The Mathematics Program at Maramba Primary School aims to develop the confidence of all students in everyday problem solving skills through explicit teaching and integration in all curriculum areas. All areas of the Victorian curriculum are investigated including Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry and Statistics and Probability.
Math lessons are taught every day. Whilst basic aspects such as computation, number facts and times tables are key elements of our program, a broader focus on problem solving ensure students learn to use their number skills in real life context.
Teachers use ongoing assessment tools to monitor individual learning needs and are confident in developing differentiated mathematical learning tasks, which suit the needs of all students.
At Maramba, we use online resources including Mathletics and many interactive technologies such as Interactive Whiteboards, TV’s, IPads and Computers to support students in developing mathematical understandings.
SOLO Taxonomy in the Classroom
At Maramba Primary School, we understand that learning is developmental and continuous. We ensure our students deepen and extend the quality of their knowledge and skills using the SOLO Taxonomy (Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes – developed through the research of John Biggs and Kevin Collis.)
SOLO Taxonomy consists of five levels of increasing complexity that move from the surface level of learning, through to deeper levels of learning, and then extending to conceptualised levels of learning.
The five SOLO Taxonomy levels are:
Prestructural: The learning is new to the student. They need assistance to develop the knowledge and skills required.
Unistructural: The student is beginning to understand the learning at a concrete, surface level.
Multistructural: The student understands several unrelated aspects of the learning.
Relational: The student can make connections with the learning, and can explain how it works at a deeper level.
Extended Abstract: The student has mastered the learning, can now conceptualise the learning and then transfer the knowledge to new areas and understandings.
Our Focus on the Individual Learner
Through explicit learning goals, differentiated success criteria and engaging learning experiences, SOLO Taxonomy provides our students with opportunities to direct their learning, assess their understandings using a variety of metacognitive approaches, and reach higher levels of learning and achievement.
We also ensure we provide a wellbeing approach to using SOLO Taxonomy strengthened by our Human Literacy Pedagogy, so that each level is celebrated as students begin to move from the concrete to the abstract.
SOLO Taxonomy is also known as a Piagetian approach to learning. Research shows that incorporating this type of developmental approach in education, increases learning achievement considerably.