Proven to be world’s best practise
After our series of successful nationwide PR1ME workshops,
more and more Australian Primary schools are considering
taking on PR1ME Mathematics, a whole school maths
practice based on the approach of top-performing nations.
Our Head of Education, Christine Vale was interviewed by
The West Australian about why PR1ME works.
Read the article here…
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
BETHANY HIATT THE WEST AUSTRALIAN JUNE 12, 2014
Asian maths trial for WA kids
Year 1 students at Ellenbrook PrimarySchool — Riley Fernie, Poppy
Eisenhauer-Dowton and Jordan Roman — are taking part in a trial using
books based on Asian maths teaching.
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
Asian maths trial for WA kids
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN JUNE 12, 2014
“
It’s [PR1ME
mathematics] very
much getting the
kids to think and
talk about the way
they understand
mathematics.
”
Christine Vale, Head of Education,
Scholastic Australia
Primed for results: Ellenbrook Primary School students
Brock Johnson and Ashlin Kirke. Picture: Lincoln Baker
Some WA schools are adopting primary
school textbooks based on the way maths
is taught in Asian countries which top
international tests.
Book publisher Scholastic says its newly
released Prime Mathematics books
incorporate the best practices of Singapore,
South Korea and Hong Kong, the
consistent top performers on international
assessments.
Scholastic’s head of education Christine
Vale, who held workshops in Perth yesterday
for 60 principals and teachers, said the
books introduced topics at an earlier age
and covered them in more depth than the
Australian curriculum.
“What is taught in fractions in Year 3 in
Singapore, some of it is not taught until our
kids are in Year 6,” Ms Vale said.
“It’s not rote learning, though that is the
perception. It’s very much getting the kids
to think and talk about the way they
understand mathematics.”
Ellenbrook Primary School principal Neil
MacNeill said he would run a trial of the
books with sample classes next semester
and then compare their results with students
doing standard lessons. Other schools plan
to introduce the books next year.
Mr MacNeill said Ellenbrook was enrolling
more students from immigrant families and
it was embarrassing when parents could
demonstrate their children’s maths standard
was higher than the Australian curriculum.
“What influenced us also was our belief
that the Singapore maths standards can be
taught by our teachers, and is probably no
different to what was taught in WA schools
30 years ago,” he said.
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and
Reporting Authority communications
director Robyn Ziino said that by Year 10
Australian students would have mostly
covered the same content as they would
in Singapore.
Find out more about PR1ME Mathematics.
www.scholastic.com.au/PRIME
Please call 02 4329 9408 or email us
[email protected]
Proven to be world’s best practise
MORE PR1ME
WORKSHOPS
COMING!
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w.scholastic.com.
au/
professionallea
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