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A guide for iMaths teachers: Supporting students learning from home

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A guide for iMaths teachers: Supporting students learning from home

iMaths 11/5/20

“student-learning-imaths-from-home“

Note: iMaths is in its final year and will be discontinued at the end of 2024. If you’re looking for a primary maths resource written for the Australian Curriculum Version 9.0, explore Maths Trek.

Learning from home is challenging for all involved – teachers, students and parents. Here’s a quick guide to help you manage challenges using iMaths resources during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Explicitly teach where possible

iMaths was created to support explicit teaching. We recommend that you continue to explicitly teach iMaths lessons via live video conferencing or send pre-recorded videos to students where possible.

Adjust the scope of teaching

Students may find it more difficult to focus on their lessons while at home. Also, their access to devices and printers may vary as they share these resources with siblings and parents.

So adjusting the scope of your lessons is a sensible solution. We recommend selecting Investigations that are well-suited to home learning and allowing more time than usual for Topics to be completed.

Remember to update your iPlanner to reflect any changes in the Topics or Investigations you’re conducting through Term 2. When school returns to normal, you can continue with other Investigations and ensure that all Topics are covered by the close of the school year.

Provide students with their student login details

Log in to iMaths Online and navigate to My Classroom to find the student login details for your class. Print the Student Login cards and distribute to your students.

Students log in to the student site at www.fireflystudents.com.au.

Equip parents with the basics of iMaths

Navigating the home learning environment can be filled with challenges for parents.

Maths techniques, strategies and even algorithms (such as a long division) have evolved since most parents were in school. As such, parents may not have the confidence to assist with teaching specific concepts. Acknowledge these challenges and reassure parents that it is okay if they don’t always understand the activities you’ve set for students.

Some parents may also feel compelled to complete all of the activities with their child. Ensure they understand how important it is for you to see their child’s true maths ability in order to best support their development.

We don’t recommend sending parents information from your teaching resources. Without formal teacher training this may only create confusion or frustration. Instead, provide parents with a broad overview of iMaths and some of the key elements of learning through Investigations. iMaths Investigations: An overview for parents is a useful starting point.

Encourage parents to look for maths in everyday situations. Equip parents with a range of easy-to-implement activities to use as an alternative if they’re unable to help their child with other activities you’ve set. Refer to our articles Learning from home: iMaths Years 1–6 or Learning from home: iMaths Foundation for suitable activities to pass onto parents.

Use our support resources

Firefly Education has developed a range of information and resources to help schools navigate this new world of learning from home.

  • Find links to resources from the Preparation and Planning section of iMaths Online.
  • Follow us on social media: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
  • Sign up to our newsletter for content straight to your inbox.
  • Contact your local education consultant with any questions about our resources.

The team at Firefly Education would like to thank all the teachers supporting students and parents during these challenging times.

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