At GIPS, we intend to focus our attention on developing sophisticated and refined mathematical understanding across all year levels with a strong focus on mathematical conceptual understandings targeted at every child’s point of need.

Under the structure of the Victorian Curriculum, across all year levels GIPS follows the Big Ideas, a student-centred approach focused on mathematical concepts that link to numerous mathematical understandings. The Big Ideas provide a framework for our students to build understanding by connecting related ideas and support development of the understanding in number from early to advanced concepts. Our curriculum allows students to deeply build number sense and it enriches student mathematical thinking.

“One of the main aims of school mathematics is to create mental objects in the mind’s eye of children which can be manipulated flexibly with understanding and confidence.” - Professor Dianne Siemon, RMIT University

The Big Ideas focus on helping students understand the deeper concepts behind math, rather than just memorising rules or procedures. These include things like recognising patterns, understanding numbers and their relationships, and learning how to solve problems in different ways. One of the key ideas is the idea of "structure"—understanding how numbers and operations work together, like how addition and subtraction are related or how multiplication can be seen as repeated addition. Another important concept is "reasoning," where students learn how to think logically and justify their answers. By focusing on these big ideas, students develop a stronger, more flexible understanding of math that helps them apply it to real-life situations, rather than just learning isolated facts. This approach helps children become more confident and capable problem-solvers in the future.