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IMSITE project www.IMSITE.edu.au
Inspiring mathematics and science in teacher
education
The University of Queensland University of Newcastle
James Cook University University of Wollongong
University of Sydney University of Tasmania
Funded under the Enhancing the Training of Mathematics and Science Teachers program
Why?
What?
To promote strategic change in the Australian higher education
sector by developing and disseminating new interdisciplinary
approaches to mathematics and science pre-service teacher
education.
How?
1. By fostering genuine, lasting collaboration between
the mathematicians, scientists, and mathematics/science
teacher educators who prepare future teachers of
secondary school mathematics and science.
2. By identifying and institutionalising new ways of
integrating the content expertise of mathematicians
and scientists, and the pedagogical expertise of
mathematics and science teacher educators.
This is a project about people rather than things
Maths
School
Teachers
Maths
Discipline
Academics
Maths
Education
Academics
Connecting communities to learn at the boundaries
Boundary “brokers”
Brokers and boundary
practices that support
collaboration between
communities
fostering genuine, lasting collaboration
Strategies we’ll highlight, to:
engage/retain pre-service mathematics teachers
Embedding activities and events from the First Day of the
First Year and following through in higher years
• Promoting maths teaching to non-teaching students
• Community building activities
• Dedicated mathematics tutorials
• Meetings with more experienced peers
• Integrating assessment rubrics into maths units
• In-service and pre-service teachers working together
Background: pathways to being a teacher
• Bachelor Degree in discipline + 1 Year Graduate Diploma
• Bachelor Degree in discipline + 2 Year Masters
• Integrated Masters of Education (4 years)
• Double degree or Bachelor programs (4 or 5 years total)
Retention and Progression at JCU (2008-2013)
21%
9%37%
10%
23%
70%
Graduated Projected to graduate
Failed MA1000 Failed MA1003
Other reasons for leaving
Output of Secondary Maths Teaching at JCU
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Nu
mb
er
of
stu
de
nts
Year
Numbers graduating
Grad Dip
BEd
*2015 Projected
Retention and Progression at UoN
Retention and Progression at SYDNEY
• Double degree BSc/Bed(Sec. Maths.)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
1st Yr
2nd Yr
3rd Yr
COURSE STRUCTURE
– M = Traditional Maths/Stats unit
– ME = Mathematics curriculum/education unit
– E = Education unit (generic)
– P = Professional Experience (min. 80 days)
– x = other units (including science or more maths)
James Cook
96 CP
Newcastle
320 units
Sydney
240 CP
1st Yr 15M +12E 40M+10ME+30E 12M +12E +24x
2nd Yr 9M+3ME+ 6E+3P 20M+10ME+40E+10P 12M +24E +12x
3rd Yr 9M+6ME+12E+3P 40M+10ME+20E+10P 12M+24ME+10E+2P
4th Yr 3ME+ 9E+6P 10M+10ME+10E+20P+30x 12M+12ME+22E+2P
5th Yr 18E+6P+24x
Notice these “gaps”
Community Building Activities
At JCU in first year students join MET-Q website
(Mathematics Educators Tropical Queensland)
This site is all about pre-service teachers finding out who they are.
– First year, contribute profile, and look at work of 2nd, 3rd years
– Second year, post work for assessment in MA2900
– Third year, post blogs about tutoring to maths teacher mentors
– Fourth year, nothing formal
– Graduates join the “early career network”
Promoting maths teaching to non-teaching studentsStrategies @ Newcastle Recruitment
14
Recruitment MATH270
“a taste of education studies to Maths/Sci/Eng undergraduates”
– involve local high school teachers and students,
– university students (from non-education disciplines),
– pre-service secondary mathematics teachers and academics
• practice
– tutoring mathematics (in any format)
– on-campus experiences Yr 8/9 classes revise/consolidate
– in collaboration with the high school teacher
– planning and running a mathematics fun day
• reflection
– assessment tasks and discussions (e.g. Brookfield’s 4 lenses)
Dedicated Mathematics Tutorials
Recall that at Sydney and JCU, Maths Ed students don’t have Maths Ed
subjects until 3rd year. How to create a sense of cohort?
Dedicated tutorials in Maths subjects for Maths Ed students
• Running at JCU for several years
• Helps find “birds of a feather” so not swamped by Eng.
• Helps create study groups
• Tutor is a high-school teacher, helps professional identity
• Sydney has now run for 3 semesters, to great feedback!
1st year Calculus, 3rd year Maths, 3rd year Education
• UoN: dedicated tutes for Math Ed students in Ed courses
Meetings with more experienced peers
Provides:
• Advice on balancing life, work, study; subject-choices
JCU:
• 2nd year students invited to talk to 1st years in a tutorial
• MET-Q shows who is ahead
• Ed building has common working space so paths cross
Sydney:
• Special lunches
• Online Facebook groups
Secondary Mathematics Alumni Conference
Now 115 participants (run in 2014 and 2015)
Alumni from our teaching program
+
Current students
+
Keynote speakers
• Current issues in education
• Rapid share (5 min tips and tricks)
• Teach-meet
http://tinyurl.com/SUSMAC2015
“Teaching in Practice” Day (7 Aug)
12 Experienced High School Teachers
+
24 Pre-service Teachers
( who have recently done or about to do prac. )
+
3 academics
• Accreditation for teachers
• Part of coursework for students
• Scenarios
• Favourite lesson plans
• Administration and school politics
• Connecting syllabus elements
“Work Like a Mathematician” days
• Bring together current students of UOW with local gifted
Year 8 and Year 9 high school students
– in whiteboard tutorial rooms on campus,
– a taste of what
mathematicians
do as part of their
professional practice
– expose UOW
students to different
teaching
environments.
CLOWD room
Collaborative Learning
Occupants Working Dynamically
A room with whiteboards around all the wall
– Paid for by IMSITE but built
Illawarra Sports High
School
– USED by BOTH the high
school and the university
– This style of teaching used
for first year tutorials at
UOW for more than 20
years.
Not just about people and connections
We are also building and sharing brand new units of study
Difficult to do at large monolithic sandstone unis
but stil l…
Math2920: Thinking and Working Mathematically
First Year Course In Working Mathematically
Math2920: Thinking and Working Mathematically
• Created as a 2nd year course for teaching students
• Run for 10+ years
• Beloved, changes students’ views of mathematics
• Now, compulsory in First Year for secondary Maths Ed
• Hope: will change how students see other Maths courses
First Year Course In Working Mathematically
In organized scribble, students are encouraged to
• use words like Entry, Attack, Review, Stuck, Uh-huh!
• record emotions, eg
• specialise as necessary, generalise when they want/can
Followed by a formal write-up: “convincing argument”
Then a self-assessment
First Year Course In Working Mathematically
• Hook
– Thinking and working mathematically is in the NSW syllabus
• Rationale
– Attempts to convey the nature of mathematics, about
“problems”, not “exercises”
• Features
– Introduces a metalanguage (conjecturing, generalizing etc)
– Advocates an “organized scribble” approach
– Uses rubrics and self-assessment
First Year Course In Working Mathematically
Pass level rubric:
- A correct solution to the problem or related problem
- Organised scribble has: rubrics, reactions, reconstruct-ability
- However: cognitive demands low, convoluted write-up, critical
analysis present but not deep.
.
.
High distinction rubric:
- As for Pass but: High cognitive level, clear, generalizations
Most students estimate grades we agree with!
First Year Course In Working Mathematically
Challenges of scale
• Previously: 30-ish students in a tute room for workshop
• Last semester compulsory: 70+ in a lecture hall
• Harder to talk to individual students, even with tutors
• Marking more onerous – use more self assessment?