Improving numeracy practice

A teacher of grade 1 discusses with a colleague how she can improve her students' literacy levels. The discussion, and the feedback she elicits, explores the ways in which her teaching program can be modified to meet her students' learning needs. The collegial discussion encompasses teaching and learning strategies, classroom organisation and the timetabling factors that will impact on the implementation of the proposed numeracy interventions.

Dominic College is a Catholic, kindergarten to year 10, co-educational, independent school in Hobart. At the school, a grade 1 teacher discusses with a colleague how they can draw upon learnings derived from their successful implementation of a literacy program to improve the teaching and learning of numeracy skills. The teacher acknowledges the value of her colleague's previous advice about how to use groups to support student learning in literacy, and together they explore the potential of a similar approach for improving students' numeracy levels.