The rationale for the Australian Mathematics Curriculum is to provide students with essential mathematical skills and knowledge, develop the numeracy capabilities for work and civic life, and provide the fundamentals on which specialties and professional applications of mathematics are built.
In the 21st century, perhaps more than any other curricular area, mathematics is subject to opposing perspectives which are intellectual, ideological, political and historical and controlling influences within society (Noyes, 2007). All teachers untimely want to know what they are teaching and why they are we teaching it especially in a climate where functional skills and an increasingly utilitarian rationale for the curriculum exists. However, the tension
between acquiring knowledge and applying has been ongoing since the 20th century, between the movement to design mathematics curriculum around real-life situations and those who argue this ‘incidental’ learning is insufficient and important mathematics is lost (Hiebert et al., 1996). Pinar, Reynolds, Slattery, and Taubman (1995), viewed the ongoing tension as follows, “..(curriculum) is what the older generation chooses to tell the younger generation..(it) is intensely historical, political, racial, gendered, phenomenological, autobiographical, aesthetic, theological and international. It becomes the site on which the generations struggle to define themselves and the world.” (pp. 847- 848) Similarly over a decade later Noyes (2007) shared the following view on tension in the development of mathematics curriculum, …it is also equally apparent that beliefs about the discipline of mathematics, particularly those held by influential academics, educators and politicians, have the power to shape the curriculum… the dominant view among these powerful groups is that mathematics, at the core political standards-raising agenda, is one of the keys to future economic prosperity (p. 5).
The following assignment shows the progress I have made throughout unit EDC141: The Numerate Educator. Included are results from the first and second round of the Mathematics Competency Test (MCT). Examples from assessment two, which, involved me to complete sample questions from the year nine NAPLAN. I was also required to complete a variety of ‘thinking time problems’ (TTP’s) and ‘what I know about’ (WIKA’s). These activities allowed me to build on my knowledge and assisted me to develop my mathematical skills. The Australian Curriculum has six areas of mathematics, which I used in many different learning activities throughout this study period (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009). These six areas will be covered and include number, algebra,
The Australian Curriculum has been a 'long time coming', but its great that it is almost here now. The Australian Curriculum has been designed with some relation to Tyler and Skillbeck's models. It is suspected that theorists such as Piaget were also considered during the development. The Australian Curriculum relates to Piaget's stages of progression, with curriculum being designed for specific levels of maturation and development. With students of this generation, it was incredibly important that an updated, curriculum was to be designed so that it could facilitate the needs of the 21st century learners. This new generation of learners seem to be almost born with basic computer skills, so the ICT program has been completely redeveloped. The curriculum has also expanded to make way for Asian studies which will help students as they move into their careers. The Australian Curriculum has been developed to cover a broad range of topics, concerns and values that will be discussed throughout this paper.
The second part of this memo contains a rhetorical analysis of a journal article written by Linda Darling-Hammond. Interview The following information was conducted in an interview with Diana Regalado De Santiago, who works at Montwood High School as a mathematics teacher. In the interview, Regalado De Santiago discusses how presenting material to her students in a manner where the student actually learns is a pivotal form of communication in the field (Personal Communication, September 8, 2016).
The development of a national curriculum for Australia is not a new endeavour (Marsh, 2010). The ideal is that national curriculum across Australia would mean that students are provided with a quality education that helps to shape the lives of the nations citizens and continue developing the productivity and quality of life within Australia. The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA] have the task of developing and implementing a nationwide curriculum. ACARA (n.d.-c) claims have addressed needs of young Australians while considering that changing ways in learning and challenges will continue to shape students education in the future. A look at what the Australian Curriculum is, its purpose, structure and scope, learning theories and teaching processes and whether the curriculum has the capacity to meet the needs of 21st century learners will show that the initial construction of a national curriculum appears to be successful. However, the effectiveness of the Australian Curriculum will only be able to be evaluated in the future after implementation across the country.
In modern democratic society school curriculum has become a prioritised concern for many citizens. It is a key factor in the shaping of future generations and the development of society. Decades have lapsed and numerous attempts have been made to produce a national curriculum for Australia. In 2008 it was announced that the Rudd government in collaboration with State and Territories would produce a plan to move towards a national curriculum (Brady & Kennedy, 2010). To date this has been realised in the deliverance of the Australian Curriculum v1.2 which will be examined in this paper.
Wentzel, J and Vrede Van Huyssl-en. Mathematics as a Human Endevavor. New York: Macmillian Reference USA, 2003. Print.
Sherley, B., Clark, M. & Higgins, J. (2008) School readiness: what do teachers expect of children in mathematics on school entry?, in Goos, M., Brown, R. & Makar, K. (eds.) Mathematics education research: navigating: proceedings of the 31st annual conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australia, Brisbane, Qld: MERGA INC., pp.461-465.
Introduction I have always loved science, especially mathematics. When I wrote my Division II contract I had a simple list of mathematical courses and wanted to explore math specialties. After two years of getting mathematical training, I got a clearer concept of its implications in the wider world. I experienced barriers of being an International student and a Woman of Color (WOC) but I don’t want to give up on this field. I want to make mathematics more accessible and appealing to non-mathematicians.
A mathematics curriculum grounded in the research on critical mathematics or teaching mathematics for social justice (TMSJ) as a pedagogical tool exposes students to issues relating to “relations of power, resources, inequities, and disparate opportunities between different social groups and to understand explicit discrimination based on race, class, gender, language, and other differences,” (Gutstein, 2006, p. 26, see also Wonnacott, 2001, p. 2). When social justices issues relate to students’ lives, students “feel increasingly challenged and obliged to respond to the challenge” (Freire, 1970/2003, p. 81; see also Wonnacott, 2001, p. 2). Therefore, the more teachers engage in conversations around TMSJ (Gutstein, 2003, 2005), the more
Skemp, R (2002). Mathematics in the Primary School. 2nd ed. London: Taylor and Francis .
As a secondary subject, society often views mathematics a critical subject for students to learn in order to be successful. Often times, mathematics serves as a gatekeeper for higher learning and certain specific careers. Since the times of Plato, “mathematics was virtually the first thing everyone has to learn…common to all arts, science, and forms of thought” (Stinson, 2004). Plato argued that all students should learn arithmetic; the advanced mathematics was reserved for those that would serve as the “philosopher guardians” of the city (Stinson, 2004). By the 1900s in the United States, mathematics found itself as a cornerstone of curriculum for students. National reports throughout the 20th Century solidified the importance of mathematics in the success of our nation and its students (Stinson, 2004). As a mathematics teacher, my role to educate all students in mathematics is an important one. My personal philosophy of mathematics education – including the optimal learning environment and best practices teaching strategies – motivates my teaching strategies in my personal classroom.
Mathematics is a powerful learning tool for all the people in this world. This is because all the people will be used it to identify the situations in their life. They are also requiring have an ability to use mathematics to apply into different fields based on what they have learned such as science, language and other curriculum areas.
One very important factor in every life is the education received as we mature. Education in all subjects is necessary to become a well-rounded individual. Even so, I feel that my subject area has more significance in one’s future because every person uses mathematics every day. Students need to understand why mathematics is important and why they will need it in the future. The way to do that is integrated into the views of the role of the teacher. Teachers need to be encouraging role models that provide students with safety, nurturing, and support in the classroom, along with providing excellent instruction by allowing students to explore and expand their minds in the content of mathematics. Teachers should set high expectations for all students and persuade the students to live up to those expectations. Along the same lines, teaching and learning are complementary concepts. Students need for the teacher to provide them with the knowledge that will be used not only in that class but also in their future endeavors. ...
Most of us arrived to this writing seminar in mathematics after we had been taught the dry, routine mathematics typically taught in high schools throughout the country, which does not leave much room for creativity. This situation is compounded by the effects of the “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, [which puts] teachers under even more pressure to teach to the test. Discouraging risk taking…dampens the development of mathematical creativity” (Mann, 2006). This seminar showed us that there is room for creativity in mathematics and dispelled the notions embedded into our brains by thirteen years of rigid mathematics. By forcing us to eliminate a key concept in mathematics, we were compelled to find creative solutions to the problems that ensue from taking such action. In my essay, for example, I decided to abolish the triangle. This would thereby endanger trigonometry, but I theorized that a circular trigonometry could be u...
Throughout out this semester, I’ve had the opportunity to gain a better understanding when it comes to teaching Mathematics in the classroom. During the course of this semester, EDEL 440 has showed my classmates and myself the appropriate ways mathematics can be taught in an elementary classroom and how the students in the classroom may retrieve the information. During my years of school, mathematics has been my favorite subject. Over the years, math has challenged me on so many different levels. Having the opportunity to see the appropriate ways math should be taught in an Elementary classroom has giving me a