Emily Hibberd

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Early Numeracy Interview

During my time on practicum this semester, I planned and conducted a variety of mathematic
lessons to a range of year levels including an introduction to division with a grade 5/6 class,
marking multiplication tests, as well as conducting the Maths Online Interview with two prep
students- Ashlina and Eric. The students completed the interview under the same conditions
and surroundings; they both answered the Counting and Place Value sections of the interview
in a small back room of the classroom where there was little possibility for distraction or
interruption.
In this research paper, I will discuss the results of Ashlinas and Erics assessment interview
through analysing their choices to determine their mathematical thinking. I will also identify
the strengths and weaknesses of this assessment interview and the overall effectiveness. In
concluding, I will plan a detailed learning experience for each student that targets directly on
a focus area to continue their mathematical development as indicated from the results of their
assessment.

Reflection and Analysis

Ashlina and Eric are two five year old students who began prep earlier this year at their local
primary school. Ashlina and Eric both completed the one-on-one Mathematics assessment
interview to the best of their abilities. Both students personalities were expressed during each
of the interviews. Ashlina was quiet, efficient and remained on task, whereas Eric was overly
confident, talkative and took every opportunity to delay answering questions in the interview.
See appendix 1 for the record assessment sheet of Ashlinas interview and appendix 2 for
Eric.

Ashlina
The results of Ashlinas assessment interview were excellent with only answering one of the
questions in the Counting: Prep Detour incorrect (P3, Q.e). Ashlina successfully progressing
through to question ten in Place Value before having difficulty with question eleven. It
appeared the Prep Detour was relatively easy for Ashlina.

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During the interview Ashlina was efficient in answering all of the questions and understood
the language of the script which I was reading. As she was able to clearly explain the pattern
of teddies (P2, Q.e) by noticing the pattern through the line of colours. Ashlinas
understanding of recognising simple patterns is a point of growth for her counting abilities
(State of Victoria, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2009). I
would classify Ashlina as a rational counter who exhibits are four counting principles
(Reys, Lindquist, Lambdin, Smith, Rogers, Falle, Frid, Bennett, 2012, p.151). For example,
she understood that the last number name gives the number of objects (Reys et al., 2012,
p.150) which she demonstrated when answering the cardinal number of 5, as well as
demonstrating her understanding of one-to-one correspondence, that number-names have a
fixed order, and that objects can be counted in any order (Reys et al., 2012).When asking
Ashlina to show me 6 fingers (P3, Q.e), she was able to show five fingers on one hand and
one on the other (the one was represented by her index finger). Yet, asking Ashlina to show
me six fingers another two different ways resulted in the same variation (i.e. 5+1), however
using her thumb and middle finger respectively to represent the one.
The first sign of difficulty arose during the Place Value section when Ashlina faced reading
numerals (Q.8). She confidently began reading the numerals 3, 8, 36, 83, and 18 aloud
however could not read the number 147. This assured me that Ashlina was confident in her
abilities to read, record, interpret and order single-digit numbers (State of Victoria,
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2009, para. 4) and two-digit
numbers, however three digits numbers will need more practice. Similarly, when using the
calculator in question 9b Ashlinas consistency in successfully reading one and two-digit
numbers was maintained, but still struggled to articulate three digit numbers (386). Ashlinas
interview and assessment concluded after question eleven, as she began counting the Popsicle
sticks by ones instead of using the bundles of ten Popsicle sticks. I have identified the next
area of focus for Ashlina to continue her mathematic development will be on her
understanding of the part-part-whole relationship, as she excelled in the Counting section and
demonstrated a foundational understanding for the positioning of a digits place. Overall,
Ashlinas assessment provided great insight into her mathematic capabilities.

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Ashlinas planned learning experience

Ashlinas Focus Area: Part-part-whole; Building numbers up to 10 and then beyond using a
part-part-whole mat.
Differentiated Focus Area:

Increased difficulty- making number chains to demonstrate the part-part-whole

relationship using numbers up to 10 and beyond

Decreased difficulty- separating the number 6 as many times as they can using
counters and a lady bug mat

Ashlina excelled in the counting section of the interview and demonstrated a foundational
understanding of the positioning of a digits place. However, the focus area of Ashlinas
planned learning experience will relate to developing her understanding of the part-part
whole relationship which will further assist the progression of learning addition, subtraction
and place value.
The planned learning experience will involve Ashlina to build numbers up to 10 and then
beyond using plastic counting cubes and a part-part-whole mat. See appendix 6 for the design
of this mat. In order to accommodate for a wide range of mathematical thinking and ability in
the class, I have organised differentiated focus areas to implement for the independent
activity. The increased difficulty focus area will require students to demonstrate their
understanding of the part-part-whole relationship through creating number chains up to the
number 10 and beyond with different colour paper to represent each part. The decreased
difficulty focus area will require students to separate the number 6 as many times as they can
using counters and a lady bug mat. See appendix 7 for the design of this mat.
To begin a lesson surrounding these three activities, I will firstly ask the students to show me
a certain number of fingers (e.g. 4), once all the students are showing me their answer using
their hands I will ask for two other way using different amounts of fingers on each hand. I
will write the first way on the whiteboard (e.g. 2+2= 4) and ask a student to come up and
write another way (eg. 1+3=4 or 4+0= 4). Following this short whole class introduction, I
will explain the different activities and then direct the students into which activity they will
complete depending on their mathematical abilities in this area. The reason why I have used
counters, cubes and pieces of coloured paper which the students will turn into paper chains is
because hands-on experience with manipulatives is essential in establishing and developing

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the concept of place value (Reys et al., 2012, p.170), addition and subtraction, as well as
supports problem solving and will also increase the active engagement levels of the students
(Reys et al., 2012).

Eric
The results of Erics assessment interview were good; however Eric did make a number of
mistakes throughout both the Counting and Place Value sections. Through conducting the
interview it became evident quite quickly that Eric struggled with the language of the
interview. Often asking what a certain word means (e.g. beside, after). Despite his difficulty
understanding some of the language, Eric attempted to answer most of the questions to the
best of his ability.
Eric was overly confident in completing part 1of the Counting section, often announcing this
as too easy. However as he progressed through the interview, the questions became more
challenging and so too did his confidence. When asking Eric to explain the pattern of the
teddies, I received the response based on his preference of colour. Eric was relatively good
with subitising, which is an important skill as it saves time, helps develop other counting
skills and assists the development of subtraction and addition (Reys et al., 2012). He was able
to instantly recall the lower quantities, however the higher quantities (e.g. 5, 9) proved to be
more difficult to recall and as a result responded with either an educated guess or an I dont
know reply. The quantity of zero caught Eric by surprise replying thats nothing! therefore
he could not distinguish between zero and nothing (Reys et. al, 2012) as he did not say
the actual number to represent the absence of dots. One of the interesting aspects I found
while interviewing Eric was his responses to identifying before and after numbers. Erics
response to identifying the number after 4 was 3 but correctly answered two out of the three
questions for identifying before numbers (P3, Q.g). This prompted me to believe Eric needs
further clarification of identifying after numbers.
A recurring difficulty for Eric which became evident during the interview was his inability to
understand, order, read and articulate two digit numbers. Throughout the Counting and Place
Value sections where two digit numerals were used (i.e. questions 1b, 8a, 9a, b, 10), Eric
struggled and often answered that he didnt know. It became evident that Eric could rote
count the number sequence to 10 (State of Victoria, Department of Education and Early
Childhood Development , 2013, p.2) but had difficulty continuing to count the number
sequence to 20 as well as ordering the numbers.This would be an ideal area to focus on to

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further develop Erics understanding of two digit numbers. Furthermore, the ordering of the
numeral cards displayed the correct placing of the first, middle and last numbers (1,4, 5, 9)
yet confusion with the placing of the rest of the numbers (2,3,6,7,8). Again, the ordering
activity in the Place Value section demonstrated Erics lack of understanding this time with
two digit numbers which concluded Erics assessment interview. As a whole, Erics
assessment provided a great awareness into his mathematic skills and thinking.

Erics planned learning experience

Erics Individual Focus Area: Counting to 10 and beyond to 20 successfully from any starting
point.
Differentiated Focus Area for Class Implementation:

Increased difficultly- counting to 20 successfully from any starting point.

Decreased difficulty- counting from zero and to 10 through connecting number
names to numerals.

In terms of counting, Eric could effectively match numerals to quantities however has not yet
learnt to count or order to 20 successfully. Therefore, the focus area of Erics planned
learning experience will relate specifically to this. As it has been recognised by teachers
that counting is critical to childrens understanding of numbers (Treacy, Willis, n.d., para.
1), and the foundation for moving on to other mathematical concepts including but not
limited to addition, subtraction and place value.
The learning experience will entail Eric to further develop his counting skills by counting to
10 and beyond, moving from any starting point. See appendix 3 and 4 for worksheets. In
order to cater for a range of mathematical thinking and ability in the class, I have planned
differentiated focus areas to implement for the independent activity. The increased difficulty
focus area will involve students further developing their counting skills up to the number 20
from any starting point. See appendix 4 for worksheet. The decreased difficulty focus area
will involve students continuing to develop their counting skills initially from zero and up to
10 through connecting number names to numerals. See appendix 5 for worksheet.
To begin a lesson surrounding this focus area of counting to 10 and 20, I will firstly put on
the Counting 1 to 20 | Number Songs | PINKFONG Songs for Kids (retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbgwPx6mYu4) on through a projector and ask the class
to practice counting aloud altogether along with the song. As this will assist all of the students

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including Eric in refreshing their memory and will also reinforce the correct number
sequence. To engage the students further and maintain their attention, I will ask them to clap
with each of the numbers from 1 to 5, whisper the numbers 6-10, stomp along while saying
the numbers 11-15 and then shout the numbers 16-20 altogether as a class. After explaining
each of the worksheets, the students will then be given a worksheet to complete depending on
their counting ability.

Overall, the Mathematics Assessment Interview is a valuable assessment resource to

determine where each individual student stands with regards to their mathematic knowledge
and capabilities. The assessment interview is effective in accommodating for the three main
learning styles. The hands-on approach of this assessment is not only an engaging way to
maintain student interest but also accommodates for kinaesthetic learners. Furthermore, the
use of visual cues such as the number cards and charts assist the students with the preferred
visual learning style. Finally, since the interviewer is communicating and verbalising,
auditory learners are supported through their ideal learning style of listening. One of the
weaknesses would be the age of this assessment and whether an updated version would be
more beneficial to assess the students mathematical thinking. Another weakness I have found
after conducting the interview and analysing the students assessments is the need for a Prep
Detour for the Place Value section to provide Prep students with a range of easier mathematic
questions which will be more useful to better demonstrate their understanding of Place Value.
In conclusion, this research paper has discussed and analysed the results of two individual
students with different mathematical knowledge and skills which has been identified through
the strategies and choices selected during their assessment interviews. This has allowed for
the planning of appropriate activities to be implemented in an attempt to further develop both
students mathematical thinking. Overall, the assessment interviews were successful in
identifying ideal focus areas to further enhance and develop both Ashlina and Erics counting
and place value capabilities.

References

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Reys, R. E., Lindquist, M. M., Lambdin, D. V., Smith, N. L., Rogers, A., Falle, J., & Frid, S.
(2012). Helping children learn mathematics (1st Australian ed.).
Queensland, Australia: John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.
State of Victoria, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. (2013).
Mapping the mathematics online interview into the AusVELS: mathematics. Retrieved
from
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/teachers/teachingresources/discip
line/maths/assessment/molmapausvels.DOCX
State of Victoria, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. (2009).
Points of growth in the mathematics online interview. Retrieved from
https://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/teachlearn/student/mathscontinuum/
moipointsofgrowth.pdf
Treacy, K., & Willis, S. (n.d.). A Model of Early Number Development. Retrieved from
http://moodle.vle.monash.edu/pluginfile.php/3412158/mod_resource/content/1/Treacy
%20and%20Willis%282003%29%20model%20for%20early%20number
%20%20development.pdf
YouTube, PINKFONG (Kids Songs & Stories. (2015). Counting 1 to 20 | Number Songs |
PINKFONG Songs for Children. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=EbgwPx6mYu4

Appendix 1:
Ashlinas assessment interview record sheet

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Appendix 2:
Erics assessment interview record sheet

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Appendix 3:
Erics counting worksheet

Colour in the correct circle

Appendix 4:

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Increased difficulty worksheet

Answer and colour in the

Appendix 5:
Decreased difficulty worksheet

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Appendix 6:
Part-part-whole mat

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PART

PART

WHOLE

Appendix 6:
Lady bug mat

Emily Hibberd
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