Auditing the Numeracy Demands of the Middle Years Curriculum

The "National Numeracy Review" recognised that numeracy development requires an across the curriculum commitment. To explore the nature of this commitment we conducted a numeracy audit of the South Australian Middle Years curriculum, using a numeracy model that incorporates mathematical knowledge, dispositions, tools, contexts, and a critical orientation. All Learning Areas in the published curriculum were found to have distinctive numeracy demands. The audit should encourage teachers to promote numeracy in even richer ways in the curriculum they enact with students. (Contains 3 figures.) [For the complete proceedings, "Shaping the Future of Mathematics Education. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (33rd, Freemantle, Western Australia, Australia, July 3-7, 2010)," see ED520764.]