Conference synopsis_MAVCON2026 - Flipbook - Page 125
SESSION G: Friday, 2pm-3pm (cont.)
be systematically faded as students develop proficiency.
Educators will leave with evidence-informed strategies
for implementing scaffolds that enhance learning without
creating dependency.
Key takeaways:
Key takeaways:
2. Patterns and visual representations can be powerful bridges
to generalisation.
Participants will take away:
1. Algebra is about relationships and structure, not just
symbols.
3. Equations represent balance and equivalence.
1. A deeper understand of the research behind scaffolds
2. Practical pedagogical approaches to scaffold student
learning
3. Practical concrete scaffolds to help student learning
G10 INTRODUCING ALGEBRA: RULES AND
EQUATIONS THAT MAKE SENSE
Sub-category: Mathematical content and concepts
Danijela Draskovic and Di Liddell, Mathematical
Association of Victoria
Y5 - Y8
Upper primary and lower secondary students are ready to
move beyond arithmetic and begin developing algebraic
reasoning when they are given opportunities to explore
mathematical structure, relationships, and generalisations in
meaningful ways.
In this session, we will explore a range of tasks and
representations that support the conceptual development
of algebra, including border problems and balance-based
approaches to equations. Participants will consider how
students can:
•
identify and describe relationships between quantities
•
recognise, extend, and generalise patterns
•
develop and communicate algebraic rules
•
interpret equations as statements of balance, and
•
solve and rearrange equations with understanding rather
than memorisation.
Participants will leave with practical classroom tasks, sample
student responses, and teaching strategies that support
students in building strong conceptual foundations for
algebra and developing confidence with symbolic notation.
G11 FROM HANDS TO MINDS: BUILDING
MENTAL MODELS THAT LAST
Sub-category: Mathematical content and concepts
James Lansdale-Clegg, Rethink Maths
F - Y6
Manipulatives have transformed maths classrooms, and
rightly so. Yet many pupils who succeed with Base 10 or
counters still freeze the moment the apparatus is taken away.
Concrete experience does not automatically become abstract
understanding, and for learners with gaps, that missing bridge
is often exactly where they are lost. This session explores a
practical principle: explicitly teaching pupils to visualise. We
will examine how a short, repeatable routine - build it, visualise
it, say it, prove it - helps pupils form mental models they
can carry into their written and mental work, long after the
manipulatives are packed away. Grounded in research on how
concrete materials become mental models, and illustrated
with worked classroom examples, the session is hands-on.
Delegates will try the routine themselves exploring how to
add by bridging through 10, and leave with something to use
in their own practice.
Key takeaways:
1. Why concrete materials don’t automatically transfer to
abstract understanding and how to spot the gap.
2. A simple, repeatable routine - build, visualise, say, prove that builds mental models pupils keep.
3. How structured talk turns a concrete experience into a
mental image with secure, flexible understanding.
Remember:
No devices, downloads or apps are needed - this session is
deliberately device-free. All manipulatives and materials will
be provided.
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