Not that it effects maths education, but the school year in Australian states seems to vary more and more each year. This is the first week since March 18th that all states classes have been back from holidays. Hence the timing of the newsletter. It looks like future newsletters will have to go out when they are due, in spite of people being on holidays.
Recently I had the privilege to attend the "Quality Maths in the Middle Years Conference" which was held on the 8th & 9th April at the Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle WA. An inspiring collection of Australian maths educators worked hard over two days to formulate some ideas and principles that might help guide us all in dealing with Early Adolescents, an age group that has specific needs. Copious notes were made and to quote the AAMT website "... AAMT will be publishing the proceedings of the conference. This important resource will contain the summary of discussion of key issues in middle years mathematics, summaries of the 25 showcase presentations made by outstanding teachers from around the country and other materials. " Some brief thoughts on what was covered follow in the newsletter.
All the best for second term,
There were many different showcase presentations and discussions that took place at the conference along a number of "themes". For myself, the conference highlighted two points:
Firstly the many "tensions" (as described by Steve Thornton) that exist on issues. It was very informative and enthusing to be involved in discussions around these tensions. The discussions indicated that there are very few simple answers in what is the right or wrong way to go about educating students. Such issues as whether we embed our mathematics in rich tasks or teach it explicitly were discussed at length. There was no simple answer. What was obvious is that ongoing discussion by teachers in a professional environment will enable all of us to find the best place to be on the continuum for each group of students, each set of concepts and each desired outcome.
The other significant thought I was left with after the conference was the need to cater specifically for students in the middle years. People in this age group, where transition from child to young adult takes place, have behaviours and needs that require pedagogies, learning experiences, environment and management designed for them. These things will not be the same as when they were children, and will not be the same when they mature into young adults. This thought rang very true to me as a parent with two children currently in this phase.
For teachers in South Australia a reminder that I will be presenting at the MASA Conference coming up this week on Thursday 28th April and Friday 29th.
The sessions I am presenting are on:
OTRNet will also have a trade display at this conference where you can look at our resources or discuss issues and requirements with me.
For teachers in Victoria I will be presenting four sessions at this year's MAVRIC conference in Wodonga on Friday May 13th. The sessions will be on:
We have also mailed information and a sample module to schools in South Australia and schools geographically close to Wodonga. I hope this proves to be useful for you.