What is Maths Pathway?
Maths Pathway is a Learning and Teaching Model that is re-imagining the way mathematics is taught in schools. The model is research-driven and has been developed to support success for all students in mathematics.
Maths Pathway combines a range of teaching methods and classroom practices with an online learning environment to support individualised learning for each student. With Maths Pathway, teachers have the tools and the time to address each student's individual learning needs. This includes developing their problem solving, independent learning, and group work skills, and helping students develop a growth mindset towards their mathematics learning.
What does it look like day-to-day?
In your new Maths Pathway classroom, students will first be tested on their current levels of understanding across the entirety of the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics, levels 1–10A (mapped to each state’s curriculum automatically). This is done so that the system can pinpoint exactly where each student's strengths and weaknesses are.
Once we have this overall picture of a student’s current capacities, students can access and learn new content at a level that is appropriate for them. They access this work in the form of modules on their own online Learning Map.
In class, the students and teacher work together in regular learning cycles. Generally around two weeks long, each cycle ends with a short test and reflection. Lessons in each learning cycle fall into three broad categories: rich lessons, personalised learning lessons, and test lessons.
Rich lessons are a chance for the whole class to work together on broader problem solving and multi-topic problems.
Personalised learning lessons are the lessons where students can access and learn new content individually (or with a partner), and when teachers can engage in targeted, explicit instruction with a small group of students ('Mini-Lessons').
Test lessons are when the teacher runs a short, end-of-cycle test to help gauge students' progress over time, and has the opportunity to run Check-ins with the students and set learning goals. These tests are both summative and formative; they assess recently learned content and provide data to inform what students learn next.
Over the course of a term, a class will usually complete three to four of these cycles, and spend a week on a large rich project. Terms runs this way give the student variety in what they're learning, allows students to develop a range of learning skills and gives the teacher the opportunity to make sure that all the students' learning needs are being met.
An example of a term timetable. The blue indicates classes where the students could work
individually and the teacher can run Mini-Lessons.
Other articles on the Knowledge Base go into the various processes and technical aspects of Maths Pathway in detail. We recommend reading the other articles in the MP101 category to familiarise yourself with the core concepts of the Learning and Teaching Model, and then browse the other sections at your leisure for other helpful articles.
For answers to common questions about Maths Pathway, see this article.