Emily shared some of the statistics and research from New Zealand and internationally that has informed this approach to mathematics teaching. She also unpacked what learning and teaching looks like in a maths lesson using the DMIC approach.

Emily emphasised that maths is something that can be learnt and done by everyone, and that it also involves taking risks and struggling with problems. She also reiterated that the maths students are learning has not changed, it is just the approach to teaching it. Knowledge of mathematics facts and rules are important, but equally students must also have a deep understanding of why and how the mathematics works and be able to communicate this.

The evening concluded with Emily presenting an example of the sort of mathematics task students might encounter in their maths lessons. There was lots of discussion as groups of parents worked together to solve a fractions task. There were many different approaches taken and lots of interesting representations and equations were drawn to support each group’s answers. Emily then shared how some of our own students in Year 4 had solved and justified their own answers to the same task.

It was a fun and informative evening, and it was great to see the enthusiasm and interest shown for this very important part of our school curriculum.