A new initiative by La Trobe University aims to tackle Australia’s mathematics crisis, training teachers how to break down concepts into clear, logical steps to replace the commonly used methods that have left many students struggling with basic numeracy.
The Science of Mathematics Education (SOME) Lab is the University’s latest step in evidence-based learning, following on the success of the acclaimed Science of Language and Reading (SOLAR) Lab that has been influential in a shift in government policy towards explicit teaching.
Evidence-based or explicit teaching allows students to understand the foundations of a subject in a structured way, with teachers breaking down new concepts, modelling steps and ensuring comprehension before progression.
It is a departure from inquiry-led instruction, which asks students to solve problems often without the required base knowledge.
Education experts have repeatedly called for a more structured approach to education to halt Australia’s spiralling literacy and numeracy results.
Almost half of Australia’s 15-year-olds failed to achieve national standards in maths in the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results, and the nation is more than four years behind the world’s top-performing jurisdiction of Singapore.
Meanwhile, about one in three students were below expectations in 2024 NAPLAN testing and the latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) showed Australia's education gender gap was among the worst of the 58 countries tested.
In all testing, the trends are even more stark for disadvantaged and Aboriginal students.
As students prepare to sit NAPLAN this month, Professor Joanna Barbousas, Dean of Education and Pro-Vice Chancellor of Education, Impact and Innovation, said the SOME Lab would play a critical role in addressing Australia’s continuing crisis in student numeracy, collaborating with policymakers, educational organisations, teachers, students and communities to translate research into practical solutions to transform mathematics outcomes.
“Australia faces a pressing crisis. Many children finish school without meeting basic literacy and numeracy standards, with serious implications for social equity and the economy,” Professor Barbousas said.
“The lifetime impact for students who fall behind on these core skills is substantial, affecting long-term employment, health and social outcomes and perpetuating cycles of disadvantage.
“Teachers are telling us they feel unprepared for the classroom. When half of our 15-year-olds fail to achieve national standards in maths, it’s not the students who are failing, it’s our approach to education,
"SOME Lab will empower educators to understand how people learn mathematics, promoting low-variance, highly systematised instructional approaches to ensure all children develop sound and robust numeracy skills.”
La Trobe has led the tertiary sector in innovations in teacher education, pioneering the implementation of evidence-informed approaches such as explicit instruction and the science of learning.
Its transformation of teacher-education programs in line with evidence of what works best in the classroom has resulted in a 40 per cent increase in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) enrolment from 2022 to 2024.
SOLAR Lab has trained more than 12,000 teachers and education professionals since its launch in 2020.
Dr Siobhan Merlo, SOME Lab Director and Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Education at La Trobe, said the Lab would address existing gaps in teacher education, offering short online courses to retrain educators in explicit teaching, similar to the popular SOLAR Lab model.
The Lab will also research numeracy education, aiming to end the culture war between evidence and inquiry that has hampered Australia’s progress.
“Teachers can't teach what they don't understand,” Dr Merlo said.
“We need to go back a few steps to address the long-term gaps in teacher education. There is a widespread misunderstanding of what maths actually is, a lack of knowledge on how concepts are connected and a general confusion about the way reasoning and problem-solving are taught.
“Maths, being a universal language, needs to be taught like any language in the beginning: directly."
Professor Joanna Barbousas and Dr Siobhan Merlo are available for comment. Several principal and parent case studies are also available for interviews.
Contact details:
Robyn Grace – r.grace@latrobe.edu.au, 0420 826 595
