Foundations of Numeracy Support unit (EES162)

Online

Introduction

This unit introduces you to pedagogies appropriate for supporting the learning of mathematics in classrooms. The unit will provide opportunities for you to develop your personal numeracy skills and to identify where these skills can be applied in the context of education support. You will develop an understanding of appropriate pedagogies for individualising numeracy development, along with the theoretical underpinnings of how children learn mathematics. The unit will provide opportunities for you to deepen your own mathematical content knowledge, along with assessing children’s mathematical thinking using work samples and practical classroom examples.

Summary

Unit name	Foundations of Numeracy Support
Unit code	EES162
Credit points	12.5
College/School	Arts and Society Faculty of Education
Discipline	Education
Coordinator	Miss Estelle Hindrum
Available as an elective?	No
Delivered By	University of Tasmania
Level	Introductory

Availability

Location	Study period	Attendance options		Available to
Online	Semester 1

Note

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Key Dates

Study Period	Start date	Census date	WW date	End date
Semester 1	22/2/2026	16/3/2026	19/4/2026	13/6/2026

* The Final WW Date is the final date from which you can withdraw from the unit without academic penalty, however you will still incur a financial liability (refer to How do I withdraw from a unit? for more information).

Unit census dates currently displaying for 2026 are indicative and subject to change. Finalised census dates for 2026 will be available from the 1st October 2025. Note census date cutoff is 11.59pm AEST (AEDT during October to March).

About Census Dates

Learning Outcomes

• Identify strengths and weaknesses in your¿mathematical skills¿and evaluate evidence of your own learning.
• Reflect on your current skills and knowledge in relation to¿numeracy¿support work.
• Articulate learners’¿mathematical understanding and numeracy¿development, and discuss the consequences of this development in numeracy support work.
• Describe key concepts and essential knowledge¿with regard to¿numeracy¿support in Australian educational contexts.

Fee Information

Field of Education	Commencing Student Contribution 1,3	Grandfathered Student Contribution 1,3	Approved Pathway Course Student Contribution 2,3	Domestic Full Fee 4
070103	$592.00	$592.00	not applicable	$2,562.00

• Available as a Commonwealth Supported Place
• HECS-HELP is available on this unit, depending on your eligibility³
• FEE-HELP is available on this unit, depending on your eligibility⁴

¹ Please refer to more information on student contribution amounts.
² Please refer to more information on eligibility and Approved Pathway courses.
³ Please refer to more information on eligibility for HECS-HELP.
⁴ Please refer to more information on eligibility for FEE-HELP.

If you have any questions in relation to the fees, please contact UniConnect or more information is available on StudyAssist.

Please note: international students should refer to What is an indicative Fee? to get an indicative course cost.

Teaching

Teaching Pattern	Off Campus:  Weekly online lectures (1 hour), weekly online synchronous tutorials or discussion forum (2 hours)
Assessment	AT1: Personal Numeracy Skills and Beliefs Audit (20%)|AT2: Numeracy Work Sample Analysis (40%)|Numeracy Support Script (40%)
Timetable	View the lecture timetable | View the full unit timetable

Textbooks

Required

There is no prescribed text for this unit, please refer to unit schedule or MyLO content for weekly readings. These readings are available through the Reading List.

Recommended

These materials will be useful to your developing knowledge and understanding of the content in this unit, but you are not required to purchase them. When seeking sources of evidence to support your assignment work, you will find these a useful starting point: Ashman, A., & Elkins, J. (Eds.) (2014). Education for inclusion and diversity (5th ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Australia. Boaler, J. (2016). Mathematical mindsets. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Chinn, S. (2013). The trouble with maths: A practical guide to helping learners with numeracy difficulties (2nd ed.). Oxon, UK: Routledge. Davis, A., Goulding, M. & Suggate, J. (2017). Mathematical knowledge for primary teachers (5th ed.). Routledge. Kearns, K. (2020). Supporting education (3rd ed.). Cengage. Liljedahl, P. (2021). Building thinking classrooms in mathematics. Corwin. Macdonald, A. (2018). Mathematics in early childhood education. Oxford University Press. Rowland, T., Turner, F., Thwaites, A., & Huckstep, P. (2009). Developing primary mathematics teaching. Sage. Serow, P., Callingham, R., & Muir, T. (2019). Primary mathematics Integrating theory with practice (3rd ed.). Cambridge. Tomlinson, C. A. (1999). The differentiated classroom: responding to the needs of all learners. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Van de Walle, J., Karp, K., Bay-Williams, J., & Bass, A. (2019). Primary and middle years mathematics (1st Australian ed.). Melbourne, Vic: Pearson. It may be useful for you to become familiar with online maths resources sites like Khan Academy to support your personal numeracy development. Further suggestions will be made on MyLO.

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