IMSITE project www.IMSITE.edu.au

Inspiring mathematics and science in teacher

education

The University of Queensland University of Newcastle

James Cook University University of Wollongong

University of Sydney University of Tasmania

Funded under the Enhancing the Training of Mathematics and Science Teachers program

Why?

What?

To promote strategic change in the Australian higher education

sector by developing and disseminating new interdisciplinary

approaches to mathematics and science pre-service teacher

education.

How?

1. By fostering genuine, lasting collaboration between

the mathematicians, scientists, and mathematics/science

teacher educators who prepare future teachers of

secondary school mathematics and science.

2. By identifying and institutionalising new ways of

integrating the content expertise of mathematicians

and scientists, and the pedagogical expertise of

mathematics and science teacher educators.

This is a project about people rather than things

Maths

School

Teachers

Maths

Discipline

Academics

Maths

Education

Academics

Connecting communities to learn at the boundaries

Boundary “brokers”

Brokers and boundary

practices that support

collaboration between

communities

fostering genuine, lasting collaboration

Strategies we’ll highlight, to:

engage/retain pre-service mathematics teachers

Embedding activities and events from the First Day of the

First Year and following through in higher years

• Promoting maths teaching to non-teaching students

• Community building activities

• Dedicated mathematics tutorials

• Meetings with more experienced peers

• Integrating assessment rubrics into maths units

• In-service and pre-service teachers working together

Background: pathways to being a teacher

• Bachelor Degree in discipline + 1 Year Graduate Diploma

• Bachelor Degree in discipline + 2 Year Masters

• Integrated Masters of Education (4 years)

• Double degree or Bachelor programs (4 or 5 years total)

Retention and Progression at JCU (2008-2013)

21%

9%37%

10%

23%

70%

Graduated Projected to graduate

Failed MA1000 Failed MA1003

Other reasons for leaving

Output of Secondary Maths Teaching at JCU

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Nu

mb

er

of

stu

de

nts

Year

Numbers graduating

Grad Dip

BEd

*2015 Projected

Retention and Progression at UoN

Retention and Progression at SYDNEY

• Double degree BSc/Bed(Sec. Maths.)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

1st Yr

2nd Yr

3rd Yr

COURSE STRUCTURE

– M = Traditional Maths/Stats unit

– ME = Mathematics curriculum/education unit

– E = Education unit (generic)

– P = Professional Experience (min. 80 days)

– x = other units (including science or more maths)

James Cook

96 CP

Newcastle

320 units

Sydney

240 CP

1st Yr 15M +12E 40M+10ME+30E 12M +12E +24x

2nd Yr 9M+3ME+ 6E+3P 20M+10ME+40E+10P 12M +24E +12x

3rd Yr 9M+6ME+12E+3P 40M+10ME+20E+10P 12M+24ME+10E+2P

4th Yr 3ME+ 9E+6P 10M+10ME+10E+20P+30x 12M+12ME+22E+2P

5th Yr 18E+6P+24x

Notice these “gaps”

Community Building Activities

At JCU in first year students join MET-Q website

(Mathematics Educators Tropical Queensland)

This site is all about pre-service teachers finding out who they are.

– First year, contribute profile, and look at work of 2nd, 3rd years

– Second year, post work for assessment in MA2900

– Third year, post blogs about tutoring to maths teacher mentors

– Fourth year, nothing formal

– Graduates join the “early career network”

Promoting maths teaching to non-teaching studentsStrategies @ Newcastle Recruitment

14

Recruitment MATH270

“a taste of education studies to Maths/Sci/Eng undergraduates”

– involve local high school teachers and students,

– university students (from non-education disciplines),

– pre-service secondary mathematics teachers and academics

• practice

– tutoring mathematics (in any format)

– on-campus experiences Yr 8/9 classes revise/consolidate

– in collaboration with the high school teacher

– planning and running a mathematics fun day

• reflection

– assessment tasks and discussions (e.g. Brookfield’s 4 lenses)

Dedicated Mathematics Tutorials

Recall that at Sydney and JCU, Maths Ed students don’t have Maths Ed

subjects until 3rd year. How to create a sense of cohort?

Dedicated tutorials in Maths subjects for Maths Ed students

• Running at JCU for several years

• Helps find “birds of a feather” so not swamped by Eng.

• Helps create study groups

• Tutor is a high-school teacher, helps professional identity

• Sydney has now run for 3 semesters, to great feedback!

1st year Calculus, 3rd year Maths, 3rd year Education

• UoN: dedicated tutes for Math Ed students in Ed courses

Meetings with more experienced peers

Provides:

• Advice on balancing life, work, study; subject-choices

JCU:

• 2nd year students invited to talk to 1st years in a tutorial

• MET-Q shows who is ahead

• Ed building has common working space so paths cross

Sydney:

• Special lunches

• Online Facebook groups

Secondary Mathematics Alumni Conference

Now 115 participants (run in 2014 and 2015)

Alumni from our teaching program

+

Current students

+

Keynote speakers

• Current issues in education

• Rapid share (5 min tips and tricks)

• Teach-meet

http://tinyurl.com/SUSMAC2015

“Teaching in Practice” Day (7 Aug)

12 Experienced High School Teachers

+

24 Pre-service Teachers

( who have recently done or about to do prac. )

+

3 academics

• Accreditation for teachers

• Part of coursework for students

• Scenarios

• Favourite lesson plans

• Administration and school politics

• Connecting syllabus elements

“Work Like a Mathematician” days

• Bring together current students of UOW with local gifted

Year 8 and Year 9 high school students

– in whiteboard tutorial rooms on campus,

– a taste of what

mathematicians

do as part of their

professional practice

– expose UOW

students to different

teaching

environments.

CLOWD room

Collaborative Learning

Occupants Working Dynamically

A room with whiteboards around all the wall

– Paid for by IMSITE but built

Illawarra Sports High

School

– USED by BOTH the high

school and the university

– This style of teaching used

for first year tutorials at

UOW for more than 20

years.

Not just about people and connections

We are also building and sharing brand new units of study

Difficult to do at large monolithic sandstone unis

but stil l…

Math2920: Thinking and Working Mathematically

First Year Course In Working Mathematically

Math2920: Thinking and Working Mathematically

• Created as a 2nd year course for teaching students

• Run for 10+ years

• Beloved, changes students’ views of mathematics

• Now, compulsory in First Year for secondary Maths Ed

• Hope: will change how students see other Maths courses

First Year Course In Working Mathematically

In organized scribble, students are encouraged to

• use words like Entry, Attack, Review, Stuck, Uh-huh!

• record emotions, eg

• specialise as necessary, generalise when they want/can

Followed by a formal write-up: “convincing argument”

Then a self-assessment

First Year Course In Working Mathematically

• Hook

– Thinking and working mathematically is in the NSW syllabus

• Rationale

– Attempts to convey the nature of mathematics, about

“problems”, not “exercises”

• Features

– Introduces a metalanguage (conjecturing, generalizing etc)

– Advocates an “organized scribble” approach

– Uses rubrics and self-assessment

First Year Course In Working Mathematically

Pass level rubric:

- A correct solution to the problem or related problem

- Organised scribble has: rubrics, reactions, reconstruct-ability

- However: cognitive demands low, convoluted write-up, critical

analysis present but not deep.

.

.

High distinction rubric:

- As for Pass but: High cognitive level, clear, generalizations

Most students estimate grades we agree with!

First Year Course In Working Mathematically

Challenges of scale

• Previously: 30-ish students in a tute room for workshop

• Last semester compulsory: 70+ in a lecture hall

• Harder to talk to individual students, even with tutors

• Marking more onerous – use more self assessment?