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News bulletins from the Australian Council for Educational Research published August 2010 3134 subscribers Subscribe Now In this issue: Conference special edition English restricts the language of mathematics Mathematics teaching and learning to reach beyond the basics Mathematics curriculum must address ‘spectacular’ student diversity Success in maths adds up to personal power Identifying cognitive processes important to mathematics learning but often overlooked Counting is not the only way to add up Culture and language must be considered in mathematics learning Technology must partner not serve mathematics learning ACER UPDATE Conference special edition This edition of eNews features papers and updates from ACER’s annual conference. Research Conference 2010, Teaching Mathematics? Make it count, was held at the Crown Conference Centre, Melbourne on 16-17 August. English restricts the language of mathematics The international mathematics education community’s capacity to study, understand and enact classroom practice is constrained by the dominance of the English language, Professor David Clarke will told the ACER annual conference in Melbourne on 16 August. In the opening keynote address Professor Clarke, the Director of the International Centre for Classroom Research at the University of Melbourne, told delegates that the emergence of English as the ‘lingua franca’ has restricted international access to some of the subtle and sophisticated concepts used by mathematics teachers and teacher educators in non-English speaking countries. Continue reading » Mathematics teaching and learning to reach beyond the basics Mathematics teachers and textbooks should provide more instruction on reasoning to encourage learning that goes beyond the basics, University of Melbourne Foundation Professor of Mathematics Education Kaye Stacey told the ACER conference on 17 August. In the opening keynote address on day two of the annual research conference, Professor Stacey drew on her research into mathematical reasoning and suggested why and how it should be given a more prominent place in Australian mathematics classrooms. Continue reading » Mathematics curriculum must address ‘spectacular’ student diversity A leading American expert in mathematics education told delegates to the ACER annual conference that curriculum standards set for students are written as an ‘immaculate progression’ but in reality students arrive each day with a spectacular variety of mathematical biographies. Philip Daro, one of three leading the writing of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Mathematics in the United States argued that more consideration must be given to the diversity among students. Continue reading » Success in maths adds up to personal power Students’ attitudes to mathematics can determine their success or failure, and ultimately their social status as adults, according to emeritus professor of the philosophy of mathematics education at Exeter University in the United Kingdom Paul Ernest. Professor Ernest spoke about the social outcomes of learning maths at the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) conference in Melbourne on 17 August. Continue reading » Identifying cognitive processes important to mathematics learning but often overlooked Six competencies that are fundamental to the development of ‘mathematical literacy’, or a person’s ability to apply their mathematical knowledge to practical situations, were presented at the ACER Research Conference in Melbourne on 16 August. The competencies are communication, mathematising, representation, reasoning, devising strategies, and using symbolic, formal and technical language and operations. Continue reading » Counting is not the only way to add up Counting is not the only way that children can solve arithmetic problems a mathematics conference in Melbourne heard on 17 August. In a presentation to the ACER annual conference Robert Reeve, Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences at the University of Melbourne, described how Indigenous children from remote areas of the Northern Territory were able to add successfully by reproducing a pattern from memory. Continue reading » Culture and language must be considered in mathematics learning Planning for quality learning in maths must take culture, language, attendance and core mathematical understanding into consideration to help Indigenous learners succeed, according to a paper presented at the ACER annual conference. Griffith University Professor of Education, Robyn Jorgenson, told conference delegates on 16 August that Indigenous students may have gaps in their mathematical understanding, lower attendance rates, culture and languages that are significantly different from that of mainstream schools. Continue reading » Technology must partner not serve mathematics learning Digital technology should be a partner to learning mathematics rather than a servant by becoming a substitute for work done with a pencil and paper according to a University of Queensland academic. In her address to the Australian ACER annual conference, Professor Merrilyn Goos discussed the ways in which research, classroom practice and curriculum policy in the use of digital technologies line up with each other and inform each other. Continue reading » ACER UPDATE Conference proceedings available online The full proceedings as well as individual papers from Research Conference 2010 are now available from the ACER research repository. Speakers’ presentation slides are also available. Visit http://www.acer.edu.au/conference for further information. Research Conference 2011 ACER’s annual conference heads to the Northern Territory for the first time in 2011. Research Conference 2011 will take place in Darwin from 7-9 August 2011 on the theme Indigenous Education: Pathways to success. Further information will be posted to the conference website as it becomes available.
Copyright © Australian Council for Educational Research 2013 All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Copyright Act 1968 of Australia and subsequent amendments, no part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Please address any requests to reproduce information to communications@acer.edu.au Subscribe Unsubscribe Australian Council for Educational Research Private Bag 55, Camberwell, Victoria Australia 3124 Tel: + 61 3 9277 5555 Fax: + 61 3 9277 5500 Web: www.acer.edu.au

News bulletins from the Australian Council for Educational Research published August 2010
3134 subscribers
Subscribe Now

In this issue:

Conference special edition

This edition of eNews features papers and updates from ACER’s annual conference. Research Conference 2010, Teaching Mathematics? Make it count, was held at the Crown Conference Centre, Melbourne on 16-17 August.

English restricts the language of mathematics

The international mathematics education community’s capacity to study, understand and enact classroom practice is constrained by the dominance of the English language, Professor David Clarke will told the ACER annual conference in Melbourne on 16 August.

In the opening keynote address Professor Clarke, the Director of the International Centre for Classroom Research at the University of Melbourne, told delegates that the emergence of English as the ‘lingua franca’ has restricted international access to some of the subtle and sophisticated concepts used by mathematics teachers and teacher educators in non-English speaking countries.

Mathematics teaching and learning to reach beyond the basics

Mathematics teachers and textbooks should provide more instruction on reasoning to encourage learning that goes beyond the basics, University of Melbourne Foundation Professor of Mathematics Education Kaye Stacey told the ACER conference on 17 August.

In the opening keynote address on day two of the annual research conference, Professor Stacey drew on her research into mathematical reasoning and suggested why and how it should be given a more prominent place in Australian mathematics classrooms.

Mathematics curriculum must address ‘spectacular’ student diversity

A leading American expert in mathematics education told delegates to the ACER annual conference that curriculum standards set for students are written as an ‘immaculate progression’ but in reality students arrive each day with a spectacular variety of mathematical biographies.

Philip Daro, one of three leading the writing of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Mathematics in the United States argued that more consideration must be given to the diversity among students.

Success in maths adds up to personal power

Students’ attitudes to mathematics can determine their success or failure, and ultimately their social status as adults, according to emeritus professor of the philosophy of mathematics education at Exeter University in the United Kingdom Paul Ernest.

Professor Ernest spoke about the social outcomes of learning maths at the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) conference in Melbourne on 17 August.

Identifying cognitive processes important to mathematics learning but often overlooked

Six competencies that are fundamental to the development of ‘mathematical literacy’, or a person’s ability to apply their mathematical knowledge to practical situations, were presented at the ACER Research Conference in Melbourne on 16 August.

The competencies are communication, mathematising, representation, reasoning, devising strategies, and using symbolic, formal and technical language and operations.

Counting is not the only way to add up

Counting is not the only way that children can solve arithmetic problems a mathematics conference in Melbourne heard on 17 August.

In a presentation to the ACER annual conference Robert Reeve, Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences at the University of Melbourne, described how Indigenous children from remote areas of the Northern Territory were able to add successfully by reproducing a pattern from memory.

Culture and language must be considered in mathematics learning

Planning for quality learning in maths must take culture, language, attendance and core mathematical understanding into consideration to help Indigenous learners succeed, according to a paper presented at the ACER annual conference.

Griffith University Professor of Education, Robyn Jorgenson, told conference delegates on 16 August that Indigenous students may have gaps in their mathematical understanding, lower attendance rates, culture and languages that are significantly different from that of mainstream schools.

Technology must partner not serve mathematics learning

Digital technology should be a partner to learning mathematics rather than a servant by becoming a substitute for work done with a pencil and paper according to a University of Queensland academic.

In her address to the Australian ACER annual conference, Professor Merrilyn Goos discussed the ways in which research, classroom practice and curriculum policy in the use of digital technologies line up with each other and inform each other.

ACER UPDATE

Conference proceedings available online

The full proceedings as well as individual papers from Research Conference 2010 are now available from the ACER research repository. Speakers’ presentation slides are also available. Visit http://www.acer.edu.au/conference for further information.

Research Conference 2011

ACER’s annual conference heads to the Northern Territory for the first time in 2011. Research Conference 2011 will take place in Darwin from 7-9 August 2011 on the theme Indigenous Education: Pathways to success. Further information will be posted to the conference website as it becomes available.

All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Copyright Act 1968 of Australia and subsequent amendments, no part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Please address any requests to reproduce information to communications@acer.edu.au

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Australian Council for Educational Research
Private Bag 55, Camberwell, Victoria Australia 3124
Tel: + 61 3 9277 5555
Fax: + 61 3 9277 5500
Web: www.acer.edu.au