Student Diversity

The Western Australian Curriculum values diversity by providing for multiple means of representation, action, expression and engagement, and allows schools the flexibility to respond to the diversity of learners within their community.

All schools have a responsibility when implementing the Western Australian Curriculum to ensure that students’ learning is inclusive, and relevant to their experiences, abilities and talents.

For some students with diverse languages, cultures, abilities and talents, it may be necessary to provide a range of curriculum adjustments so they can access age-equivalent content in the Western Australian Curriculum and participate in learning on the same basis as their peers.

In the Mathematics curriculum, meeting the needs of diverse learners may involve selecting appropriate contexts, representations and tasks that reflect students’ identities and the impact of diversity on their ways of thinking and learning. Mathematical content can be conveyed through symbolic, visual, numerical, graphical, verbal and digital means. Alternative communications can support access to content. Examples of these include real objects, tactile materials, gesture, signing, diagrams, photographs, pictographs and braille. The Mathematics curriculum includes key terms (e.g. explore, interpret, reason, explain) to guide understanding and inform how students demonstrate their mathematical understanding.

Teachers will design and adapt assessment to ensure accessibility and relevance, including varying the modes through which knowledge and skills are demonstrated. This may involve providing alternatives to traditional written tests, such as oral explanations, visual models, digital presentations or practical tasks. Tasks can be made open-ended, allowing students to engage with the content at different levels of complexity according to their needs and strengths.

The Mathematics curriculum is for all students. It is recognised that some students may require adjustments to support how they see, hear, process or engage with mathematical concepts. Students may benefit from a range of teaching approaches, including but not limited to:

• simultaneous learning modes, such as working with diagrams while listening to verbal explanations or manipulating physical models
• resources such as number lines, manipulatives, gesture or visual cues to reinforce mathematical meaning
• peer-assisted learning and collaborative problem-solving
• extension tasks for individuals and groups who require a deeper challenge
• alternative ways to show understanding, including drawing, modelling, simulations or using digital tools.

All schools have a responsibility when implementing the Mathematics curriculum to ensure that teaching is inclusive, equitable and connected to the diverse lived experiences, cultural backgrounds and learning needs of all students.