What is Scholastic PR1ME Mathematics? Where does it originate? Who created it?
Scholastic PR1ME Mathematics, aligned with the Draft Te Mātaiaho NZ Maths Curriculum, is a well-structured world-class mathematics programme for Years 0-8(Grades K-6), developed to meet the needs of educators and learners in diverse cultural and educational contexts. Its pedagogical approach and instructional design take into consideration the latest research in mathematics education, incorporating the proven and effective best practices from top-performing education systems, such as Singapore, Republic of Korea, and Hong Kong (SAR) (TIMSS and PISA).
These said practices are key to teaching and learning mathematics in the three educational systems and are central to PR1ME Mathematics instruction:
+ Learning mathematics via problem-solving
+ Development and communication of mathematical thinking
+ Learning mathematics by doing mathematics
+ Readiness-engagement-mastery
+ Integrating assessment with instruction
The first edition of Scholastic PR1ME Mathematics, has been available in New Zealand since 2014, was a collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Singapore and was based on the Primary Mathematics Project, originally written by the Ministry in the 1980s.
The new edition of Scholastic PR1ME Mathematics, released in New Zealand in 2024, is based on the same pedagogical principles and instructional design and takes into consideration the most updated research and innovations.
What is the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract (CPA) approach?
Jerome Bruner’s enactive-iconic-symbolic theory underpins the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract (CPA) approach, a core feature of Singapore Mathematics that effectively introduces new mathematical concepts by progressing from concrete objects to abstract symbols. This method deepens their understanding by linking complex ideas to tangible experiences, starting with visual manipulatives and gradually moving to abstract representations.
Scholastic PR1ME Mathematics goes beyond this by incorporating proven and effective best practices from top performing educational systems, such as Singapore, Republic of Korea, and Hong Kong (SAR) (TIMSS and PISA)
In what way is PR1ME Mathematics’ approach structured? What is procedural learning?
PR1ME Mathematics is designed as a teacher-led mathematical programme with embedded lesson plans and teacher resources to guide educators to implement the curriculum in the classroom. Its alignment with the Draft Te Mātaiaho NZ Maths Curriculum ensures that students meet both the Ministry of Education’s requirements and international standards.
PR1ME Mathematics’ structured pedagogical approach and instructional design ensure that students gain a deep conceptual understanding of the mathematical concepts taught. Any learning gaps are quickly identified and addressed before the student progresses to the next concept.
Procedural learning is the process of gaining skills and knowledge through repeated practice. The numerous formative and summative assessments embedded in PR1ME Mathematics (please refer to Question 7 below), as well as the regular revisiting of previously learned content, provides students with plenty of practice using different problem-solving methods, enabling them to solve similar problems faster because they have internalised the steps involved.
What kind of training or support is available for implementing PR1ME Mathematics?
In addition to implementation and technical support, we also provide professional development specifically tailored for mathematical educators through learning resources and webinars to help them better implement the PR1ME curriculum and lesson plans in the classroom setting PR1ME Professional Learning – tailored to support educators in enhancing their mathematics teaching practices. It provides guidance on how to effectively implement the PR1ME Mathematics curriculum in the classroom, coaching and mentoring resources for teachers' professional development, and strategies for boosting student engagement, amongst other relevant resources
Professional Development webinars – free virtual workshops tailored specifically for educators to enhance mathematical instruction with PR1ME Mathematics.
Check out our upcoming webinars here.
Tell me about assessment – summative and formative and benchmarks?
PR1ME Mathematics is designed as a teacher-led mathematical programme with embedded lesson plans and teacher resources to guide educators to implement the curriculum in the classroom. Its alignment with the Draft Te Mātaiaho NZ Maths Curriculum ensures that students meet both the Ministry of Education’s requirements and international standards.
Formative assessments - The Let's Do class activities and the Practice tasks in both print and digital versions of PR1ME Mathematics assess students' understanding at the pictorial and abstract levels of mathematical concept learning to provide timely feedback to teachers.
Summative assessments - enable teachers to assess student learning at the end of each chapter and beyond.
Benchmarking - digital assessments help teachers monitor their students' progress throughout the year and compares them against grade-level expectations and standards.
All these allow teachers to address learning gaps quickly to avoid deficit snowballs, allowing every child to succeed in learning mathematics while enjoying the learning process.
