Looking at the Bigger Picture: Maths in NZ

Are NZ teachers really failing our students in maths? In 2020, Year 9 students scores in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) fell by the largest margins since the study began in 1994. There is a large gap in the achievement of students from high vs low socioeconomic backgrounds and girls are outperforming boys.

However, it also found that the students home environment had the biggest impact on their achievement across all countries.  

In the holidays, I spent two weeks at a daycare with a 'high decile' rating whose roll consisted largely of south east asian students and then pakeha (groups who have been found to have the highest achievement in mathematics). 

The first thing I noticed was the students language skills. The three year olds were using phrases and full sentences, asking questions and speaking enough that you could pick up on their thought processes and understanding of the activity they were engaging with. They were excited to learn, quickly picking up anything that was given to them, including mathematical concepts. These children could count, name shapes and identify numbers. 

The daycare had a school transition programme for 4.5 year olds, that very much resembled a new entrants classroom. I saw these students engage with a PE lesson, but they had writing practice (letter formation, writing their names etc.), discussed books and learnt basic maths skills. 

I finally realised the full significance of the early years and the impact it has on student learning. As a year 7/8 teacher, I have might have taught a few students who were learning at level 1 of the curriculum, but I hadn't witnessed the speed at which under fives acquire knowledge. 

Learning is natural with these children. I think of the mathematical concepts I have already introduced to my 20 month old daughter unintentionally - halves, quarters, counting, shapes, patterns, big vs small... She loves playing 'numbers game' where, as we walk to the playground, she notices the numbers on letter boxes and gleefully names them. She is excited to understand more of the world around her. This was something she came up with, but I reinforce with high fives for correct numbers and share excitement in them with her. 

So I could have come out of this experience feeling hopeless, or blaming our maths results on larger societal issues, but it has made me think about the way children learn again. Is there joy in my maths classroom? Are we learning through multiple modes? What experiences have my students missed out on and how can I recreate them in an age appropriate way? 

Lots to think about. As a follow up, I'm going to spend a little bit of time observing maths with our new entrants and get a clearer picture of where my students started from. Perhaps there is something I could take from the junior school and apply to my own learners.