Mathematics: Launching Futures Proceedings of the 24th Biennial Conference of The Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers Inc.

‘Mathematics: Launching Futures’ was the theme for the 24th Biennial Conference of The Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers Inc.It was the first national conference on mathematics education since the introduction of the Australian Curriculum and so addresses the support educators will need to implement this curriculum. It also addressed concerns regarding  the low numbers of students studying higher level mathematics at school and university. A major aim of the conference was the sharing of knowledge to encourage  and support teachers at all
stages of their careers. This conference featured a joint day with the 36th Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA), aiming to enhance collaboations between researchers and teachers.

Young children learning mathematics: a guide for educators and families

Can young children learn mathematics before school? What ideas and concepts are they capable of learning? How can adults develop a child's mathematical thinking from birth to five years? Early learning plays a critical role in laying a foundation for later success in schooling. This book explores the possibilities and potential for early childhood educators, parents and carers to stimulate young children's mathematical thinking. Drawing on the authors' significant research, it answers frequently asked questions about early childhood mathematics, discusses the experiences, activities and conversations that could lead to mathematics learning, and provides simple, easy-to-follow guidelines on introducing and building on the mathematical concepts underpinning play and activity in young children aged from birth to five.

International comparisons of mathematics classrooms and curricula: the validity-comparability compromise

The pursuit of commensurability in international comparative research by imposing general classificatory frameworks can misrepresent valued performances, school knowledge and classroom practice as these are actually conceived by each community and sacrifice validity in the interest of comparability. The “validity-comparability compromise” is proposed as a theoretical concern with significant implications for international cross-cultural research. We draw on current international research to illustrate a variety of aspects of the issue and its consequences for the manner in which international research is conducted and its results interpreted. The effects extend to data generation and analysis and constitute essential contingencies on the interpretation and application of international comparative research.

Use and perceptions of worked example videos for first-year students studying mathematics in a primary education degree

Worked example videos have great potential to be useful for students when learning mathematics as they can work through the questions at their own pace, pausing as needed, but still learn from the way the demonstrator thinks and solves problems. We created worked example videos each week for a mathematics subject taught in the first year of a primary education degree and investigated student perceptions and their usage patterns. An additional aspect of this undertaking was the inclusion of subtitles to make the videos accessible to hearing impaired and ESL students. This report will reflect on the process of creating these videos, as well as some initial findings on their success.

Multi-dimensional assessment of student capabilities in mathematics and science

This study investigated relationships between students’ understanding, performance, and disposition in mathematics and science. The results indicated that assessments should be used to promote all aspects of student capability. Separate frameworks of student capability in mathematics and science need to be created to capture the individual nuances within each subject.

Teaching and learning mathematics and science in a second or third language

 This study investigates the interaction between languages used for particular purposes in mathematics and science classrooms and the accompanying multimodal resources that support teachers’ strategies. The dual investigation sets this study apart, and produces its originality and contribution to the field. It develops a novel multimodal description of pedagogic strategies in multilingual mathematics and science classrooms in Malaysia.

Factors influencing students' choice of mathematics at university

 This study investigated what motivated current undergraduate mathematics students to choose to study mathematics at university. It found a diverse array of factors perceived by students as having informed their decisions. These included background factors, situational factors, self-perception, and perceptions of mathematics as a discipline

Equity, social justice and ethics in mathematics education

The performativity policy mindset driving national and international testing highlights issues of equity in access and success according to socio-economic status, geographic location, ethnicity, gender and combinations of these factors. Researchers seek explanations for these inequities in terms encompassing engagement, participation and achievement to identify socially just and ethical practices at system, school and classroom level. The emergence of a theoretical perspective involving redistribution, recognition and participation (Fraser, 2013) is evident in a range of studies concerning leadership, professional learning, pre-service teacher education, and pedagogies that focus on equity and social justice in mathematics education. The challenge of ethical and socially just practices at all levels and social groups is in providing access to deep learning in mathematics and success in “knowledge making” (Jorgensen, 2014).