it draws heavily on Bloom’s Taxonomy and the idea of the ‘anchor task’ in order to allow children to explore a mathematical concept and go as in depth with it as they personally can, as individuals. Plus they get to use coloured pens, which excites them more than you’d think!
What advice would you give to parents who are looking to support their children’s maths learning at home?
There’s so much out there at the moment that it can be a bit of a minefield. I’d always start by asking your child’s class teacher – they’re more than willing to help and more often than not there will be examples of how they teach maths in school on their website. This just means we can all work together on one approach, rather than confusing our children with multiple different methods. Learning through play is incredibly valuable and drawing maths problems out into bar shapes to help visualise the idea you’re working on.*Discover more and browse our selection of Maths Mastery resources for the classroom and home.Related reads:What is Mathematics Mastery?Base Ten: The Maths Mastery Manipulative#LoveLearning
Tried and Tested: Alphabet Acorns Name of tester: Kerri HibberdTitle: Class TeacherSchool name: Woodside AcademyAge of child: Three years oldAge of school class: Reception; ages four and fiveProduct Testing: Alphabet Acorns Activity Set “Kerri has been a teacher for 11 years. She is currently the phonics co-ordinator at her school and works part time. The rest of the time she is at home with her 3 year old daughter.â€
Ratings:
What were your first thoughts when the product arrived?
I was impressed with how colourful it was. My daughter was very excited and she couldn’t wait to get it out of the box.
How did you use the product?
With my daughter at home, we first found all the matching objects for each letter. She enjoyed using the resource so much that we used it every day for the next week. To extend her learning we tried to use the resource in different ways. We matched upper and lowercase letters and then found all three matching parts, the uppercase letter, lowercase letter and object. I also used this resource for phonics teaching. I chose a letter and asked her to find the object beginning with the same sound and then did this the other way around by choosing an object and asking her to find the matching acorn parts. As she is young and doesn’t know all her sounds yet she needed a little support.
How did you use this product in the classroom?
Within the classroom I used this resource in two different ways, first as an exploration activity for independent learning. I set it up with other outside objects and allowed the children to explore. Some children used it as a matching activity and matched the upper and lowercase letters while others tried to find the matching objects. As a teacher focus I used it as a matching the initial sound and object activity and was also able to assess the children’s phonic and letter knowledge.
What are the educational benefits of the resource?
There are lots of benefits to this resource as it can be used in different ways such as letter and grapheme correspondence, initial letter sounds, matching upper and lowercase letters and even sorting colours. There’s even more ideas in the box!
What did you like/dislike about the resource?
To make this even more appealing for schools I think an alternative ‘qu’ should be added. This will enable the resource to be used for phonic activities as well as alphabet activities. I loved this resource and it was very appealing to my daughter and children at the school. I liked the bright colours used and that the letters on the front of the acorn, lid and object all matched in colour so younger children, like my daughter, or less able children, could be told to look for a blue object that matched or a red top etc.
What is the long term appeal of the resource?
Very good as it also fits in with different topics and stories so can be linked to learning in lots of different ways.
Is the product unique?
The acorn idea is unique and appealing but there are otherproducts on the market for matching objects and letters. #LoveLearning
READ MORE
Base Ten Blocks are a maths manipulative that help young learners to understand how numbers relate to one another, specifically ones, tens, hundreds and thousands.
Maths mastery: a key buzz-word in current education. But is it just the latest fad, or is there some merit to this initiative?It is visual, it is practical, and it is something that I have found can build strong foundations in the classroom from which to build greater things. And most importantly, ALL children can access a mastery curriculum.
When was this method of teaching maths introduced in your school?
We began dabbling with mastery approaches towards the end of the summer term in 2016, but we launched it whole-heartedly as a school this academic year, and with great success. Our children are responding fantastically to this approach and progress is really being made.
What resources do you rely on to deliver maths lessons in this style?
Teachers follow the concrete-pictorial-abstract approach in their teaching, and use a wide range of resources to support learning including Singapore Maths Textbooks and mastery curriculum aids such as the White Rose scheme. Maths mastery requires lots of work with physical objects first to help visualise the concept; anything from cubes, to toy animals, to biscuits and cake (that was a good lesson!)Base Ten Classroom Set
Have you seen an improvement in your pupils understanding of maths concepts since introducing this method?
One of the changes that came with making the move to a mastery  approach was something we call the ‘anchor task’ – a child led learning opportunity where the teacher takes a step back and guides the learning instead of dictating it. For example; during a lesson on different types of angles I put three pairs of congruent lines on the board and asked the children “What’s the difference?†The first 5 minutes or so were unfruitful, to say the least. However, it only took one child to pick up his ruler and start trying to measure the angles to trigger a train of thought amongst the others: we can measure this, but how? Eventually they came to the notion of measuring the size of the turn between the two lines (thankfully not with a ruler) and were using language such as “this is bigger than a right angle, smaller than a right angle.†This was something we as teachers found difficult at first – it’s hard not to leap in and intervene – but by letting them arrive at the answer for themselves, the children retain that information for longer and receive a greater sense of satisfaction for having been successful in their discovery.
What type of maths activities are the most popular amongst pupils?
I’ve developed something in school which we call Rainbow Maths – it’s something I keep tight lipped about as it’s a closely guarded secret, but it draws heavily on Bloom’s Taxonomy and the idea of the ‘anchor task’ in order to allow children to explore a mathematical concept and go as in depth with it as they personally can, as individuals. Plus they get to use coloured pens, which excites them more than you’d think!
What advice would you give to parents who are looking to support their children’s maths learning at home?
There’s so much out there at the moment that it can be a bit of a minefield. I’d always start by asking your child’s class teacher – they’re more than willing to help and more often than not there will be examples of how they teach maths in school on their website. This just means we can all work together on one approach, rather than confusing our children with multiple different methods. Learning through play is incredibly valuable and drawing maths problems out into bar shapes to help visualise the idea you’re working on.*Discover more and browse our selection of Maths Mastery resources for the classroom and home.Related reads:What is Mathematics Mastery?Base Ten: The Maths Mastery Manipulative#LoveLearning
READ MORE
