2007 MANSW Conference Port Macquarie 30 Sept – 2 October

Presentation notes and PowerPoints now available

The broad conference program provided stimulating teaching ideas for all teachers of mathematics - early childhood, primary, secondary and post-secondary. There were workshops on teaching strategies K-12+, reports on the latest educational research and opportunities to improve technological knowledge and skills while evaluating the impact of technology on the teaching of mathematics. View the conference brochure.

Download a PDF of the Conference Synopses

Download a detailed 2007 Conference Program

Keynote Presentations

Professor Geoff Masters    Australian Council for Educational Research

Mathematics Learning in Australian Schools

In April 1955, Dr Ken Cunningham, the first Chief Executive of ACER, delivered an address to the Mathematical Association of Victoria entitled 'Mathematics as a Subject in the School Curriculum'. I will revisit three topics in Cunningham's address: topics that appear equally relevant in 2007. First, Cunningham observed that both education and business worlds had seen constant complaints about lowered standards, 'none of them backed by evidence'. I will review evidence concerning school mathematics standards collected through Australia's participation in international achievement studies since the 1960s. While Australia performs well in some areas of the mathematics curriculum, we perform much less well in others. There also have been significant changes in the rank order of Australian states over this time. Second, Cunningham observed 'little variation in what is expected from pupils in any given grade of the primary or secondary school' and noted that 'uniform mathematical programmes tend to leave a larger proportion of pupils hopelessly behind than does any other branch of schooling'. I will present evidence that many students still fall increasingly far behind in mathematics with each successive year of school. Third, Cunningham argued that 'because of its very abstractness, mathematics more easily loses touch than does any other subject with the reality of life'. He made a plea for mathematics curricula grounded in the requirements of practical living. I will agree that greater efforts are required to demonstrate the relevance of school mathematics, but will argue that, if a purely utilitarian approach is adopted to the teaching of mathematics, then there is a risk that students will be denied access to the beauty of mathematics and mathematical thinking. I will try to illustrate this point by reflecting on my own learning about circles.

Professor Geoff Masters is Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Council for Educational Research.
Before taking on this role in 1998, Prof Masters was Associate Director (Measurement) since 1988. Prior to joining ACER he was a member of the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. He has a PhD in educational measurement from the University of Chicago and has published several books and numerous journal articles in the field of educational assessment.

As well as being a consultant to education bodies in Australia, Prof Masters has been a consultant to school systems and examinations agencies in North America and Southeast Asia. He developed the partial-credit model that is widely used throughout the world in contemporary test development and analysis in education and psychology.

Rosemary Callingham    University of New England

Manufacturing Mathematics Teachers: Teaching Standards or Standardised Teaching?

At the present time there is an emphasis on teaching standards at both state and federal level. Is there a danger, however, that in the quest to improve standards of teaching some aspects of teaching may be lost? Using the frameworks provided by the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers' Professional Standards and the Teaching Standards of the NSW Institute of Teachers notions about quality teaching of mathematics will be examined, using examples from research studies and personal experience.

Rosemary Callingham is a senior lecturer in mathematics education at the University of New England. She has an extensive background in mathematics education in Australia. She has taught mathematics in Grades 7 to 10, worked in mathematics curriculum implementation with teachers from K-12, and been involved in statewide testing programs. She taught mathematics education at the University of Tasmania prior to moving to the University of New England in 2002. Her research interests include statistical literacy, mental computation and performance assessment of mathematics and numeracy. She is a regular contributor to national and international conferences, and has published many articles. In 2003, she was awarded an Early Researcher Fellowship by the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, and in 2006 spent six months at the Hong Kong Institute of Education as a Cheung Kong Endeavour Fellow.

Resources from previous annual conferences