Promoting Math Literacy in Classrooms

We’re Teaching Numbers Wrong — Let’s Rethink How We Start. What an irony. We write “This is 5” on the board… …but the child has never seen five. Never touched five. Never counted five. This is where most children — especially in early years — start getting lost. We skip the counting experience, and jump straight to the number symbol. And then we wonder why they forget, confuse, or struggle. In a recent teacher training, I was shocked — many educators had never heard of the CPA approach: Concrete → Pictorial → Abstract. And that’s the real gap. NEP 2020 and NIPUN Bharat clearly say: “Children must build number sense through hands-on, meaningful experiences rooted in their environment.” Yet most classrooms begin with a marker and a number chart. We need to flip that. Let’s see what it should really look like: Introducing the Number 3: Concrete: Give children 3 bangles, 3 spoons, 3 flowers — let them touch, count, and see “three-ness” in the real world. Use claps, jumps, or stomps — 3 actions, not just objects. Pictorial: Show 3 suns, 3 fish, or 3 kites in a picture. Let children draw or point. Ask: “How many do you see?” Abstract: Now show the symbol 3. They’ve lived it. Now they’ll own it. Real Classroom Examples (FLN-aligned): • Count 3 children with ponytails • Collect 4 leaves from the ground • Match 5 blocks to 5 bowls • Clap 2 times for every number you say • Line up 6 cups at the pretend tea shop These are not “activities”. They are essential steps in building number understanding. So here’s the tough truth: If we start with the number symbol — we’re teaching it wrong. If we let them explore, count, touch, move — they get it. Let’s teach from the child’s world — not from the textbook. Because the goal is not just number recognition. It’s number understanding. And once they understand, the learning never fades. #Numeracy #EarlyYears #NEP2020 #NIPUNBharat #NumberSense #FLN #CPAMethod #HappyClassrooms #HandsOnLearning #MathIsEverywhere

I love talking about all things structured literacy and the science of reading, but something I rarely mention is my passion for teaching math. Over the years, I’ve developed a toolkit full of strategies that have helped kids succeed in math as well. First off, we know phonemic awareness is the foundation for reading. But what is the equivalent for math? It’s subitizing—the ability to recognize and visualize quantities without counting. That’s why we’re always playing dice games, dominoes, and using fingers to show numbers. Kids need to physically see what a 2, 3, 4, or 5, etc. looks like because it helps them internalize these quantities and apply that understanding in other areas, like money. For instance, we use touchpoints on money, where each dot represents a value of 5. A nickel gets one dot, a dime two, and a quarter five. This tactile, visual approach helps kids grasp the concept of money more concretely. When we learn place value, we call the hundreds, tens, and ones the horrible, terrible ogres, and we connect it to Shrek! We ask questions like, “Can Shrek bundle a ten to help save Donkey or Fiona?” It makes the concept so much more engaging for the kids. When we learn to tell time, we say the small hour hand is green like the grass because we need to figure out whose backyard it’s in. For example, if the hour hand is between 2 and 3, we know it’s in 2’s backyard. The long minute hand is brown because it has more details, and we count by 5s to figure it out. These fun strategies make abstract concepts more relatable and easier to remember. I was so proud to see my students’ computation scores (two-minute addition and subtraction facts, two-digit by two-digit) on the recent Acadience benchmark! Every student scored above grade level and made it into the blue zone. They’ve truly mastered how to add and subtract. However, I noticed that more students struggled with the Concepts and Applications section, which includes word problems. This reinforced something I already knew: reading impacts every subject. If students struggle to read, it’s going to affect their ability to solve word problems in math. They can calculate beautifully when it’s just numbers, but reading comprehension is key for understanding the problems. This shows how interconnected all subjects are and why building strong foundational literacy skills is so important. I'm thrilled with their progress, but this was a good reminder to keep integrating reading support into every part of the day—even in math.

This new guide from the Grattan Institute is a great example of how to apply the science of learning to dramatically improve primary maths, at a time when a third of Australian students are lacking basic maths skills. Recommendations: - Treat maths like literacy: protected, prioritised, and planned across the school. - Implement daily fluency practice and lesson warm-ups to revisit old content. - Use or adapt high-quality curriculum materials rather than starting from scratch. - Introduce shared lesson structures with daily review, explicit instruction, and independent practice. - Appoint a maths instructional leader with time to coach, model, and observe. - Align assessment practices with instruction and use them to guide reteaching. - Begin with small wins: start with daily review or one year level and scale up. https://lnkd.in/ewrayJfF

A stat from a recent Newsweek article caught my attention: 12th-grade reading and math scores have dropped to their lowest levels in 20 years, according to the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). In a conversation with Courtney Nagle, Vice President of Teaching and Research at Big Ideas Learning (BIL), we talked about what this means for classrooms today. Across the country, teachers are navigating diverse student needs, limited instructional time, and the pressure to cover rigorous standards, all while trying to build deep, lasting understanding. One of the most persistent challenges? Confidence. Math is often seen as a subject that comes naturally to some and not others, a mindset that affects students, parents, and even teachers. We believe that every student is capable of learning mathematics. The key is how we teach it. At BIL, we’ve listened closely to teachers and built a curriculum designed to boost confidence through engagement, relevance, and support. Students aren’t just memorizing equations, they’re exploring concepts, connecting math to real life, and seeing themselves as capable problem-solvers. Teachers are equipped with real-time learner data and built-in guidance from planning to assessment, helping them meet each student where they are. This approach is making a measurable impact. A recent efficacy study of BIL’s Math & YOU curriculum conducted by Project Tomorrow found: 🧑🏫 78% of teachers said the curriculum made them more effective 🧠 94% rated it as rigorous in how it deepens thinking and builds real-world application 📈 83% saw stronger student engagement We’ve also seen what’s possible when this work is done at scale. In DeKalb County, Alabama, a district-wide adoption of BIL resources helped reimagine math instruction and led to dramatic student improvement over five years. As we look ahead, the question isn’t just how we raise scores, it’s how we build learning environments where every student feels capable, curious, and confident. Check out the full Newsweek article to learn more: https://lnkd.in/gRk6Kiss #MathEducation #StudentSuccess #K12Education 

Is South Africa’s maths crisis a Mandela Day call to action?   Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Yet today, on Mandela Day, we face a sobering truth: that weapon is growing blunt. In 2024, less than 10% of learners in South Africa scored above 80% in core mathematics at the matric level. At the same time, more students are opting for Math's Literacy, and the 30% pass mark for core math's remains a troubling standard. Alongside the student crisis, teacher development in the maths curriculum is lagging, leading to a perverse incentive of pushing more learners down the Maths Literacy pathway in search of higher metric throughput passes. But a pass of poor quality, is in fact no pass at all. With fewer learners matriculating with core maths, fewer are entering university to pursue business, engineering, and technology degrees. The ripple effect on the sustainability of the economy is at risk.  For us as a business hiring talent, this has created a bottleneck. Banks, engineering firms, tech companies, and professional services are all competing for a small pool of mathematically proficient graduates. The result is a talent crunch that threatens our economic growth, innovation potential, and global competitiveness. And in a country grappling with high youth unemployment, we find ourselves in a paradox: businesses need skilled talent, and young people need jobs, yet the two aren’t connecting. Why? What Needs to Change. Curriculum Reform: We must reimagine the maths curriculum to be more engaging, relevant, and supportive, without sacrificing rigour. Yes, maths can be fun! Teacher Development: Investing in maths teacher training is not optional. It’s essential. Passionate, well-equipped educators can transform classrooms and futures. Early Intervention: Maths anxiety starts young. Targeted programmes in primary schools can build interest, confidence, and foundational skills early on. Public-Private Partnerships: Corporates must do more than recruit talent. They must help nurture it. Sponsorships, mentorships, and school outreach can make a real impact. For example, SAICA’s Thuthuka Bursary Programme, which supports previously disadvantaged students in becoming chartered accountants, currently has over 1,000 students in the university system. Community Engagement: Parents and communities must be part of the solution. We need to foster a culture that values and encourages mathematical thinking. How Do We Do Our Bit? Mandela Day is about action. Whether you're a teacher, parent, policymaker, or professional, you have a role to play. Can you mentor a student, support a maths initiative, sponsor a school programme, start a conversation, or advocate for policy change? Let’s not wait for change. Let’s be the change. If you're working on solutions in this space, I’d love to hear from you.

Using Error Analysis to Improve Numeracy Instruction One thing that has become clear in my work in foundational learning is this: mistakes are not just mistakes, they are windows into a child’s thinking. Through the Daara Project, funded by the Gates Foundation , we worked with teachers in Oyo State to shift the way they approach errors in early-grade numeracy. Instead of simply correcting mistakes, teachers were supported to analyze the patterns in students' errors, understand the misconceptions behind them, and adjust their instruction accordingly. Over the past few months, we engaged teachers through: ✅ Review and study common numeracy errors in early grades ✅ Teacher consultative sessions to co-design strategies that work in real classrooms ✅ Mobile resources to support teachers beyond training sessions ✅ Error analysis diaries, helping teachers document and track student progress ✅ A strong focus on place value methods, reinforcing strategies that help children grasp basic math concepts effectively I’m proud of the work we’ve done, but there’s still so much more to be done. Error analysis has the potential to transform the way teachers approach numeracy instruction, but for it to be sustainable, we need systemic support, teacher professional development, and policies that embed this approach into everyday teaching. Look out for a robust publication where we will share deeper insights from our work, including lessons learned and what this means for improving foundational numeracy at scale. If you're working in foundational learning or have insights on similar projects, I’d love to hear your thoughts. How can we better equip teachers to use error analysis in their classrooms? Let’s keep this conversation going. I worked alongside Daniel Ayala and an amazing team at The Education Partnership (TEP) Centre #Numeracy #Education #DaaraProject #ErrorAnalysis