EDU20002- Mathematics in Practice

Task:

This assignment requires you to complete some sections individually, and others in a team. You will be assessed individually:

1. Source

2. Context

3. Observe

4. Analyse

5. Interpret

6. Peer review

Part A (Individual)

1. Source

Find a child to observe, aged between birth to lower primary (up to Grade 2). You can do this in one of the following ways:

using one of the clips from the Maths in Practice media library or Mathematical behaviours - Observe, analyse and interpret finding a child you know and have permission to observe.

2. Context and activity

Provide some context around the child you are observing, the Bishop's categories you observed throughout and the purpose of this running record. Also include the date/time of observation, and the age of the child you have observed.

3. Observe

Make notes in the running record (template included below) as you observe the child. Steps to follow:

Write down the observation notes in the running record as it is happening. Aim to capture exactly what is being said, regardless whether it makes sense to you or not. Record as many observations as you can. You may want to include in your running record samples of the subject's drawings or photos of constructions. These may be photographed or scanned and submitted underneath the relevant observation. If you do choose to use samples, limit the illustrations/pictures to three.

4. Analyse

You will need to do a thorough analysis of your running record. You are required to do the following:

Identify which of the first four Bishop categories the child demonstrated (one action may cover multiple categories).

Highlight the actions using the following colours:

Bishop categories and colours

Bishop category colour

counting green

measuring blue

locating pink

designing yellow

Utilise the mathematical language from Chapter 7 of the eText (Macmillan, 2009), and highlight the key words using red font. (You may also make further connections to the material covered in weeks 1 and 2's readings).

5. Interpret - What's next? 

From what you have learned from this task, and discovered in your unit readings, think about the child you have observed and what the next step in their learning journey would be. Throughout this interpretation, you need to be able to compare and contrast numeracy and mathematics to show your understanding of these concepts in terms of extending the teaching and learning for this child in this area.

Assignment criteria

1. Observe, identify and analyse early mathematical thinking, using Bishop's categories.

2. Consider, compare and contrast the observed early mathematical thinking, with clear connections to mathematics and numeracy.

3. Communicate in an effective and suitable style for the intended audience.