20250730 MAV25 synopsis - Flipbook - Page 90
SESSION E: Friday, 11am-12pm (cont.)
Through hands-on activities and classroom discourse,
we’ll explore how productive struggle aligns with phases of
learning: acquisition, fluency, mastery, and maintenance. The
session challenges the misconception that struggle means
being left to flounder, highlighting instead how scaffolded
challenge can build mathematical resilience, the confidence
and perseverance to engage with difficulty. Educators
will leave with strategies to design tasks that promote
generalisation, strategy development and flexible thinking,
balancing explicit instruction with purposeful struggle to
support students to thrive in mathematics.
Key takeaways:
1. Struggle is a learning tool, not confusion. Purposefully
designed challenges activate thinking without overwhelming
students, fostering deeper understanding.
2. Balance teaching explicitly with strategic challenge.
Well-timed instruction supports generalisation, strategy
development and flexible thinking.
3. Build mathematical resilience. Scaffolded struggle helps
students develop confidence, perseverance and problemsolving skills for conceptual understanding.
E10 ENSURING YOUR EXPLICIT TEACHING IS
EFFECTIVE AND ENGAGING
Subtheme: Pedagogy and curriculum
Michael Minas, Love Maths
(F to Year 8)
There is currently a push for greater emphasis on explicit
teaching in maths classrooms both in Australia and across the
globe. Rather than tackling the vexed question of what is the
best way to teach maths, this session aims to help teachers
and school leaders with practical ideas to make explicit
instruction both effective and engaging. The effectiveness
of any practice in a maths classroom is measured by how well
we build conceptual understanding with our students. We will
outline four key questions that any educator can use to help
improve their capacity to build conceptual understanding,
bringing these to life with work samples and anecdotes from
classrooms across Australia.
Key takeaways:
1. When is the right time to model strategies/concepts within
a sequence of learning?
THE MATHEMATICAL
ASSOCIATION OF VICTORIA
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2. How can we make the key concepts/ideas as clear as
possible for the students?
3. How do we ensure student engagement is maintained?
E11 DAILY REVIEW IN ACTION: PRACTICAL
STRATEGIES FROM THE CLASSROOM
Subtheme: Pedagogy and curriculum
Emily Keelying, The Friends School, Hobart, Sharon Livy,
Monash University, Theresa Martin, ACU
(F to Year 8)
Join us for an engaging session as we explore how one
primary school has embraced daily review as a pedagogical
approach to support students’ mathematical learning and
foster a thriving mathematics community. In this presentation,
we will showcase a range of teaching strategies used to
implement daily review routines that provide students
with opportunities to recall previously taught concepts
while building their mathematical competence. Drawing
on authentic stories from both teachers and students,
we will share what works effectively in practice and offer
practical suggestions for enhancing students’ mathematical
experiences and dispositions. We will share how we use a
combination of formative assessment through daily practice,
coupled with the implementation of a universal screener in
mathematics, to explain how daily reviews are organised and
adjusted to improve student learning. These insights will
highlight the impact of consistent, purposeful reviews on
student engagement, confidence, and achievement.
Key takeaways:
1. Whether you’re just beginning to explore daily reviews
or looking to refine your current practice, this session offers
valuable takeaways for mathematics teachers and leaders at
all levels.
2. It is ideal for those seeking to deepen student
understanding and foster a culture of continuous learning in
mathematics.
