Access the prescribed high-quality curriculum resources for your classroom

It’s no secret that things have been difficult in the school community and teachers have been facing the brunt of it. 

Large class sizes, access to effective resources, support from leadership and parents, student behaviour, and the gaps that need to be filled after the effects of remote learning are just some of the challenges. Despite needing to overcome all of this, teachers still show up each day ready to plan and implement impactful lessons so students get the most out of their time at school. 

When we think about planning and implementing lessons, it sounds simple enough, but research finds that it can take up to 500 hours to create a year's worth of curriculum materials for just one subject. This is concerning when 85% of teachers surveyed by the Grattan Institute said they either did not, or only somewhat, had access to a comprehensive bank of ready-to-use, high-quality instructional materials. Indicating that teachers are spending a large portion of their time creating and sourcing materials to use in the classroom. On average, a teacher visits over five different sites looking for topical resources and can spend between 6 to10 hours a week creating the content themselves. 

A survey conducted on teachers worldwide revealed that more than 75% of participants complained of health problems associated with high stress levels that were attributed to extensive working hours. 

So it’s understandable that 55% of teachers are not satisfied with their school’s current approach to curriculum planning. When it leaves them to take on extra hours that could be better spent responding to students' individual needs, improving classroom practice, and creating a healthy work-life balance. Interestingly, school leaders agree with 58% voicing they don’t think the responsibility of organising instructional materials should fall on teachers' shoulders. 

This approach to teaching and learning not only weighs on teachers but also students due to the lack of consistency in the type and quality of resources employed across year levels and classes. 

So how can we reduce teacher workload, stress and improve the supply of effective resources for the classroom?

EdTech can play a crucial part in this. It has a greater capacity to take on administrative tasks, collect and analyse data and share important information with students and parents compared to traditional resources. Well-developed EdTech platforms are equipped with banks of curriculum-aligned content that can be drawn upon in independent, small-group, and whole-class learning. Making it significantly easier for teachers to access high-quality ready-to-go resources, activities, and lesson plans while also offering consistency across classes with access to the same technology. 

It’s important to note that not all EdTech resources marketed for the classroom are made equal and there are some key points to consider. 

The Grattan Institute outlines these important features in their most recent report, Ending the Lesson Lottery.

• High-quality resources that are aligned with the curriculum. This reduces the need for teachers to create and outsource their materials, saving hours of time. When teachers are all selecting from the same pool of high-quality materials it’s easier to collaborate and share approaches to implementing lessons. 
• Comprehensive and well-sequenced materials which show a clear path of how each point of learning connects, with a strong focus on the importance of foundations and how mastery enables students to build on prior knowledge.
• Easy to use and for relief teachers to take over. In today’s climate, relief teachers are in the classroom more than ever, so having resources that can be picked up and used by any educator is important. Students who once saw their teacher being absent as a way to disengage from learning will now have much less opportunity to. 
• An evidence-based approach to instruction can take place when we have the research and data to prove a practice is effective. Research has demonstrated the efficacy of a range of practices, including explicit instruction, mastery learning, spaced and retrieval practice, and formative assessment. So look out for these elements when evaluating potential resources. 
• Embedded assessment that accurately assesses students' understanding so interventions can take place when misconceptions occur. These types of assessment should include targeted, formative and summative for a well rounded approach. 
• Quality assured and road tested in real classrooms is the best way to make sure an approach is as successful as it’s said to be. Ensure it’s evaluated against recognised, clear and specific objectives and carries strong testimonials from teachers successfully running it with their students. 
• Ongoing professional development opportunities that are of a high-quality, occur regularly and are easy to access so time isn’t wasted researching and attending underwhelming sessions. 

Research also tells us that with the application of educational technology, students should be able to independently progress in mastering materials, choose their pace of work, repeat material that is not sufficiently clear, receive results as they work and track their progress. 

With so many requirements to meet what EdTech model can offer all of this? 

When EdTech brings best-practice and evidence-based instruction into the classroom the benefits on both students and teachers are endless.

There are currently 3,340 teachers and 80,146 students experiencing these benefits right now after partnering with Maths Pathway. 

The Maths Pathway Learning and Teaching Model delivers personalised learning to every student, increasing growth and engagement in the classroom. The model encompasses small group tuition and whole-class lessons, along with one-on-one feedback sessions to create a holistic learning environment, which is the key to success in every classroom.

At Maths Pathway we pride ourselves on our rigorous approach to analysing, creating and continuously reviewing the educational content we release to our students. With over 80,000 students currently enrolled with Maths Pathway the detailed data we receive guides our team of experts to be more strategic and targeted in where they spend their time so the impact on student learning will be the greatest. Our Learning Specialists are experienced secondary mathematics teachers, primary mathematics teachers, and mathematicians.

With our team of Learning Specialists combining their mathematical minds and clear trends in our data, Maths Pathway students receive the highest-quality curriculum-aligned content of any student in Australia. 

"WMaths Pathway has allowed so many of my students to catch up on key concepts that they have missed. Being able to work some time on curriculum and some time on Maths Pathway is giving us the best of both worlds, but with so many of our students having signifcant gaps, Maths Pathway has been wonderful as ALL our students are able to make progress"

• Steve Laing, Clarkson Community High School

Alongside our bank of teaching materials one of the biggest benefits teachers see is the access to real-time data so their practice is informed and accurate to meet students' individual needs. 

Since implementing a new way teachers like Liam Clifford the Heads of Maths at Baden Powell College feel their role has changed as a teacher. ”I spend a lot less time collecting data and more time using it, making me much more effective.” 

Liam noted students at Baden Powell are finally achieving success at their level and the results speak for themselves. Prior to implementation, Liam’s class was averaging 0.5 years growth every school year. Now, they’re averaging 1.6 years worth of growth across the class.