EDMA519 - Mathematics Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment 3

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

EDMA518 Mathematics Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment 2 data-versionlabel=1.1 data-fromyear=2021 data-fromterm=Semester 1 />

Unit rationale, description and aim

In order to plan and deliver lessons that promote learner engagement and enhance student learning, intending secondary teachers need knowledge and understanding of the senior secondary curriculum, along with theoretical frameworks and pedagogical approaches that are emblematic of teaching in their chosen teaching areas, including teaching/learning that responds to the high-stakes assessment that is a usual feature of senior secondary schooling.

In this unit, pre-service teachers will consider the place of Mathematics in contemporary Australian society, and the senior secondary Mathematics curriculum, in particular. They will explore a range of evidence-based approaches for curriculum development and alignment and to plan for effective teaching and learning, including formative and summative assessment. Pre-service teachers will learn approaches for building knowledge of Mathematics and how to provide constructive feedback and reporting. They will learn approaches for engaging senior secondary learners and to meet the learning needs of diverse students in the senior secondary years. They will further develop skills to shape the dialogic talk of the classroom. Pre-service teachers will formulate unit and assessment plans in order to demonstrate a knowledge of curriculum, learning and assessment theory. They will assemble a resource folio to demonstrate capacity to collect, create and critique resources for effective teaching and learning and to link with curriculum. They will investigate issues and considerations of curriculum implementation as found in the practical reality of schools.

The aim of this unit is for the pre-service teacher to develop their pedagogical content knowledge through becoming familiar with the knowledge, understanding and skills necessary for teaching Mathematics at a senior secondary level.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Analyse and demonstrate how the general capability of numeracy, such as incorporated in the Australian curriculum, can be integrated in the curriculum, both within Mathematics and in other subject areas (GA5)

LO2 - Compare and contrast, critically evaluate and synthesise approaches to and curricula in Mathematics education in the school context both locally and internationally (GA6)

LO3 - Critically analyse policies and approaches to the mathematics education in the middle years of schooling through the lens of catering for diversity and meeting the needs of all students (GA1)

LO4 - Critically review mathematics education research on key issues such as gender, ethics and/or social justice and propose recommendations in response (GA8)

Graduate attributes

GA1 - demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA6 - solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into account

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

Content

Topics will include:

• The impact of the Melbourne declaration and the general capabilities desired from education, in particular, the links between mathematics and other subject areas through the lens of numeracy
• Cross-curriculum perspectives such as Indigenous perspectives, Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia and sustainability within the contemporary Australian curriculum and other curriculum approaches
• Middle years and related policy and curriculum approaches including local, national and international perspectives in mathematics education including the International Baccalaureate. This will include a study of national and international comparative research and assessment including NAPLAN, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).
• Differentiated curriculum and catering for diversity within the different approaches with particular focus on a pre-service teachers key curriculum area
• Current issues in mathematics education including gender, social justice, ethics and human rights and relevant program and practices to cater for students who need extra support or intervention or require challenge and extension.

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit applies a social constructivist approach to develop the pre-service teacher’s understanding of effective pedagogies through active engagement and collaborative learning. The pre-service teacher will build an understanding of teaching strategies through critical reading, lecturer modelling, discussion, and practice in tutorials. The pre-service teacher’s skills of professional communication and ability to work collaboratively will be practised through group work. The pre-service teacher’s teaching skills of planning and assessing, and their ability to locate and synthesise information, will be developed through designing curriculum appropriate for a Mathematics context. The pre-service teacher will continue to gather and reflect upon evidence of attainment of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers: Graduate.

Teaching and learning strategy described above will use an appropriate selection of approach, including, for example:

• Weekly face-to-face lectures and / or online lectures (synchronous and asynchronous)
• Hands-on tutorials and discussions that promote peer learning
• Microteaching opportunities
• Self-directed reading and research
• Collaborative learning opportunities

Assessment strategy and rationale

The assessment tasks and their weightings are designed so that the pre-service teacher can progressively achieve the course learning outcomes and the professional standards. The Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment units in this course focus on pre-service teachers acquiring content knowledge and developing the skills to assimilate conceptual knowledge in order for that knowledge to inform skills that will be applied in practice.

The two assessment tasks are sequenced to allow feedback and progressive development. By completing Task 1 the pre-service teacher will apply knowledge of assessment strategies. In Task 2 pre-service teachers develop a program of work for senior students over a period of time.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Australian Curriculum documents

Other Curriculum documents, including state, territory and some international documents.

Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers. (2002). Standards for excellence in teaching mathematics in Australian schools. Adelaide: AAMT.

Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers. (2008). The practice of assessing mathematics learning. Adelaide: AAMT.

Boaler, J., Wiliam, D., & Brown, M. (2000). Students’ experience of ability grouping: Disaffection, polarisation, and the construction of failure. British Educational Research Journal, 26(5), 631-648

Brady, L., & Kennedy, K. (2010). Curriculum construction (4th ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia.

Dempsey, I., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2007). Maximising learning outcomes in diverse classrooms.  Melbourne, Vic: Thompson.

Dillon, J., & Maguire, M. (2011). Becoming a teacher : issues in secondary teaching (4th ed.). Maidenhead, Eng: Open University Press. ebook

Emmer, C. E. (2013). Classroom management for middle and high school teachers (9th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

International Baccalaureate. (2010).The middle years program: Preparing students for university in the 21st century. IB Middle Years Program. http://www.ibo.org/myp/

Jennings, M. (2012). Teaching for results: Best practices in integrating co-teaching and differentiated instruction. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education.

Killen, R. (2013). Effective teaching strategies: Lessons from research and practice (6th ed.). Melbourne, Victoria : Cengage Learning Australia.

Mullis, I.V.S., Martin, M.O., Foy, P., & Arora, A. (2012). TIMSS 2011 International Results in Mathematics. Chestnut Hill, MA: TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Boston College.

Ornstein, A. & Hunkins, F. (2013). Curriculum: Foundations, principles, and issues (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. 

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2014). PISA 2012 Results: Creative Problem Solving: Students’ skills in tackling real-life problems (Volume V, Rvd Ed)). Paris: OECD. Available: http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results-volume-v.htm

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2014). PISA 2012 Results: What Students Know and Can do: Student Performance in Mathematics, Reading and Science (Volume I, Revd Ed). Paris: OECD. Available: http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results-volume-i.htm

Royer, J. M. (Ed.). (2003). Mathematical cognition. Greenwich, CT: Information Age.

Steinbring, H. Bartolini Bussi, M. & Sierpinska, A. (Eds.). (1998). Language and communication in the mathematics classroom. Reston, VA: NCTM.

Tomlinson, C. A. (Ed.) (2004). Differentiation for gifted and talented students. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Wiggins G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (Expanded 2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.