Multiplicative and mental computation strategies. Concrete tools and manipulatives.

You can count on all the mathematics metalanguage this week, as Juliana, Numeracy Adviser K - 6 and Primary School Teacher, joins us on the couch to discuss improving student outcomes in numeracy.

Before diving into practical strategies, we first talk about the importance of building a culture of curiosity in the classroom and the power of asking effective questions to develop students’ numeracy skills. Juliana backs this up with valuable references to evidence-based resources and advice guides for teachers on the topic of questioning.

We take you through various ways to guide students in building their capacity in communication, reasoning, problem-solving, understanding and fluency, enabling them to work mathematically in an interconnected way.

In the spirit of numeracy being everyone’s business, we sum up by delving into cross-curricular teaching opportunities. From dates and timelines in history to applying a data lens to writing tasks in English, get ready to be inspired by ideas that can help you promote mathematical thinking in the classroom. 

By our calculations, this episode is one not to be missed.

We acknowledge that this episode of the Teach NSW Podcast was recorded on the homelands of the Darug people. We pay respect to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples listening to TeachCast today.

Connect with us

If you would like to provide feedback or suggestions for future episodes, please contact teachcast@det.nsw.edu.au to get in touch with the TeachCast team. Follow the Teach NSW team on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter) and YouTube to be the first to know when new episodes are released.

Resources and useful links

• Teach NSW - become a teacher in a NSW public school and find out how a career in teaching can open doors for you.


• Statewide Staffrooms - join the numeracy Statewide Staffroom to connect and share advice, resources and learnings with other teachers in NSW public schools.


• Universal Resources Hub - NSW Department of Education teachers can access the Questioning in numeracy lesson advice guide which provides recommendations, information and practical tools and strategies for using questioning within lessons. 


• Big Ideas to Start Strong across K - 6 - learn about some of the big ideas and core concepts that underpin much of the NSW mathematics syllabus.


• reSolve - access innovative curriculum-aligned teaching resources and professional learning for teachers from the Australian Academy of Science’s mathematics education program. 


• Interview for Student Reasoning (IfSR) - explore a suite of teacher-led optional online numeracy assessments for K-10 students.