Providing the Mathematical Foundation for an Innovative Australia within Reform Based Learning Environments. The focus of this project is the pedagogical change that The Review of Teaching and Teacher Education indicates must take place in order to lay the quantitative foundations for advancing innovation, science, technology, and mathematics, while satisfying the requirements of a reform-based learning environment. Professional learning directed at teachers' pedagogical content knowledge and be ....Providing the Mathematical Foundation for an Innovative Australia within Reform Based Learning Environments. The focus of this project is the pedagogical change that The Review of Teaching and Teacher Education indicates must take place in order to lay the quantitative foundations for advancing innovation, science, technology, and mathematics, while satisfying the requirements of a reform-based learning environment. Professional learning directed at teachers' pedagogical content knowledge and belief structures with respect to mathematics within an environment of curricular change, will be evaluated in evidence-based terms related to teacher change and student outcomes. Significance includes the context, the middle school years in rural district schools, and the influence of technology on pedagogy.Read moreRead less
Longitudinal change for teachers and students in relation to professional learning in statistics education. There is a growing need in Australia's information society for statistically literate citizens, and for more young people to choose to continue their study of statistics past school. The evidence-based research outcomes for both teachers and students in this study, based on an innovative professional learning program catering for individual requirements of teachers, will provide a model fo ....Longitudinal change for teachers and students in relation to professional learning in statistics education. There is a growing need in Australia's information society for statistically literate citizens, and for more young people to choose to continue their study of statistics past school. The evidence-based research outcomes for both teachers and students in this study, based on an innovative professional learning program catering for individual requirements of teachers, will provide a model for industries and education systems to follow in reaching these goals. Further, each of the three collaborating industries will participate in research-based investigations into the benefits of its contributions to enhancing teacher and student outcomes in relation to statistics at the school level.Read moreRead less
Statistical Literacy for the Twenty-first Century: A Consolidated Model of Understanding for Application to Learning in Context. The overall aim of this project is to achieve a complete developmental model of school students? understanding of the concepts required to participate as statistically literate members of society. Australia is now an information- and data-driven society and to achieve its goals economically, scientifically, and socially, it requires citizens who can make decisions base ....Statistical Literacy for the Twenty-first Century: A Consolidated Model of Understanding for Application to Learning in Context. The overall aim of this project is to achieve a complete developmental model of school students? understanding of the concepts required to participate as statistically literate members of society. Australia is now an information- and data-driven society and to achieve its goals economically, scientifically, and socially, it requires citizens who can make decisions based on appropriate quantitative understanding. A major component of this is statistical literacy. The outcomes of this project based on the theoretical model will include assessment instruments, recommendations for the school curriculum, and trialed learning materials and technologies shown to contribute to understanding, for classroom use.Read moreRead less
The Shallow Teaching Syndrome in School Mathematics - towards practical ways that will engage students more deeply. Australian governments have made considerable investment in international comparative studies of student achievement in mathematics. One of the findings is that an average Australian lesson exhibits the 'shallow teaching syndrome', having relatively lower complexity, higher repetition and less mathematical reasoning than high-achieving countries. This project will interview cur ....The Shallow Teaching Syndrome in School Mathematics - towards practical ways that will engage students more deeply. Australian governments have made considerable investment in international comparative studies of student achievement in mathematics. One of the findings is that an average Australian lesson exhibits the 'shallow teaching syndrome', having relatively lower complexity, higher repetition and less mathematical reasoning than high-achieving countries. This project will interview curriculum leaders and textbook writers, and analyse both traditional textbook and innovative curriculum materials. This will help to understand the reasons for the syndrome and recommend practical ways in which lessons that engage students more deeply, can be encouraged.Read moreRead less
Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development - Grant ID: DI0668328
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$159,713.00
Summary
Indigenous world view, algebra pedagogy and improving Indigenous performance in secondary mathematics. Schools have low mathematics expectations for Indigenous students; low performance is blamed on their culture which is seen as primitive and instruction is reduced to repetitive rote learning of computation. There is evidence that Indigenous students could excel in mathematics if it is contextualised and taught from patterns and structure. A theory showing how Indigenous students can develop st ....Indigenous world view, algebra pedagogy and improving Indigenous performance in secondary mathematics. Schools have low mathematics expectations for Indigenous students; low performance is blamed on their culture which is seen as primitive and instruction is reduced to repetitive rote learning of computation. There is evidence that Indigenous students could excel in mathematics if it is contextualised and taught from patterns and structure. A theory showing how Indigenous students can develop strong mathematical understandings would provide a counter to accepted wisdom of low performance and a model for future Indigenous student attainment. Making mathematics-based University disciplines a reality for Indigenous students will benefit individual students, their community and the economic future of Australia.Read moreRead less
Conceptual Understanding and Problem-solving Approaches in the Presence of Graphics Calculators. The objectives of the project are to identify how students conceptualise mathematical relationships and formulate problem solutions, when graphics calculators are utilised. Graphics calculators are now common in schools and research is needed to provide sound bases for teaching and assessment. Investigation will centre on upper-secondary applied mathematics subjects because they are studied by a high ....Conceptual Understanding and Problem-solving Approaches in the Presence of Graphics Calculators. The objectives of the project are to identify how students conceptualise mathematical relationships and formulate problem solutions, when graphics calculators are utilised. Graphics calculators are now common in schools and research is needed to provide sound bases for teaching and assessment. Investigation will centre on upper-secondary applied mathematics subjects because they are studied by a high proportion of students for university entrance, are relevant to a wide range of careers and have received relatively little research attention in relation to calculator use. The project will yield, for school and research communities, new knowledge of mathematics learning with graphics calculators.Read moreRead less
Numeracy, Youth and Employment: A study of numeracy demands in contemporary workplaces in regional Queensland. In contemporary workplaces, the numeracy demands are varied, yet little is known about their form or skill requirements. In order for schools and other agencies to better prepare Australian youth for the demands of contemporary work, a clearer understanding of the intersection of numeracy and work is needed. This project seeks to identify the numeracy demands across a range of industr ....Numeracy, Youth and Employment: A study of numeracy demands in contemporary workplaces in regional Queensland. In contemporary workplaces, the numeracy demands are varied, yet little is known about their form or skill requirements. In order for schools and other agencies to better prepare Australian youth for the demands of contemporary work, a clearer understanding of the intersection of numeracy and work is needed. This project seeks to identify the numeracy demands across a range of industries in the Gold Coast region of Queensland. As well as examining the types of numeracy demands, the project identifies some of the best ways in which numeracy skills can be improved to meet the demands across those industries.Read moreRead less
Responsibility for knowledge generation in Australian and Korean mathematics classrooms: Beyond the teacher-centred/student-centred dichotomy. We need to reconcile the apparent differences in instructional practice between well-taught 'Asian' and well-taught 'Western' mathematics classrooms. If this can be achieved then best practice in one tradition can inform best practice in the other. An analytical approach based on the distribution of responsibility for knowledge generation is applied to we ....Responsibility for knowledge generation in Australian and Korean mathematics classrooms: Beyond the teacher-centred/student-centred dichotomy. We need to reconcile the apparent differences in instructional practice between well-taught 'Asian' and well-taught 'Western' mathematics classrooms. If this can be achieved then best practice in one tradition can inform best practice in the other. An analytical approach based on the distribution of responsibility for knowledge generation is applied to well-taught classrooms in Australia and Korea in order to accommodate the effective practices of competent teachers in both traditions within the same explanatory framework. Only then will teachers in one tradition have access to effective practice in the other tradition in a form likely to sustain culturally-appropriate adaptation. The benefits to Australian schools will be considerable.Read moreRead less
Examining the relationship between the documented curriculum, classroom tasks, and the learning of mathematics. There is an obvious connection between maximizing mathematics learning of young people and the nation's future. Currently many young people are missing opportunities for learning mathematics at school, and this not only reduces their own opportunities, but also increases their risk of long term dependence on government services. At the same time, mathematics is increasingly necessary f ....Examining the relationship between the documented curriculum, classroom tasks, and the learning of mathematics. There is an obvious connection between maximizing mathematics learning of young people and the nation's future. Currently many young people are missing opportunities for learning mathematics at school, and this not only reduces their own opportunities, but also increases their risk of long term dependence on government services. At the same time, mathematics is increasingly necessary for tertiary study in a range of fields, and the number of students choosing the highest level of mathematics is declining. The project will evaluate the types of tasks that teachers can use to engage all students in learning mathematics effectively, while preserving options for those students who may choose to specialise in tertiary mathematics study.Read moreRead less
Designing technology-enriched pedagogy in secondary mathematics education. The Australian Government's "Agenda for Action" emphasises the need to foster innovation in mathematics teaching and teacher education, and encourages teachers to embrace technologies that enhance student learning. Yet international research shows that successful innovation in teaching with technology has been elusive. This project will develop new theoretical understanding of why technology-related innovation in secondar ....Designing technology-enriched pedagogy in secondary mathematics education. The Australian Government's "Agenda for Action" emphasises the need to foster innovation in mathematics teaching and teacher education, and encourages teachers to embrace technologies that enhance student learning. Yet international research shows that successful innovation in teaching with technology has been elusive. This project will develop new theoretical understanding of why technology-related innovation in secondary school mathematics teaching takes hold in some educational settings but not others. The findings will lead to practical recommendations for design of teacher professional development programs, and shed light on reasons why teachers may embrace or reject educational change.Read moreRead less