report by Katara Jade.
Earlier this month, the University of Tasmania held a working conference at their Launceston campus under the title of: Building a Culture of Evidence-based Practice in Teacher Preparation for Mathematics Teaching (CEMENT).
This event was open to, and relevant to, all educators, not just mathematics, though the majority of delegates were academics from Schools of Education or similar. Ten universities from across Australia were represented, along with supporting representative organisations the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) and the Mathematical Association of Victoria.
Marnie Hughes-Warrington, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) of the Australian National University gave a key note address, providing an overview of senior school mathematics from a variety of viewpoints: socioeconomic, ATAR, levels taught, student choices within the curriculum as well as an analysis of research on teaching quality in higher education. Maths anxiety was also explored including an example from her daughter.
Jack and Josh, students from Launceston City campus formed a panel discussion along with Damon Thomas, a UTAS Education PhD candidate and teacher Andrea Wild, a UTAS graduate. This panel presented the past, present and future of learning, from classroom set-up and tools through to online, multi-media and self-directed learning, providing much food for thought for delegates regarding teacher preparation and how to meet student needs within the curriculum.
Other speakers included Helen Keates from the University of Queensland, Helen Chick (UTAS), Rosemary Callingham (UTAS) and Kim Beswick (UTAS).
Helen Keates, although teaching Veterinary Anaesthetics, made many parallels all educators could relate to through her concept of clinical ‘acumen’, the ability to make good judgements and quick decisions with keen insight or shrewdness. She also discussed the difficulty of teaching and assessing clinical acumen.
Helen Chick was well received on Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), picking up from Helen Keates discussion and showing the parallels in the mathematics classroom. Rosemary Callingham and Kim Beswick gave an overview of the CEMENT project findings, including a surprising finding that the only predictor of PCK in pre-service teachers was the completion of year 10 mathematics.
Although the CEMENT Conference marked the end of the two-year Australian Learning and Teaching Council grant period (ALTC), what has been established by the CEMENT team (comprised from 6 Australian Universities) looks set to continue. Delegates were invited to make a commitment of some action at the end of the conference, to be completed by December this year.
If you would like more information or to be involved in future activities or research, please contact Katara Jade at the University of Tasmania.
Tel 03 6324 3819 email Katara.Jade@utas.edu.au.
Other media coverage