What does maths learning refer to?

Maths learning involves children experiencing and exploring their worlds related to spatial thinking, number and quantity, and patterns. These worlds may be cultural and social, every day and within the wider environment. They involve interactions with people as well as physical objects and playful ideas.

Children are creative and curious in their maths explorations, and develop learning dispositions such as experimenting, collaborative effort and persistence. In their maths learning children incorporate mathematical ways of thinking. For example, when they make models such as constructions for indoor or outdoor play, children are creating new structures in space that can lead to more thinking about movement of themselves or objects in space. When children create patterns such as braiding, or arrangements of objects, they are exploring how shapes fit together and can be repeated or extended. These are examples of the connection between maths learning and developing working theories related to maths ideas about space, number, measurement, and patterns. In communicating their maths learning, children are also modelling and representing ways of interpreting their world – over time or in the moment. Children are, therefore, thinking like a ‘mathematician’; being curious, puzzling over, experimenting, adjusting, trying out new things, and describing their findings through drawing or constructing.

The teaching practices and progressions in Kōwhiti Whakapae are designed to help kaiako create learning environments that support children to grow as mathematicians within the holistic curriculum framework of Te Whāriki. 

Te Whāriki reminds us that kaiako should integrate domain knowledge such as maths into their teaching in ways that connect with children’s strengths and interests, and with other aspects of learning. For example, kaiako can encourage children to notice and recognise patterns through art, music, dance, stories, block play, as well as through physical play such as running and jumping. In these ways, maths can be identifiable as domain knowledge without losing the rich contextual nature of learning in the early years.

In particular ‘lay the groundwork’ practices provide ways to create environments rich with maths, while recognising that play-based and routine-based learning opportunities are at the heart of authentic curriculum.

When supporting children’s growing maths capabilities, it is important to remember that these are expressed through identity, language and cultural practices. This includes capabilities that are valued within a culture and the ways these capabilities are actioned. For example, for some cultures learning about distance and relative location is highly valued and important to cultural ways of knowing, being and doing.

Just as we celebrate the diversity of culture and languages, we need to create space for and celebrate the diversity of children. Being aware of your own personal interest and confidence in maths can help you select useful information from Kōwhiti Whakapae. Kōwhiti Whakapae is designed to help you to affirm all children, accepting who they are and encouraging them to both be themselves and extend themselves. This awareness can support kaiako to adjust practices and respond authentically to individual children. 

Kaiako and whānau are well-placed to support each child to learn when they have a shared understanding of the strengths, interests, and progress of each child within their cultural context. 

Sharing information about home culture, language, identity, as well as individual children’s interests and capabilities will help to grow a shared understanding over time. Kaiako should also share their own professional knowledge about learning in the early years. This includes knowledge about aspects of maths that are most important in the early years, how maths capabilities tend to grow over time, and the kinds of teaching practices that support maths learning. 

Shared knowledge provides a powerful context for kaiako and whānau to have meaningful discussions about the current capabilities of children, and about possible next steps to help children realise their potential. 

Maths Whānau Guides are available to support partnership with whānau. These guides include downloadable pamphlets, and short videos.