Learning Accord

Founded by Maths Pathway (Australia) and Reflective Learning (South Africa), the Learning Accord is a not-for-profit group of organisations who are committed to supporting and delivering high quality, evidence-based instruction in schools and homes around the world. Member organisations have a shared vision of what great learning looks like, based on years of experience, data and the latest learning science.

Our members focus primarily on science, mathematics and numeracy education across primary and secondary students, and use a combination of ‘high-tech’, ‘high-touch’ and ‘low/no-tech’ tools and resources to support schools and teachers around the world.

Our members share several core beliefs about learning.

WHAT STUDENTS LEARN

We believe that students have a diverse range of learning needs. We know that in a typical class, students enter with a wide range of levels, and with different gaps and competencies to their peers.

We believe that students should build a deep understanding of the mathematics they learn, rather than just rote-learn procedures. We know that mathematical understanding is built cumulatively; to understand a new piece of mathematics, students must already have understood the sub-concepts.

We therefore believe that different students may be learning different mathematics at any given time. Students should not be constrained to work “at grade level”; rather, they should grow along a continuum towards a clear goal, from wherever they happen.

HOW STUDENTS LEARN

We believe that students need to learn in a variety of modes. They should develop confidence with mathematical digital technology, hand-written maths skills, and have opportunities for hands-on learning, group work and discourse.

We believe that students should learn to recognise and use mathematical ideas in situations outside the mathematics classroom, such as in other school subjects and employment.

We believe that teachers’ impact on student learning is not limited to content delivery. The relationship between teacher and learner is of critical importance to building mathematical self-confidence. Teacher feedback can have a huge impact. Direct instruction can also be impactful, if correctly targeted.

We place an extremely high value on teacher capacity. Teacher expertise, passion and commitment are all required to realise our vision of high quality mathematics instruction. We therefore strive to build teacher capacity, and to provide resources and support to teachers in the classroom.

We believe that students need to learn in a variety of modes. They should develop confidence with mathematical digital technology, hand-written maths skills, and have opportunities for hands-on learning, group work and discourse.

We believe that students should learn to recognise and use mathematical ideas in situations outside the mathematics classroom, such as in other school subjects and employment.

We believe that teachers’ impact on student learning is not limited to content delivery. The relationship between teacher and learner is of critical importance to building mathematical self-confidence. Teacher feedback can have a huge impact. Direct instruction can also be impactful, if correctly targeted.

We place an extremely high value on teacher capacity. Teacher expertise, passion and commitment are all required to realise our vision of high quality mathematics instruction. We therefore strive to build teacher capacity, and to provide resources and support to teachers in the classroom.

We believe that students need to learn in a variety of modes. They should develop confidence with mathematical digital technology, hand-written maths skills, and have opportunities for hands-on learning, group work and discourse.

We believe that students should learn to recognise and use mathematical ideas in situations outside the mathematics classroom, such as in other school subjects and employment.

We believe that teachers’ impact on student learning is not limited to content delivery. The relationship between teacher and learner is of critical importance to building mathematical self-confidence. Teacher feedback can have a huge impact. Direct instruction can also be impactful, if correctly targeted.

We place an extremely high value on teacher capacity. Teacher expertise, passion and commitment are all required to realise our vision of high quality mathematics instruction. We therefore strive to build teacher capacity, and to provide resources and support to teachers in the classroom.

REPORTING AND ASSESSMENT

We believe that parents should be well informed about how schools are teaching their children.

We believe that courses should be structured around effective student learning first. Assessments should be diagnostic and formative – they should reflect, measure and enhance student learning. Reports should draw on assessment data to give an accurate picture of how a student’s learning is going.