Prerequisite: strong sense of selfThe inner life of maths education

Professor Marnie Hughes-WarringtonCEMENT, University of Tasmania7 June 2012

Is there a Senior Secondary ‘Watch List’?

Number %Female %ATAR eligible

376 76.1 58.2

3501 36.0 98.2

9472 22.8 98

1687 7.1 91.6

104 51.9 98.1

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Course

Aboriginal Studies

Mathematics Extension 1

Physics

Software Design and Development

Chinese Continuers

Mathematics

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Course Number %Female %ATAR eligible

General Mathematics 31917 50.7 84.2

Mathematics 16861 46.4 93.5

Mathematics Extension 1 9066 41.4 96.1

Mathematics Extension 2 3501 36.0 98.2

What is Going on?• International and national research:

– That the die is cast long before the process of applying to university

– That subjects with a strong association with university study are less likely to be offered in low SES communities

– that teaching is towards ‘the middle’– Maths has lower student satisfaction rates– ‘Maths anxiety’

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Maths Anxiety• 958 journal

articles– 1970?– 2004: 40– 2005: 34– 2006: 48– 2007: 51– 2008: 43– 2009: 60– 2010: 67– 2011: 73

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Maths Anxiety

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Maths Anxiety• Neurological phenomenon

– (Young, Wu and Menan, Psychological Science, 2012, 23(5), pp. 492–501

• Reciprocal relationship between maths anxiety and self concept (high self concept, low maths anxiety) – (Ahmed, Minnaert, Kuyper, van der Wert, Learning and

Individual Differences, 2011, 22, p. 385

• Having a female primary maths teacher with low self concept can have an impact on maths learning– (Beilock, Gunderson, Ramirez, Levine, Proc. Nat Acad.

Sciences, USA, 2010, 107(5), 330–5)

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Responses• Money• Fun: Build enjoyment in maths• Make maths ‘real’• Digital: translate maths into ‘digital native’• Demand: strategies that seek to show the outcomes of

studying maths• Self esteem: teach self esteem when you teach maths (100%

right approaches)• Parent Self Esteem: lift parent self self esteem• Ethical approach: that studying maths is the right thing to do• ‘Migration’ approach: enrol everyone in the ‘top’ maths• Deny choice: don’t make extension maths optional• Teaching Quality: lift teacher quality and self esteem

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Systematic Review

Question: What is known about the measurement of teaching quality in higher education?

Method: Adapted Campbell and Cochrane approaches

13 databases, 8 reviewers

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Results

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Systematic Review• Almost all measures capture student perception• Teaching quality is assumed to be a matter of proficiency, rather

than competency• Gaps in instrument psychometric testing: factor analysis 19/25;

inter-rater reliability 4/25; validity measures 15/25; Cronbach’s alpha 16/25; RASCH analysis 2/25.

• 533 questions were extracted. A significant proportion of these contained either negative questions or potentially unanswerable multi-target questions

• CEQ: 7 versions, 23 – 36 questions in different order• Common themes:

– motivation; clear explanations; explicit guidelines; constructive feedback; clarification of expectations; development of confidence, independence and analytical skills; access to teachers and facilities; time management; appropriate assessments; mentorship

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What did it say about maths education?That it sits with a group of subjects at the ‘low satisfaction’ end

Why?: deep/surface learning approaches

Really?

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