St JOSEPH’S Primary School in Port Macquarie is taking a hands-on approach to boosting maths fluency in Year 3.
Every day, students dive straight into two minutes of timed number facts practice at the start of each maths lesson, strengthening their recall of basic operations with a focus on both speed and accuracy.
Guided by the latest research from the “Science of Learning” field, teachers have introduced this routine as part of a whole-school focus on lifting academic performance.
“The Science of Learning brings together research from psychology, education, and neuroscience to understand how people learn best,” said Principal Troy Baker.
“By focusing on how the brain processes, stores, and recalls information, this field helps teachers use proven strategies to improve student learning.
“These insights guide practices like retrieval practice, spaced repetition, and explicit instruction, ensuring every child can build strong foundations and succeed,” said Mr Baker.
Following timed practice sessions, students and teachers actively mark answers and share responses to increase the number of repetitions.
This simple habit aims to strengthen long-term memory of number facts, preparing students to tackle more complex, multi-step problems with greater ease.
“This is about personal growth, and it’s wonderful to see the pride students take in their own improvement each day,” said Mr Baker.
