A brain compatible learning system for numeracy skills.

Power of Ten is an innovative and creative approach to teaching and learning how to use numbers. It has been designed by a respected and experienced Canadian teacher, and has proven effective in hundreds of schools and classrooms across Western Canada and the Northwest United States.

The model for Power of Ten utilizes trust, respect, and creativity. It is based on current research concerning how the brain works and children learn. It supports teachers and administrators, as well as students, with a complete set of materials, plans, and approaches for teaching numeracy at elementary and middle school levels. Additional support is provided through in-service, conferences, and workshops which provide a philosphical background for the program, as well as strategies and ideas for teaching students, individually and in the classroom. In addition, Power of Ten provides a training program for educators who may wish to become in-service presenters themselves. (You may contact independent Power of Ten Consultants directly.)

Selected sections of Power of Ten are available in French.

The Power of Ten System has four parts:

1) The Power of Ten Visual System

For teaching basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts and other number sense skills.

2) Mastering the Basics Series

A set of assessment materials for grades 4,5,6,7 and 8 based on the curriculum set by the Western Canada Consortium.

3) Mathematics as a Teachable Moment Series

A teacher’s manual for primary, intermediate or middle school, focussing on a curriculum which makes connections between number sense, spatial sense, patterns and relationships and data analysis and probability. The manual is created as a resource for teaching strategies and tools which form as solid base of interesting and useful activities and projects which teachers will then add to as they find their own materials relevant to their own students and community of interest..

To view and print sample chapters (which are handed out at conferences or school workshops) from the Mathematics As a Teachable Moment Series, select from the following list of PDF documents:

Blackline Masters (Primary) How Many Ways (Primary) Weekly Graph (Primary) Fractions, Decimal Fractions, Percent (Intermediate) Blackline Masters (Intermediate) Problem Solving (Intermediate) Weekly Graph (Intermediate)

4) Math Activities

1. Interactive Math Program CD: These disks contain games and tutoring activities based on learning research and designed to help children develop essential math skills and concepts. The program is available for classroom and home use, and is supported by manuals, worksheets, and assessment recording. Available for PC's only.
2. Place Value and Problem Solving Cards: This set of printed number cards is designed to be manipulated by students to demonstrate expanded forms of a numbers and to make the connection between place value and meaning. In addition, use of the cards will help students improve mental math skills. The cards are accompanied by an explanatory brochure for teachers and parents.

Trevor Calkins

Trevor Calkins, author and creator of Power Of Ten, is available for in-service, workshops, and conferences. A gifted speaker, Trevor's enthusiasm and expertise takes his audience to a new understanding about the teaching of mathematics and how children learn.

Exploring Student Thinking

The Greater Victoria School District has produced a video featuring Marla Margetts, a Grade One teacher, who took the essence of the Power of Ten and Teachable Moment system, made it her own, and created a climate of trust that results in a class of six year olds with phenomenal number sense. It is available on DVD or VHS for $75 plus handling and shipping through the Greater Victoria School District. This not for profit video was made by Olson Films in collaboration with the Greater Victoria School District Making Math Meaningful Numeracy Initiative. Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to order.

In brain-based learning, educators see learners as active participants in the learning process. The teacher is not the deliverer of knowledge, but the facilitator and intelligent guide who engages student interest in learning. Students and teachers become partners in the pursuit of understanding.

Renate Nummela Caine and Geoffrey Caine, "Education on the Edge of Possibility"