Numicon New Zealand

MOE is funding Numicon online for 2027

This is a great course to learn how to support learners struggling with maths.

What a great way to end our Numicon Conference with Carla's Keynote!

I (Carla) absolutely loved being a part of the Numicon Conference in Christchurch this week. It was a privilege to present and to learn alongside so many dedicated educators from across Aotearoa.

I presented a workshop on Explicit Instruction and a keynote on the Role of Memory in Learning.

Instruction is the through road for all curriculum areas. Explicit instruction is not the end game, but it is crucial for novice learners, teaching foundation or new knowledge, and those requiring intervention. When we are clear, structured and intentional in our teaching, we create the conditions for success.

Some key ideas explored during the sessions included:

- If students do not have knowledge, there is nothing to retrieve and therefore no problem solving.

-Working memory is limited and must be carefully managed through how we design instruction.

-Fluency matters, accuracy, rate and retention change everything for learners.

-Practice builds memory, but it must be deliberate, spaced, interleaved and include retrieval.

-Active participation is essential, students need frequent opportunities to respond.

-We must know what students know and what they do not yet know, and teach accordingly.

-Vocabulary is knowledge, if students cannot retrieve the meaning of words, they cannot access the learning.

-Learning becomes usable when students can retrieve it across different contexts, not just in the moment.

It was great to see such strong engagement from teachers. I enjoyed attending other workshops and hearing about the incredible work happening in schools across the country.

A big shout out to the Numicon team for their mahi in bringing this together. If you attended, I'd would love to hear your key takeaways, drop them in the comments below!

See you at St Margaret's College, 12 Wi******er Street, Christchurch. Doors open at 8 am.

Register here https://edushop.eventsair.com/numicon-2026/numiconreg26/Site/Register