New pathways for numeracy across school cluster

Westlake Girls’ High School students led a “Mission to Mars” STEAM workshop for primary and intermediate students.

Professional learning and development for kaiako is currently underway across Te Kāhui Ako o Pupuke as they prepare to embed Coherent Pathways to Numeracy into the mathematics curriculum. 

Throughout 2022, representatives from each school in Te Kāhui Ako o Pupuke, plus two early learning representatives, have been coming together to collaborate on improving teacher capability ahead of implementing Coherent Pathways to Numeracy across the kura community next year. 

A maths roadmap for all schools in the cluster has been drafted and will be refined again before it’s embedded into the curriculum in early 2023, with the goal of arming learners with the mathematics knowledge they need to succeed in employment. 

Mathematics across contexts

Te Kāhui Ako o Pupuke across-school lead Katrina Hosken says the Coherent Pathways to Numeracy team worked alongside ImpactEd facilitators during the development phase, with the understanding that mathematics is an essential element within a broad range of contexts. 

Ākonga benefit significantly from the attitudes, skills and knowledge learned in problem-solving subjects, which can then be applied across a broad range of arenas. 

Katrina says the collaboration has facilitated rich discussions and led to cohesion across all schools.

“This document will enable smooth transitions as students move through the kāhui ako on their learning journey,” she says. 

Identifying learning that matters

Kaiako are currently undergoing professional learning and development, a vital step that allows them to connect with ImpactEd’s passionate and knowledgeable maths facilitators, to clarify their vision statements before they begin the implementation. 

Te Kāhui Ako o Pupuke across-school lead Paula Snowball says this approach will “improve teacher capability and identify the learning that matters.”

“The facilitator support has produced rich, robust conversation and enabled kaiako to deepen their understanding of the maths learning that goes on before the students arrive in their classroom,” she says. 

This term, the team is ensuring the map aligns with the draft of the refreshed Mathematics and Statistics learning area while remaining responsive to the specific needs of tamariki.

The team is unpacking transition points so kaiako can understand what the important mathematical knowledge and skills look like at each stage of the education journey and how they can collaborate to create coherent pathways.

Ultimately, the hope is for students to have the knowledge they need to successfully enter employment.

The “Mission to Mars” workshop helped develop skills in creativity, communication and problem solving, in a real-world context.

Active and engaged citizens

Coherent Pathway initiatives encourage New Zealand children to live and contribute as active and engaged citizens of the world.

At Westlake Girls’ High School (WGHS), the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) approach is a valuable tool that can be activated alongside these coherent pathways.  

“STEAM integrates the learning areas in real-world contexts and encourages transdisciplinary learning, hence the connection and strong link to the Coherent Pathways mahi in numeracy,” says Paula. 

At WGHS, student leaders have supported all tamariki across Te Kāhui Ako o Pupuke to engage with STEAM subjects, which traditionally drew in primarily male students.

WGHS STEAM coordinator and across-school lead for Te Kāhui Ako o Pupuke, Susana Tomaz has been delighted with the response of the students as part of a recent STEAM Power-ED event.

Seventy tamariki from primary and intermediate schools in their kāhui ako came together with WGHS’s current STEAM students, STEAM alumni from Years 12 and 13, and Westlake Boys’ High School.

Engaging hands-on workshops wrapped around a storytelling approach with a strong Māori pūrākau presentation were designed to highlight pathways into these critical subject areas for every student, no matter their culture or gender. 

The Colours at the end of the Rainbow is a graphic novel featuring six educational stories showcasing a new perspective through the eyes of characters with a range of invisible disabilities.

Enriched learning opportunities

Susana says this is where Te Kāhui Ako is so important; by joining with other schools in the area, a community with shared goals and initiatives can now work to enrich learning opportunities that will lead to a more dynamic set of options becoming available to school leavers.

Year 9 WGHS STEAM student Rosa says, “The goal of our STEAM programme is to teach students to solve problems in creative and innovative ways.”

This speaks to the spirit of the Coherent Pathways programme and the threads currently being woven into the education system as kāhui ako across the country work together to enhance learning for all ākonga. 

Once the refreshed Mathematics and Statistics learning area is underway at WGHS, the review process will also be collaborative. 

As well as gathering valuable data, the team hopes to hear from students about any gaps they feel need to be addressed.

Susana says it is an exciting time for Te Kāhui Ako o Pupuke as capabilities and confidence in the maths arena grows.

With STEAM and Coherent Pathways to Numeracy running together at Westlake Girls’ High School, she hopes students will become more engaged with maths as kaiako help them recognise the broader context of numeracy as an important discipline that feeds into their lives in numerous ways.

Learn more about Coherent Pathways Guidance at curriculumtool.education.govt.nz(external link).