EDMA310: Learning and Teaching Mathematics 2, 2014 Assignment 1 Elizabeth Blackwell- S00126377

Rational Number Assessment

Elizabeth Blackwell

Australian Catholic University

Teacher report on your students Rational Number Knowledge and any

misconceptions (300 words)
Emmasyn lacked confidence in working with fractions and
5.1: The writing in YELLOW
shows an understanding of several times made comments about how she wasnt good at
assessment strategies to assess a fractions and they didnt do fractions much. She knew basic
range of student learning (open
ended, interviews, observations) fractions and understood decimal numbers, however she did
not appear to engage in any higher level thinking when solving
problems.
There were a few misconceptions that were evident in her mathematical knowledge. She thought
that the smaller the numerator and the denominator, the smaller the fraction. Although she was
aware that equals half, she still seemed to believe that a number like 5/7 was larger, because it
had larger numbers.
She also communicated that the more sections a whole is divided into means the bigger the whole.
There was no sign that she understood that a whole always equals 1, no matter how it is divided.
This was evident when she thought that 7/9 was bigger than 3/4 because there were more
sections.
It did not appear that the student had had a lot of experience with number lines in her mathematical
learning as she did not appear comfortable when asked to use them and took a very long time to
count all the little nodges. When she reached 1 on the number line there was zero evidence that
she understood that it was 1.0. She counted 1 and then continued 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, obviously meaning
that she was .1 off the actual number, giving her an incorrect answer.
Misconceptions were also evident when she claimed that 1/5 of 10 was half. When questioned
further she explained that 5 is half of 10. She still viewed the 5 in the fraction as a whole number of
5, not 1/5 of a whole.
5.4/5.5: This report is also a useful tool to give
feedback to parents and carers on student
progress
 EDMA310: Learning and Teaching Mathematics 2, 2014 Assignment 1 Elizabeth Blackwell- S00126377

Critical evaluation of the usefulness of mathematics interviews for gaining

knowledge about students current mathematical knowledge that can be used to
plan future learning opportunities. Be sure to draw on relevant research
literature to support your evaluation. (400 words)
Mathematical interviews are often a popular way to gain insight into not just the answers that
students provide, but their thinking and problem solving strategies. Evidence of higher order
thinking, or the opposite, can be seen in this type of setting. There are many advantages to
mathematical interviews, one of the key benefits according to Young-Loveridge (2011) being that it
requires no reading or writing skills, meaning that it can be conducted on even the youngest of
students and is available for all students to access, even those who experience difficulty with
literacy.
Another advantage is that the students teacher is the one who conducts the interview, so not only do
they have the students best interests at heart, but they can ask questions and give instructions to a
student in a way that is familiar and understood. The teacher can also ensure that the student
remains engaged with the task throughout. The teacher will then be able to see firsthand any
misconceptions or gaps in the students learning and rectify these in their teaching of maths lessons
(Young-Loveridge, 2011).
It is also important to note that a teachers knowledge of their students learning is informed by more
than just a single interview. They would have collected information about the student through
observation and interactions in the classroom, so although interviews are a valuable way to collect
data about learning, it is important to note that the answers given from a student are based on one
interview on one day and that a teachers observations could be more accurate as they are over a
period of time. The same article also goes on to say that the data that they collect is useful because
there are revelations made that would not be apparent if it wasnt for the one-to-one interaction that
occurs (Clarke, 2000).
However conducting one-to-one interviews in a class of 30 students is an added pressure to an
already crowded curriculum and time poor teachers. Although the benefits of diagnostic interviews
are clear, it is not always possible to be able to interview students, scrutinise the data and then teach
accordingly because there are not enough hours in the school day.

5.2, 5.3: This shows my knowledge of the

importance of providing feedback to students and
by giving them assessment tasks that require
engagement and a high level of thinking.
 EDMA310: Learning and Teaching Mathematics 2, 2014 Assignment 1 Elizabeth Blackwell- S00126377

Critical evaluation of the usefulness of Open Tasks with Rubrics for gaining
knowledge about students current mathematical knowledge that can be used to
plan future learning opportunities. Be sure to draw on relevant research
literature to support your evaluation. (400 words)
Open Tasks are a great way for students to explore numbers and problems and to be creative with
the way they reach their answer. It encourages them to think in different ways about mathematics
and if done in a classroom setting allows them to see for themselves the many ways that the same
question can be approached and solved. (Sullivan, 2009).
According to Ferguson (2009), some teachers aim their lessons at the middle band ability students,
claiming that this will reach the most students. However it leaves the students who are weaker in
maths struggling to understand and often the above average students are bored and not challenged.
An open task has the opportunity to be extended and simplified where needed.
Open tasks are an example of a rich task. This means that opportunities are created for students to
explore maths problems and strengthen their thinking and reasoning skills. They are potential
stepping stones in guiding students to access important mathematical ideas and developing their
interests. One of the most important points of a rich task is that the problem must be accessible all
students at the start. Often teachers have focus groups to extend the students who find the tasks
easy, while leaving the other students to gain more practice. However they are being left to get
practice in something that they probably havent understood from the start.
Open tasks mean that all students can be completing the same question at the same time, just at
different levels of thinking and solving (Ferguson, 2009).
Rubrics highlight to students what they will be assessed on and how they will be assessed, meaning
that everyone is marked fairly. However the problem with this is what is fair. What might be a
personal best for one student, who receives a Task Accomplished, might be a mediocre effort for
another student who could do better. Is it fair to mark such a broad spectrum of abilities that we find
in our classroom all from the one set of criteria? Although there are some questionable aspects of
using rubrics as a form of assessment, one of the main positives is that it not only highlights what
the students have learned, but it shows how well they have learned it (Gough, 2006).
Rubrics have their place in assessment; however we must be careful when using one set of criteria
to evaluate all of our students.
 EDMA310: Learning and Teaching Mathematics 2, 2014 Assignment 1 Elizabeth Blackwell- S00126377

Reference List
Clarke, D., & Cheeseman, J. (2000). Some insights from the first year of the Early Numeracy
Reaearch Project. Improving Numeracy Learning: What does the research tell us? ACER
Research Conference 2000. 6-10.

Ferguson, S., (2009). Same Task, Different Paths: catering for student diversity in the mathematics
classroom. Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers, 14 (2), 32-36.

Gough, J., (2006). Rubrics in Assessment. Vinculum, (43) 1, 8-13.

Sullivan, P., Griffioen, M., Gray, H., & Powers, C. (2009). Exploring Open-Ended Tasks as Teacher
Learning. Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers, 14 (2), 4-8.

Young- Loveridge, J. (2011). Assessing the mathematical thinking of young children in New
Zealand: the initial school years. Early Child Development and Care, (181:2), 267-276.