Inside the Maths Toolbox: How Choice Builds Confidence in the Primary Classroom

Kylie Stone is a WA primary teacher whose passion for mathematics teaching has been shaped through almost two decades of working across regional and metropolitan schools. Kylie shares how she builds confident, flexible mathematicians by focusing on journey over destination, prioritising strategy selection, and creating a warm, engaging environment where every student can access maths meaningfully.

Kylie explains her classroom Maths Toolbox system - an approach where students learn, practise and select from a wide range of mathematical strategies. Rather than chasing the correct answer, they explain how they got there. Tools include arrays, place value breakdowns, algorithms, manipulatives, mental strategies, and even student-invented approaches.

Our host, AAMT CEO Allan Dougan discusses with Kylie why she feels that multiple strategies matter and how teaching only one method restricts students. She argues for developing flexibility, efficiency and adaptive reasoning—especially as numbers get larger and problems become more complex. Students gradually learn which strategy is most efficient for a given task.

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