Basic Number Skills

Using a practical skills-based approach, Basic Number Skills will encourage learners to develop skills to understand how numbers, time, space, measurement, shapes and direction impact on their life. The development of problem solving in real-life situations is to be emphasised.

This course is specifically designed for learners who require flexible and individualised programs. The skills, knowledge and understandings offered in this course will enable learners to move toward greater autonomy and independence.

Learning will take place in highly familiar contexts, using concrete and immediate examples, a very restricted range of contexts and using limited and highly familiar vocabulary.

Basic Number Skills is one of a suite of courses designed to provide basic skills to learners with high needs, many of whom have a learning difficulty or disability.

Some learners may need the full suite of courses for study in both Years 11 and 12, some may need it for only part of their course load, and other learners may need only some courses in Year 11 before moving to other programs for Year 12.

Learners need to develop knowledge and skills in numeration, and understand how numeration is used in everyday living. This course is designed to provide learners with opportunities to develop fundamental mathematical skills and mathematical processes needed in everyday situations.

On successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:

1. recognise whole numbers and everyday relative values
2. have a basic knowledge and understanding of time, money and measurement
3. be able to apply basic number skills to everyday situations
4. recognise basic two and three dimensional shapes, and be able to describe some features of free shapes and linear qualities.

All learners have a right to an education that meets their needs through full participation and engagement with learning. Teachers need to enhance the quality of all students’ learning through responsive and planned learning programs that optimise achievement using inclusive practices.

Learners should have access to appropriate resources such as professional support staff; or adult assistance, and equipment such as assistive technology or modified facilities, as required. The Disability Standards for Education, 2005 outline the obligations that educational providers must meet in supporting the needs of students with disability through reasonable adjustments.

Adjustments include a range of supports and accommodations including but not limited to: supportive learning environments, tailored delivery models, visual and organisational supports, multimodal learning and assessment opportunities, varying levels of prompting and adult assistance. In the instance of online, distance or flexible delivery, adjustments may be made to the courses by teachers to suit the individual student’s learning environment. This may involve adaptation of the course to reflect the resources readily available to the learner within their home or community.

This course has a complexity level preliminary to Level 1.

This course has a size value of 15.

Tasmanian Certificate of Education: The qualifications available have a level of complexity preliminary to that of Level 1. Achievement of the qualifications does not, therefore, contribute credit points towards meeting the participation and achievement standard of the Tasmanian Certificate of Education qualification.

Qualifications Certificate: The qualifications available can be listed on the Qualifications Certificate issued by TASC.

This course has six (6) Units. All Units are to be delivered and assessed. Providers will determine the time allocated to Units to best cater for the individual needs of learners.

1. Basic number operations
2. Time
3. Shapes and Objects
4. Direction
5. Money
6. Measurement.

UNIT 1: Basic number operations

• counts objects up to 10 with one to one correspondence
• relative value (e.g. many, few, more than, same as, less than, double)
• sets of items (e.g. exposure to dozen, pairs)
• recognises numbers on Australian money
• recognises a range of symbols (e.g. AM, PM)
• uses a calculator to add whole numbers
• numeric order (e.g. first, second, third).

UNIT 2: Time

• use of concepts of past, present and future
• basic timeframes (e.g. day, night, morning, afternoon)
• concept of time passing (e.g. yesterday, today and tomorrow)
• use tools that measure time
• calendar units (e.g. days of the week)
• units of time (e.g. hours, minutes)
• recognise that a clock provides information about time (e.g. 2 o'clock)
• use of personal timetable (e.g. school timetable)
• use calendar to record events (e.g. birthdays, holidays).

UNIT 3: Shapes and Objects

• two dimensional shapes (e.g. square, triangle, rectangle, circle)
• free shapes (e.g. the shape of a puddle, shape of a cloud)
• linear qualities (e.g. straight, curved, round, jagged)
• indicate everyday three dimensional objects (e.g. ball).

UNIT 4: Direction

• up, down, left, right, diagonally
• position (e.g. centre, front, back, side)
• directions for going from one familiar place to another
• simple maps (e.g. map of school grounds, map of a park)
• distance and direction (e.g. home to school, home to cinema).

UNIT 5: Money

• identification of some notes, and $1 and $2 coins
• use of money and cards to purchase goods and services
• recognising amounts of money.

UNIT 6: Measurement

• size, weight, length
• measurement units (e.g. centimetre, metre, grams, kilo, litre)
• use of basic measuring tools (e.g. ruler, cup, scales)
• identification and comparison of familiar items (e.g. size/weight of two items).

NOTATION ON EVIDENCE OF LEARNING

Some of the criteria standard elements (see below) use the terms ‘identify’ or ‘describe’.

In the context of this preliminary level course, ‘identification’ might be done via methods such as:

• correctly selecting from a given list
• correctly selecting from a set of images
• correctly naming from memory or after consulting a source such as the internet.

‘Selecting’ might be done by methods such as: pointing; nodding; circling with a pen; or matching (e.g. picture with corresponding name card).

In the context of this preliminary level course, ‘describing’ might be done via methods such as:

• an oral description
• a written description (e.g. a word list of characteristics)
• a series of actions
• a series of images with simple written notations.

Criterion-based assessment is a form of outcomes assessment that identifies the extent of learner achievement at an appropriate end-point of study. Although assessment – as part of the learning program – is continuous, much of it is formative, and is done to help learners identify what they need to do to attain the maximum benefit from their study of the course. Therefore, assessment for summative reporting to TASC will focus on what both teacher and learner understand to reflect end-point achievement.

The standard of achievement each learner attains on each criterion is recorded as a rating of ‘C’ (satisfactory standard) according to the outcomes specified in the standards section of the course document.

A ‘t’ notation must be used where a learner demonstrates any achievement against a criterion less than the standard specified for the ‘C’ rating. The ‘t’ notation is not described in course standards.

A ‘z’ notation is to be used where a learner provides no evidence of achievement at all.

Providers offering this course must participate in quality assurance processes specified by TASC to ensure provider validity and comparability of standards across all awards. To learn more, see TASC's quality assurance processes and assessment information.

Internal assessment of all criteria will be made by the provider. Assessment processes must gather evidence that clearly shows the match between individual learner performance, the standards of the course and the learner’s award. Providers will report the learner’s rating for each criterion to TASC.

The following process will be facilitated by TASC to ensure there is:

• a match between the standards of achievement specified in the course and the skills and knowledge demonstrated by learners
• community confidence in the integrity and meaning of the qualification.

Process – Each provider is responsible for ensuring the integrity and validity of their assessment results against the requirements of the course, including standards, and for maintaining records and documentation that will demonstrate the integrity, accuracy and validity of the award decisions they make each year.

Where TASC identifies sufficient potential for concern about the integrity or validity of a provider’s award decisions it will undertake an investigation. After such an investigation is completed, TASC may take action under Section 33 of the Office of Tasmanian Assessment, Standards and Certification Act 2003 as it considers appropriate, including but not limited to:

• giving the school/college a direction in relation to the provision or assessment of the course (section 33 (2))
• refusing to accept results for this course from the provider (section 33 (4)).

The assessment for Basic Number Skills will be based on whether the learner can:

• 1. recognise whole numbers and everyday relative values
• 2. schedule familiar activities in a time-frame
• 3. manage money in making basic purchases
• 4. recognise basic shapes and measure familiar objects using basic measuring tools
• 5. find their way from one location (not within view) to another

Basic Number Skills (with the award of):

SATISFACTORY ACHIEVEMENT

PRELIMINARY ACHIEVEMENT

The minimum requirements for an award in Basic Number Skills are as follows:

SATISFACTORY ACHIEVEMENT
4 ‘C’ ratings

PRELIMINARY ACHIEVEMENT
3 ‘C’ ratings

The Department of Education’s Curriculum Services will develop and regularly revise the curriculum. This evaluation will be informed by the experience of the course’s implementation, delivery and assessment. In addition, stakeholders may request Curriculum Services to review a particular aspect of an accredited course.

Requests for amendments to an accredited course will be forwarded by Curriculum Services to the Office of TASC for formal consideration.

Such requests for amendment will be considered in terms of the likely improvements to the outcomes for learners, possible consequences for delivery and assessment of the course, and alignment with Australian Curriculum materials.

A course is formally analysed prior to the expiry of its accreditation as part of the process to develop specifications to guide the development of any replacement course.

Version 1 – Accredited on 2 April 2014 for use in 2015 to 2018. This course replaces Basic Number Skills (PRE012210) that expired on 31 December 2014.