Deb and Joann attended the Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education in Canberra last week. We attended the discipline day on Thursday and were part of interesting discussions on maths support and first year transition and attended a workshop on maths assessment. The discipline day is a valuable chance to meet other maths academics working in teaching and learning positions. On Friday Deb presented a talk on the project. She outlined our progress so far on collecting data on the roles and responsibilties of academics coordinating first-year mathematics, the challenges our interviewees have talked to us about and the possible approaches to establishing a network. Our presentation is here: acsme
There were a number of presentations on teaching in mathematics, particluarly first year, that focussed on supporting students who are underprepared for mathematics and science at university. Here are a few that may be of interest:
- The challenges of teaching students without sufficient mathematics background was raised by a number of speakers. Layna Groen of UTS presented on “Steps toward mastery learning in a first year mathematics service subject” and highlighted the need for the sector to determine what mathematics background students need to succeed in science at university. A summary of her project is available here: Steps Toward Mastery Learning in a First Year
- Deborah Jackson and Liz Johnson (La Trobe) presented on “Mathematical skills program support for mathematical subjects” which is the subject of their recent article: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0020739X.2013.808769#.UkOja3-NBa4
- Birgit Loch (Swinburne) and Catherine McLoughlin (ACU) – “Scaffolding mathematical understanding with Mathcasts” mathscasts ACSME poster
- The MathsAssess project presented on their progress with developing a shared understanding of assessment criteria and standards: http://monash.edu/science/about/schools/mathematical-sciences/maths-assess
