Chinese Australians’ Chineseness and their mathematics achievement : the role of habitus

Large-scale international comparative studies and cross-ethnic studies have revealed that Chinese students, living either in China or overseas, consistently outperform their counterparts in mathematics. Empirical research has discussed psychological, educational, and cultural reasons behind Chinese students’ better mathematics performance. However, there is scant sociological investigation of this phenomenon. The current mixed methods study aims to make a contribution in this regard. The study conceptualises Chineseness through Bourdieu’s sociological notion of habitus and considers this habitus of Chineseness generating, but not determining, mechanism that underpins commitment to mathematics learning. The study firstly analyses the responses of 230 Chinese Australian participants to a set of questionnaire items. Results indicate that the habitus of Chineseness significantly mediates the relationship between participants’ commitment to mathematics learning and their mathematics achievement. The study then reports on the interviews with five participants to add nuances and dynamics to the mediating role of habitus of Chineseness. The study complements the existing literature by providing sociological insight into the better mathematics achievement of Chinese students.

Accelerating junior-secondary mathematics

Unfortunately, in Australia there is a prevalence of mathematically underperforming junior-secondary students in low-socioeconomic status schools. This requires targeted intervention to develop the affected students’ requisite understanding in preparation for post-compulsory study and employment and, ultimately, to increase their life chances. To address this, the ongoing action research project presented in this paper is developing a curriculum of accelerated learning, informed by a lineage of cognitivist-based structural sequence theory building activity (e.g., Cooper & Warren, 2011). The project’s conceptual framework features three pillars: the vertically structured sequencing of concepts; pedagogy grounded in students’ reality and culture; and professional learning to support teachers’ implementation of the curriculum (Cooper, Nutchey, & Grant, 2013). Quantitative and qualitative data informs the ongoing refinement of the theory, the curriculum, and the teacher support.

Unlocking the learning potential of incarcerated Indigenous and low SES young people; Mathematics outcomes for future success: a discussion paper

This presentation provides a beginning discussion about what the literature reports about incarcerated young people. Incarcerated Indigenous and low SES young people typically have very low literacy and mathematics skills which precludes them from future education and or employment opportunities, thus continuing the cycle of disadvantage, exclusion and despair(Payne, 2007). Being locked out of learning, they are stuck in a cycle of underachievement, a scenario which contributes to unacceptably high levels of recidivism(ACER, 2014). Success at education is considered an important protective factor against delinquent behaviours such as offending, substance abuse and truancy. Youth education and training centres provide educational opportunities for the incarcerated Indigenous youth but achievement continues to be lower than expected, particularly in mathematics. This presentation provides an introductory literature review focusing on incarcerated young people and education. It is also the preliminary writing for a small pilot project currently being conducted in one Youth Education and Training Centre in Australia.

Preparing engineering graduates for the knowledge economy through blended delivery of mathematics

Contemporary higher education institutions are making significant efforts to develop cohesive, meaningful and effective learning experiences for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) curricula to prepare graduates for challenges in the modern knowledge economy, thus enhancing their employability (Carnevale et al, 2011). This can inspire innovative redesign of learning experiences embedded in technology-enhanced educational environments and the development of research-informed, pedagogically reliable strategies fostering interactions between various agents of the learning-teaching process. This paper reports on the results of a project aimed at enhancing students’ learning experiences by redesigning a large, first year mathematics unit for Engineering students at a large metropolitan public university. Within the project, the current study investigates the effectiveness of selected, technology-mediated pedagogical approaches used over three semesters. Grounded in user-centred instructional design, the pedagogical approaches explored the opportunities for learning created by designing an environment containing technological, social and educational affordances. A qualitative analysis of mixed-type questionnaires distributed to students indicated important inter-relations between participants’ frames of references of the learning-teaching process and stressed the importance (and difficulty) of creating appropriate functional context. Conclusions drawn from this study may inform instructional design for blended delivery of STEM-focused programs that endeavor to enhance students’ employability by educating work-ready graduates.

Bhutanese eighth grade students' and teachers' perceptions of their classroom learning environment in relation to the new mathematics curriculum

This thesis examined how Bhutanese eighth grade students and teachers perceived their classroom learning environment in relation to a new standards-based mathematics curriculum. Data were gathered from administering surveys to a sample of 608 students and 98 teachers, followed by semi-structured interviews with selected participants. The findings of the study indicated that participants generally perceived their learning environments favorably. However, there were differences in terms of gender, school level, and school location. The study provides teachers, educational leaders, and policy-makers in Bhutan new insights into students' and teachers' perceptions of their mathematics classroom environments.

Mathematics knowledge for teaching and the classroom environment

This study investigated the classroom environment in an underperforming mathematics classroom. The objectives were: (1) to investigate the classroom environment and identify influences upon it, and (2) to further explore those influences (i.e., teacher knowledge). This was completed using a diachronic case study approach in which data were gathered during lesson observations and coaching sessions. These data were analysed to describe and exemplify the classroom environment, then further described against forms of teacher knowledge. Conjectures regarding the importance of teacher knowledge of content were made which formed a base for developing a model of teacher planning and pedagogy.

STEM: Challenges and opportunities for mathematics education

Climbing Mountains, Building Bridges is a rich theme for exploring some of the “challenges, obstacles, links, and connections” facing mathematics education within the current STEM climate (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). This paper first considers some of the issues and debates surrounding the nature of STEM education, including perspectives on its interdisciplinary nature. It is next argued that mathematics is in danger of being overshadowed, in particular by science, in the global urgency to advance STEM competencies in schools and the workforce. Some suggestions are offered for lifting the profile of mathematics education within an integrated STEM context, with examples drawn from modelling with data in the sixth grade.

Handbook of International Research in Mathematics Education [3rd Ed.]

"This third edition ofthe Handbook of International Research in Mathematics Education provides a comprehensive overview of the most recent theoretical and practical developments in the field of mathematics education. Authored by an array of internationally recognized scholars and edited by Lyn English and David Kirshner, this collection brings together overviews and advances in mathematics education research spanning established and emerging topics, diverse workplace and school environments, and globally representative research priorities. New perspectives are presented on a range of critical topics including embodied learning, the theory-practice divide, new developments in the early years, educating future mathematics education professors, problem solving in a 21st century curriculum, culture and mathematics learning, complex systems, critical analysis of design-based research, multimodal technologies, and e-textbooks. Comprised of 12 revised and 17 new chapters, this edition extends the Handbook’s original themes for international research in mathematics education and remains in the process a definitive resource for the field."--Publisher website

Investigating the effectiveness of an ecological approach to learning design in a first year mathematics for engineering unit

This paper reports on the results of a project aimed at creating a research-informed, pedagogically reliable, technology-enhanced learning and teaching environment that would foster engagement with learning. A first-year mathematics for engineering unit offered at a large, metropolitan Australian university provides the context for this research. As part of the project, the unit was redesigned using a framework that employed flexible, modular, connected e-learning and teaching experiences. The researchers, interested in an ecological perspective on educational processes, grounded the redesign principles in probabilistic learning design (Kirschner et al., 2004). The effectiveness of the redesigned environment was assessed through the lens of the notion of affordance (Gibson, 1977,1979, Greeno, 1994, Good, 2007). A qualitative analysis of the questionnaire distributed to students at the end of the teaching period provided insight into factors impacting on the successful creation of an environment that encourages complex, multidimensional and multilayered interactions conducive to learning.

Problem solving in a 21st century mathematics curriculum

Research on problem solving in the mathematics curriculum has spanned many decades, yielding pendulum-like swings in recommendations on various issues. Ongoing debates concern the effectiveness of teaching general strategies and heuristics, the role of mathematical content (as the means versus the learning goal of problem solving), the role of context, and the proper emphasis on the social and affective dimensions of problem solving (e.g., Lesh & Zawojewski, 2007; Lester, 2013; Lester & Kehle, 2003; Schoenfeld, 1985, 2008; Silver, 1985). Various scholarly perspectives—including cognitive and behavioral science, neuroscience, the discipline of mathematics, educational philosophy, and sociocultural stances—have informed these debates, often generating divergent resolutions. Perhaps due to this uncertainty, educators’ efforts over the years to improve students’ mathematical problem-solving skills have had disappointing results. Qualitative and quantitative studies consistently reveal mathematics students’ struggles to solve problems more significant than routine exercises (OECD, 2014; Boaler, 2009)...

The correlation between reading and mathematics ability at age twelve has a substantial genetic component

Dissecting how genetic and environmental influences impact on learning is helpful for maximizing numeracy and literacy. Here we show, using twin and genome-wide analysis, that there is a substantial genetic component to children’s ability in reading and mathematics, and estimate that around one half of the observed correlation in these traits is due to shared genetic effects (so-called Generalist Genes). Thus, our results highlight the potential role of the learning environment in contributing to differences in a child’s cognitive abilities at age twelve.

Analysis of Rectangular Folded-Waveguide Millimeter-Wave Slow-wave Structures using Conformal Transformations

An analysis of rectangular folded-waveguide slow-wave structure was developed using conformal mapping technique through Schwarz's polygon transformation and closed form expressions for the lumped capacitance and inductance per period of the slow-wave structure were derived in terms of the physical dimensions of the structure, incorporating the effects of the beam hole in the lumped parameters. The lumped parameters were subsequently interpreted for obtaining the dispersion and interaction impedance characteristics of the structure. The analysis was benchmarked for two typical millimeter-wave structures, one operating in Ka-band and the other operating in Q-band, against measurement and 3D electromagnetic modeling using MAFIA.

Structural mobility and transformations in globular proteins

Although globular proteins are endowed with well defined three-dimensional structures, they exhibit substantial mobility within the framework of the given threedimensional structure. The different types of mobility found in proteins by and large correspond to the different levels of organisational hierarchy in protein architecture. They are of considerable structural and functional significance, and can be broadly classified into(a) thermal and conformational fluctuations, (b) segmental mobility, (c) interdomain mobility and (d) intersubunit mobility. Protein crystallographic studies has provided a wealth of information on all of them. The temperature factors derived from X-ray diffraction studies provide a measure of atomic displacements caused by thermal and conformational fluctuations. The variation of displacement along the polypeptide chain have provided functionally significant information on the flexibility of different regions of the molecule in proteins such as myoglobin, lysozyme and prealbumin. Segmental mobility often involves the movement of a region or a segment of a molecule with respect to the rest, as in the transition between the apo and the holo structures of lactate dehydrogenase. It may also involve rigidification of a disordered region of the molecule as in the activation of the zymogens of serine proteases. Transitions between the apo and the holo structures of alcohol dehydrogenase,and between the free and the sugar bound forms of hexokinase, are good examples of interdomain mobility caused by hinge-bending. The capability of different domains to move semi-independently contributes greatly to the versatility of immunoglobulin molecules. Interdomain mobility in citrate synthase appears to be more complex and its study has led to an alternative description of domain closure. The classical and the most thoroughly studied case of intersubunit mobility is that in haemoglobin. The stereochemical mechanism of the action of this allosteric protein clearly brings out the functional subtilities that could be achieved through intersubunit movements. In addition to ligand binding and activation,environmental changes also often cause structural transformations. The reversible transformation between 2 Zn insulin and 4 Zn insulin is caused by changes in the ionic strength of the medium. Adenylate Kinase provides a good example for functionally significant reversible conformational transitions induced by variation in pH. Available evidences indicate that reversible structural transformations in proteins could also be caused by changes in the aqueous environment, including those in the amount of water surrounding protein molecules.