About Power of Ten

Meet the Owner

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Anita was introduced to Power of Ten early in her teaching career. The philosophy, activities and approach resonated strongly and in 2009, Anita further trained with Trevor Calkins and became a Power of Ten Consultant.

She has been supporting teachers improving their practices and spiraling their math curriculum by sharing the philosophy of teaching the entire math curriculum monthly. In August 2018, she bought the company from Trevor when he retired. Anita is passionate about sharing the Power of Ten approach for mathematics instruction.

Anita prepares and delivers math workshops in English or French, supporting teachers, administrators, home educators and parents in their quest for improved mathematics instruction. Anita has presented workshops to teachers in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and New York State.

She has a Bachelor of Education Degree from Université de Moncton and a Diploma in Advanced Undergraduate Studies with majors in Numeracy and Literacy from UNB.

About the Company

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Power of Ten Educational Consulting Ltd. is a proudly Canadian company, developed in Victoria, BC. The cards are printed in Camrose, AB. The business is operated out of Ottawa, ON.

Power of Ten offers on-going support in the form of workshops, in-class demonstrations, virtual support sessions, newsletters, as well as phone and email. Support is offered in English and French.

Since Power of Ten is a visual approach to mathematics instruction and learning, the cards are language neutral and can be utilized in classrooms worldwide. Activities are readily adaptable to non-French or non-English language instruction.

Meet the Founder

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Trevor Calkins, creator and author of Power of Ten, has spent his adult life studying how children develop numeracy. As teacher and administrator, he thoughtfully observed children struggling with numeracy skills, who “just can’t do math”. Equally, teachers expressed frustration about their inability to “get through to the kids”.

After years of observation, questioning, and studying, Trevor concluded that many of the old methods of teaching numeracy and mathematics were not working; new approaches were required.

Combining his experience with formal study of current brain research, Trevor has developed a system which guides teachers and give students a fresh and exciting way to develop numeracy skills.

Our Philosophy:

Meaning Makes Math Easier

When there is meaning, mathematics is easier to learn and much easier to remember. Meaning is usually found in complex activities such as:

Problem posing
Problem solving
Working on projects

Sources of meaning can be found in a variety of places, including sports, cooking, nutrition, data collection, measurement, and student-created puzzles.

Bring math to life and connect to the student's community when you incorporate meaning into projects, such as:

Designing and planning a four-room house
Planning a party
Purchasing school supplies
Picking stocks

Choice Helps Kids Learn

The brain has difficulty remembering material that is not connected to previous learning. The more choice that is built into the learning process, the greater the success of learning.

Choice is provided when students generate student-written problems, and when they are allowed to write tests or 'All the Facts' sheets in order of their choosing.

Students doing the 'How Many Ways' and 'What Do I Know' activities find themselves challenged, and during the participation in these activities, many students become very creative with ‘numbers’.

In addition, the games provided give students more choice, as there are many levels of challenge. Projects almost always involve students choosing information relevant to their homes, school, or community.

Trust Builds Self-Esteem

Students who are asked “How did you get your answer?” or “Can you do it another way?" learn to feel that their methods and ideas are valued.

Trusting that your peers and teachers value your thinking is an important step in creating self-esteem and risk-taking in mathematics. Teachers who use this approach develop increasingly respectful questioning techniques that encourage creativity and risk-taking.

Students develop an 'I can' mindset with regards to math.

Diversity Makes Learning Joyful

Because each student brings different experiences to the classroom, they learn differently and make connections differently.

When this diversity is valued by teachers and other students, a sense of risk-taking envelops the class and the whole process of learning mathematics becomes creative and joyful.

Take The Time To Learn

Traditional textbooks often teach in units – some topics such as decimals, fractions, geometry, measurement and even multiplication and division are not taught until later in the school year. This means that students receive less practice in these areas and often forget the material as there can be as many as twelve months between units. Because their previous learning experiences are so varied, all students require differing amounts of time to learn new material.

The curriculum should be learned, reviewed, and re-learned within new contexts, such as projects, Daily Quiz, Problem Solving and Problem Posing. The Yearly Plans in the Teachable Moments Manual ensure that the main concepts throughout the entire curriculum are covered monthly.

Assessment drives instruction. Mastery is developed over long periods of time. This approach to math instruction parallels the way reading is taught and language is learned.

Empower Yourself + Your Students

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With the Power of Ten, you can empower yourself and your students to learn math in a practical and fun way. Learn more about this exciting method by contacting Anita Horsman today.

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