EDUC3626

Assessing Mathematical
Understanding
Interview
Snap with a twist
 Areas assessed by the Interview
• Counting
• Place value
• Strategies for addition & subtraction
• Strategies for multiplication & division
• Time
• Length
• Mass
• Properties of shape
• Visualisation
 Areas assessed by the Interview
• Counting
• Place value
• Strategies for addition & subtraction
• Strategies for multiplication & division
• Time
• Length
• Mass
• Properties of shape
• Visualisation
Why Use the
Assessment FOR learning
Interview ? • Understand individual students’
needs

• Find out how students ‘think’ and

‘feel’ while doing Mathematical
tasks
• Gain insight into student thought
process in action
• Generate detailed profiles
showing students achievement in
relation to points of growth
• Track student growth over time
• Inform planning for focused
teaching at the point of need
 Enables students to showcase their
skills and understandings due to
individualised pathways through the
Interview
The learner at the centre
Mabble
This is NOT the time to give the benefit
of the doubt!
• As teachers we often want to think the best of our
students and give them the best we can
• This is NOT one of those situations
• If you give students the benefit of the doubt we may
be doing them a great disservice
• If a student misses the opportunity to have enough
experiences because of being given the benefit of the
doubt, they may never really understand the concept.
• Better to OVER do it rather than UNDER do it
• If a child has the concept deeply embedded they won’t
make careless errors
 Using the Interview results to plan
your program
• Step 1
Ideally interviewing is conducted by the
classroom teacher for the students in their
class.
An important part of the interview is the
relationship building between student and
teacher, and the information that can be
gathered by observation
 Using the Interview results to plan
your program
• Step 2:
Feel confident with the Interview data you
have received.

A classroom teacher would ask: Is there data

that doesn’t fit with your understanding/
perception of the student’s prior knowledge?
If so, review the Interview results and consider
what might have affected the student’s
responses.
 Using the Interview results to plan
your program
• Step 3:
Use the profiles to reveal the student’s highest
point of growth achieved in each area.
• Use ‘student profile’ or ‘group profile’ to
group students together who present with
similar learning needs.
 Using the Interview results to plan
your program
• Step 4:
Determine the specific learning focus of the
next mathematics session.
• Using the previous profile an example learning
focus may be ‘Visualising patterns in the
Hundreds chart’.
 Using the Interview results to plan
your program
• Step 5:
Consider the context for the learning
experiences and activities (games, materials,
resources, calculators etc).

The Mathematics Developmental Continuum

can support this selection with some powerful
examples of tasks and guidance on effective
teaching strategies.
Building on what students already
know and are able to do
 Interview influencing classroom
planning
• Types of tasks become part of classroom
programming and learning experiences for
students
• Strategies promoted in the Interview, for example
‘near doubles’ will become powerful in the
teaching environment
• Focus on mental computation rather than formal
written algorithms as the only option
• Importance of articulating thinking – this should
be valued and shared often
• Use of materials to support students to
develop visual images of their thinking –
from concrete to abstract over time
 Interview influencing professional
learning for teachers …
• The Interview results can provide an opportunity
to discuss efficient ways to move students
forward – best practice.
• For example: Length – how can we more
effectively support students to move from ‘using
uniform units appropriately to quantify length’ to
‘using formal units for estimating and measuring
length, with accuracy’?
• What knowledge do teachers need to plan
effective learning experiences around this
concept?
http://www.nlnw.nsw.edu.au/videos09/lo_Bobis
_Teaching/lo_Bobis_Teaching_00.htm
The learning journal will be submitted in two parts. Students may choose a format that
best suits them (e.g. electronic, file, portfolio, display book, notebook, stapled pages) and the
final product may comprise of a range of pieces (e.g. handwritten notes, lecture and workshop
notes, lesson plans, checklists, reflections, photocopies of work samples, photographs etc.). Do
NOT use plastic sleeves.

Part 1 (30%) which is due on Friday 21 September 2018 will include:

•Information about diagnostic assessment for future professional use
•Coded interviews of the students tested and a reflection about each of their specific needs
•Reflections on each of the readings

Part 2 (40%) which is due on Monday 5 November 2018 will include:

•Descriptions of useful activities for the range of growth points
•Lesson plans
•Reflections on completed lessons (teaching and learning)
•Evidence of assessment of students’ learning
•An individual report on each student taught (to be sent electronically)

The learning journal should demonstrate what skills and knowledge have been developed over
the duration of the semester. There is no specific word count set but it is envisaged that the final
product will be a significant piece of work, developed continuously over the semester. All work
pieces should demonstrate that the compilation and completion task has developed over the
semester. It is anticipated that the final product is something that students would be proud to
take into an interview as evidence of knowledge and skill in the area of diagnostic assessment in
 Interview Rehearsal
• Counting
• Place Value

Work through the interview areas of Counting

and Place Value with each person taking a turn
as teacher and student.