Teaching advice guides 7 - 12
Numeracy is considered as the confident application of mathematical skills,
understanding and dispositions across areas of learning and within our daily lives. It involves recognising where mathematics can be used and being able to select the relevant mathematical tools and make sense of the solutions (Numeracy guide Years 3 to 8, 2023, p.4).
Teaching advice guides ensure a consistent understanding of evidence-based instruction of the numeracy demands within key learning areas and support teachers to embed the effective teaching of numeracy. They have been developed to build teacher capacity and understanding of fundamental numeracy skills evident in their syllabuses.
Using the bar model to calculate with percentages
Percentages represent a proportional relationship between quantities. Visualising proportional relationships is key to supporting student understanding when solving problems involving percentages.
Interpreting graphs
Explicitly teaching students the key features of graphs, such as axes, labels, scales, legend and title, enhances a students ability to interpret graphs and develop their statistical reasoning skills.
- Interpreting column graphs (PDF 306KB) (staff only)
- Interpreting line graphs (PDF 365KB) (staff only)
- Interpreting misleading graphs (PDF296KB) (staff only)
Additional guides will be added throughout 2025.
About these resources
Advice on use
The teaching advice guides are a series of resources to support teacher understanding of key numerical concepts that will enhance student learning across the curriculum and allow students to access numerical content related to specific topics within a range of subjects.
- The advice guides have been developed with a focus on a numeracy concept as a core concept and then specific subject examples to demonstrate how this can be applied.
- Teachers can tailor the examples to suite the concepts or topics they are currently teaching
- Leaders can use the advice guides to support teachers to embed numeracy concepts across the curriculum where they support the teaching and learning of numeracy skills aligned to syllabus outcomes
- Leaders can use teacher advice guides to support teachers in applying current school numeracy initiatives
Differentiation
When using these resources in the classroom, it is important for teachers to consider the needs of all students, including Aboriginal and EAL/D learners.
EAL/D learners will require explicit language support and scaffolding, informed by the Enhanced EAL/D enhanced teaching and learning cycle and the student’s phase on the EAL/D Learning Progressions. For further information, visit English as an additional language or dialect.
Learning adjustments enable students with disability and additional learning and support needs to access syllabus outcomes and content on the same basis as their peers. Teachers can use a range of adjustments to ensure a personalised approach to student learning.
A range of tools to identify, assess and challenge high potential and gifted learners are available to support teachers in the classroom. Identifying contributors to achievement helps teachers identify and target areas for students’ growth and improvement. A differentiation adjustment tool can be used to plan effective teaching strategies.
Alignment to system priorities and/or needs:
These resources reflect the following existing frameworks:
- Mathematics K-10 Syllabus (from 2024)
- National Numeracy Learning Progressions (Version 3)
- Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
- Literacy and numeracy five priorities
- Syllabuses A-Z (Kindergarten to Year 10)
Alignment to School Excellence Framework
These resources support the School Excellence Framework and clearly align to the following domains and themes:
Learning domain
- Learning culture: High expectations
- Curriculum: Curriculum provision, differentiation, literacy and numeracy focus
- Student performance measures: Student growth
Teaching domain
- Effective classroom practice: Lesson planning, Explicit teaching, Feedback
- Professional Standards: Improvement of practice
- Learning and development: Collaborative practice and feedback
Research base
Please see individual lesson advice guides for specific evidence base.
- Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (2020). What works best: 2020 Update
- Department of Education and Training, Victoria (n.d.) Assessments for Common Misunderstandings, DET Victoria website
- Goos, M., Geiger, V., Dole, S., Forgasz, H., Bennison, A. (2019). Numeracy across the curriculum: Research-based strategies for enhancing teaching and learning. Routledge
- Siemon D, Beswick K, Brady K, Clark J, Faragher R, and Warren E (2019) Teaching Mathematics: Foundations to middle years. Oxford University Press
Feedback
Comments and feedback to contribute to evaluation and support ongoing resource development can be provided via Literacy and Numeracy resource feedback form.
Reviewed by: Literacy and Numeracy team
Last updated: February 2024
Anticipated resource review date: February 2025