Maths Invaders at Templeton Primary School
Aidan Schanssema, Director of Teaching – Numeracy, from Templeton Primary School gives insight into the use of Maths Invaders by Year 2 classes at the
Research shows that Year 5 students who have learned to type with the leading touch-typing tutor, Typing Tournament have a clear advantage and a pathway to improved NAPLAN scores for the whole class. On average, the result for children in the class will be boosted by 7 marks in the NAPLAN Online Writing Task. That is 37% of a year’s progress in the Writing Task!
While many voices have long made the case to raise the status of keyboard skills in school education, recent developments are fundamentally changing the landscape. Firstly, the NAPLAN Review Final Report noted that the explicit teaching of keyboarding skills is essential in developing writing skills and for equitable participation in online writing tasks (see page 84). Secondly, the Australian Writing Survey has found that many school teachers do not feel equipped to teach keyboard skills (see page 7), suggesting a critical role for resources (such as Typing Tournament) to facilitate this.
This growing imperative for typing skills is now reflected in a wide range of curricula, educational practice and the use of online testing. The ACARA Literacy Progression requires students to develop typing skills throughout primary schooling so that by HwK8 (Years 5 and 6) they are able to demonstrate automaticity when keyboarding.
High typing speeds are not necessarily the dominant aim in primary school. Handwriting in primary children is estimated to average 10-13 words per minute, with few achieving 20 WPM. Thus, a typing speed of 18-20 WPM easily exceeds handwriting speed in most practical circumstances. Earlier research has shown that weekly use of Typing Tournament increases average typing speeds by 6 words per minute (WPM) over a school term, meaning that speeds of 18-20 WPM are a realistic target for middle primary students with many classes regularly achieving typing speeds of over 45 WPM.
Aidan Schanssema, Director of Teaching – Numeracy, from Templeton Primary School gives insight into the use of Maths Invaders by Year 2 classes at the
The link between speed, confidence, fluency and attainment What does a confident student look like? Motivated – an enthusiastic learner who is ready to respond
Research demonstrates that the consistent use of Maths Invaders significantly boosts students’ answer speed (confidence) and attainment (maths age) at a rate well above normal