Video transcript
Welcome to the Familiarisation and planning series of online sessions designed to introduce curriculum leaders and teachers to Australian Curriculum Version 9.0: Mathematics in Prep–Year 6. In this second session in the series, we will be focusing on the Curriculum elements section of the curriculum. In our first session, we covered the Understand this learning area section of the curriculum and our final session in the series will address planning considerations for Australian Curriculum Version 9.0.
Acknowledgment of Country
The QCAA acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we meet today. We pay our respects to their Elders and their descendants who continue cultural and spiritual connections to Country, and we extend that respect to Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people here today. We thank them for sharing their cultures and spiritualities and recognise the important contribution of this knowledge to our understanding of this place we call home.
Learning goal and success criteria
In Session 2, our learning goal is to understand the implications of change to the Australian Curriculum Version 9.0: Mathematics to plan for the transition in your own context.
You will know you have been successful if you have more knowledge about the curriculum elements in the revised curriculum for Mathematics and can identify actions for planning in your school.
Session 2 outline
This recording is accompanied by a worksheet for you to record your responses to the activities and reflection points throughout the presentation.
If you have not already done so, please take some time now to download or print the Session 2 outline resource.
Outline for Session 2
There are three parts to this session as outlined on screen.
Introduction to Australian Curriculum v9.0
We began Session 1 in the series by orienting ourselves to a process we can use to engage with the changes in Australian Curriculum Version 9.0.
Let’s briefly review that process now.
Identifying actions for planning in your context
Here is the approach we proposed to assist schools in their implementation of the revised curriculum.
In this second session, we are going to be looking at the specific elements of the curriculum that will have an impact on your teaching, learning and assessment.
As we consider this section of the curriculum, focus your thinking on how much you may need to refine, realign, reimagine or remove aspects of your current plans.
Organisation of Mathematics and changes
On screen now, we have the organisation of Mathematics outlining the main changes in structure between Version 8.4 and Version 9.0, which we discussed in more detail in Session 1 in the series.
Highlighted in orange you can see our focus for this session is on the Curriculum elements and the changes that can be seen there.
Curriculum elements
We will now move onto our core focus for this second session in the series about Familiarisation and planning for the revised curriculum for Mathematics, the Curriculum elements section.
Organisation of Mathematics
We’ll work through each of these Curriculum elements for Mathematics, spending most time on the achievement standards and content descriptions.
Identifying actions for planning in your context
As we work through the Mathematics Curriculum elements section and the changes we can see in Version 9.0, let’s keep our process for identifying actions for planning in mind.
Here is where we can begin to audit our current plans and consider what is the same in Australian Curriculum Version 9.0 and what is different.
Pause and reflect: Similarities and differences
You may wish to construct your own note-taking template like the one indicated on screen to help you identify the similarities and differences you notice that may shape your planning for the new curriculum.
A table has been provided for you in the Session 2 outline resource referred to at the start of this recording.
Organisation of Mathematics
We will begin by focusing on the level description and achievement standard in the Curriculum elements section.
Level descriptions
The level description provides an overview of the learning that students should experience in each year and echoes the rationale and aims of the Mathematics curriculum.
On the screen is the opening level description paragraph that is consistent from Prep to Year 10, with the exception of Prep that has reference to the Early Years Learning Framework.
The level description includes a sentence relating to the key consideration of proficiency in Mathematics.
Each level description from Prep to Year 10 identifies the importance of proficiency in Mathematics and the need for students to respond to familiar and unfamiliar situations.
This language has been included in the QCAA standards elaborations. Please refer to the QCAA website for more information about the use of the standards elaborations in Mathematics.
Achievement standard structure
Let’s now move onto the achievement standard, which is used by schools to gather evidence against the relevant achievement standard across the teaching and learning cycle.
The organisation of the achievement standard in Version 9.0 for Mathematics has changed so let’s explore what this means for your planning.
On screen, you can see Version 8.4 on the left, and Version 9.0 on the right.
In Version 8.4 the achievement standard was presented in a two-paragraph structure. The first paragraph outlining the knowledge and understanding, and the second paragraph the skills.
In Version 9.0, the achievement standard is structured in a three-paragraph structure, sequenced in the order of how the content strands appear in the curriculum.
Noting that in Prep–Year 2, the third paragraph only contains Statistics content as Probability is not introduced until Year 3.
Mathematics: Achievement standard structure
On the screen is the Year 6 achievement standard presented in three paragraphs. We’re now going to explore the Version 9.0 structure of the achievement standard in more detail.
As mentioned earlier, the Version 9.0 achievement standard is sequenced in the same order that content strands appear in the curriculum.
In the first paragraph you will find Number content itemised first, then you will find Algebra content itemised straight after.
In the second paragraph you will find Measurement content itemised at the top of the paragraph, then followed by the Space content and finally, in the third paragraph, you will find Statistics content itemised first, then you will find Probability content itemised last.
Other important changes to the Version 9.0 achievement standard are the inclusions of the Key considerations of the four Mathematical processes mentioned in Session 1 of this series.
The four Mathematical processes are:
- mathematical modelling
- computational thinking
- statistical investigations and
- probability experiments and simulations.
And they are highlighted on the screen in orange.
The other important change to the Version 9.0 achievement standard is the inclusion of the Key considerations involving the use of digital tools in the Mathematics curriculum.
In this Year 6 example, the use of digital tools has been bolded.
Pause and reflect: Achievement standards
We will now pause to reflect on what we have just heard about the changes to the achievement standard for Year 6.
When you are exploring the changes in other year levels, how might you approach this with your colleagues?
You may wish to use some of the strategies we have just outlined or download the QCAA resources mentioned for distribution to your teaching teams.
Use the Session 2 outline resource to record your thoughts.
Organisation of Mathematics
In Session 1 of this series, we identified the changes to the strand structure including how the three content strands in Version 8.4 have all been separated so there are now six strands.
These six strands are: Number, Algebra, Measurement, Space, Statistics and Probability.
Let’s now look at the content descriptions which inform teaching and learning and underpin assessment.
Content descriptions specify the knowledge, understanding and skills students are expected to learn and that teachers are expected to teach.
The content descriptions for Mathematics have undergone a high degree of refinement, re-alignment, re-sequencing and new content inclusions so let’s explore how this will influence our planning for Version 9.0.
On the screen, the green section shows the notable inclusions to the Version 9.0 Mathematics curriculum including new specific concepts like error and approximation from Year 2, as well as the new mathematical processes.
On the screen, the red section shows the notable removal of seasons and probability in the early years, and the orange section shows the content from Version 8.4 that has been redefined.
All content descriptions that were in the sub-strand of Money and financial mathematics except one in Year 3, can be found as a context to solve practical problems relating to the process of mathematical modelling.
The grey section shows some of the main content that has been moved and re-sequenced across the curriculum.
Perhaps you may like to pause the video at this point to allow time to investigate the detail on screen and consider how it may influence your planning for Version 9.0.
Comparison of AC v8.4 to v9.0 documents
All of the specific changes to the content descriptions for Mathematics are shown on comparison documents on the QCAA website.
On screen now is an example of one of these resources.
Let’s unpack this example a little more to help you understand how you can use it in your planning for the revised curriculum for Mathematics.
Shown on screen is a snip of the Year 1 document which shows how the changes are colour coded.
If something has been removed from Version 8.4 and no longer appears in Version 9.0, it will be colour coded RED.
For example: in Version v9.0 you will not see specific mention of ‘coins and their value’ in content descriptions or achievement standards, with the exception of one in Year 3. As mentioned earlier, all content descriptions that were in the sub-strand of Money and financial mathematics in v8.4, can be found as a context to solve practical problems relating to the process of mathematical modelling.
If there is something new that has been added to Version 9.0, which you will not have done in Version 8.4, then it will be highlighted GREEN.
If a content description has moved year levels or across strands from Version 8.4 to Version 9.0, it will be highlighted BLUE. There will also be a bold note to indicate what year level it has moved from or to, or which strand it has moved to within that year level.
The Mathematics comparison documents also include an advice section titled ‘Consideration for planning for the first year of implementation’.
This section highlights the content changes between Version 8.4 and Version 9.0 that may influence the sequence of students’ learning.
On the screen is the advice section from the Year 1 comparison document.
The table identifies specific changes between Version 8.4 and Version 9.0 that may influence the sequence of students’ learning.
The table also identifies the specific Version 9.0 content descriptions the teacher needs to pay attention to particularly in relation to planning teaching and learning programs for the first year of implementation.
The column to the left identifies the specific Version 8.4 content students would have experienced in the year prior to the implementation of Version 9.0 for Year 1 students.
The column to the right outlines the considerations and possible suggestions for planning teaching and learning programs when transitioning Prep students who have experienced the Version 8.4 curriculum to Year 1 students who will be experiencing the Version 9.0 curriculum.
Pause and reflect: Key messages
What are the key messages from this section of the curriculum that have resonated with you? Take a moment now to note down your key messages from this session.
Formulating next steps
That concludes our review of the Curriculum elements section and the changes to achievement standards and content descriptions for Mathematics.
Let’s pause and recap what we have considered in this second session in our Familiarisation and planning series and what we can do with our new base of knowledge to help us plan for Version 9.0.
Identifying actions for planning in your context
As we have worked through both Sessions 1 and 2, we’ve been in the review and audit phase, considering the similarities and differences we’ve observed in the Understand this learning area and Curriculum elements sections of the Australian Curriculum Version 9.0 for Mathematics.
Let’s now turn our attention to what these similarities and differences might mean for our teaching and learning, and assessment plans to identify some actions for ourselves from here. With the information you now have from participating in these sessions, you can start to make some decisions about how much you may need to refine, realign, reimagine or remove from your current programs to meet the requirements of the Australian Curriculum Version 9.0 for Mathematics.
Pause and reflect
Consider what you have heard about the changes to the Understand this learning area information and the Curriculum elements,
As you plan for the transition to the new Curriculum for Mathematics, where do you need to focus your attention?
We now encourage you to pause the presentation to allow you to start that decision-making process.
Reflecting on what you’ve heard, and considering your current plans, you may be thinking that implementation of Version 9.0 in your context will largely be about making refinements to what you have already got. You’ve recognised that you have a solid foundation in your current Mathematics plan and the changes in Version 9.0 will only mean minor adjustments to your teaching and learning activities and assessments.
Alternatively, in other contexts, and perhaps in certain year levels only, you may need to consider realigning your activities and assessment based on changes to the content descriptions and achievement standards we’ve discussed for Mathematics Version 9.0.
Perhaps there are certain year levels where you want to reimagine some units. You may have been reflecting on the changes we’ve discussed in Sessions 1 and 2 and decided it is an opportunity to re-design some teaching and learning activities or assessment tasks. Therefore, has the Version 9.0 curriculum prompted some new thinking for you about how to move your plans forward?
Finally, in your context, will some aspects need to be removed in order to meet the requirements of Mathematics Version 9.0?
Pause and reflect: Identifying actions
Consider your current teaching and learning and assessment plans across Prep–Year 6 in the context of these changes.
Make some decisions about how much you need to refine, realign, reimagine or remove.
You may wish to use the continuum in the session outline resource to track your thinking and plot each aspect according to the level of change required in your plans as indicated by the image on screen.
Pause the session recording and take some time to evaluate where the majority of your work will be as you plan for Australian Curriculum Version 9.0 in your context.
Learning goal and success criteria
As the session comes to a close, let us reflect on our learning goal and success criteria.
We have built our knowledge about Australian Curriculum Version 9.0: Mathematics and identified some actions for planning in our particular school context.
In the next session
That concludes the second session and our discussion on the Curriculum elements section of Australian Curriculum Version 9.0 for Mathematics.
In the final session of our series on Familiarisation and planning, we will be discussing how to plan with the revised curriculum.
On screen, you will see an infographic that is part of our Elements of effective planning resource.
For the next session
You may wish to access this resource to familiarise yourself with its contents prior to the next session.
On screen, you can see where this resource is available on the QCAA website.
Contact
If you have any queries regarding the information from this session, please reach out to the K–10 Curriculum and Assessment Branch with the contact details noted on screen.
We thank you for your time in completing this session and look forward to working with you in Session 3 of the Familiarisation and planning series.
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- Last updated:
- 12 July 2024
