Education Commons^™

Acer’S Mathematics Anxiety And Engagement Strategy (Maes): A Framework, Sarah Buckley, Kate Reid, Catherine Pearn, Shani Sniedze

Student learning processes

The Mathematics Anxiety and Engagement Strategy (MAES) was established by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) in 2018 in response to declining mathematics achievement and participation among Australian students. Findings from the 2022 cycle of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) show that 15-year-old students in Australia had significantly lower levels of mathematical literacy than students in 2003 (De Bortoli et al, 2023). The 2022 results also showed that male students outperformed female students and only 30 percent of students from more disadvantaged backgrounds achieved the National Proficient Standard in mathematics compared to 72 percent of students from …

Teacher Resources On Numeracy, Anannya Chakraborty

Teacher India

Teachers have to persistently orient mathematics teaching towards building a strong foundation and improving achievements of students. This article provides a list of short topical online readings on teaching and learning mathematics published by ACER.

Mathematics Anxiety: Supplementary Materials, Sarah Buckley

Student learning processes

This publication contains two professional development activities for teachers which focus on mathematics anxiety. One is a team-based activity and the other is an activity for individuals. The activities encourage both mathematics teachers and non-mathematics teachers to reflect on their current practice, their attitudes towards mathematics, their ideas about teaching mathematics and the mathematical beliefs of students.

Mathematics Anxiety, Sarah Buckley

Student learning processes

This Mathematics Monograph is focussed on helping teachers and school leaders gain a better understanding of: How mathematics anxiety negatively impacts learning and teaching; the symptoms, causes and companions of mathematics anxiety; the difference between reducing mathematics anxiety directly and indirectly; and strategies that can identify and address mathematics anxiety in students and teachers. The Monograph is intended to present information for reflecting and planning how mathematics anxiety can be reduced and regulated in classrooms and in the school community.

Critical Connections Between Numeracy And Mathematics: Supplementary Materials, Dave Tout

Student learning processes

This publication contains three professional development activities targeted at teachers of mathematics. The activities for both groups and individuals focus on the challenge of word problems in maths and connecting maths to the real world. Also included are references, materials and resources related to the issue of the connections between numeracy and mathematics.

Critical Connections Between Numeracy And Mathematics, Dave Tout

Student learning processes

Increasingly research is showing that life and work in the 21st century is requiring higher levels of mathematics and numeracy of its citizens. Numeracy and mathematics are intrinsically connected and BOTH are needed in our ever changing, globalised and technological world. This paper looks at the implications of this for the skills we want our students to develop and leave school with, and how we can better address these in our teaching and learning.

Piaac Numeracy Task Complexity Schema: Factors That Impact On Item Difficulty, Dave Tout, Iddo Gal, Mieke Van Groenestijn, Myrna Manly, Mary Jane Schmitt

Transition and Post-School Education and Training

This paper describes some lessons learned from international adult numeracy assessments that can help in understanding the challenges that people, including both adults and school students, have when solving numeracy tasks and their levels of performance on functional mathematical problems. The paper presents a theoretical schema of five factors that predict, separately and in interaction, the complexity or level of difficulty of mathematically-related assessment tasks, including tasks that incorporate texts and require literacy or reading skills, which are very common in adults' lives. The model was originally developed as part of the development of the Adult Literacy and LifeSkills survey …

The Early Grade Mathematics Assessment: Assessing Children’S Acquisition Of Basic Numeracy Skills In Developing Countries, Australian Council For Educational Research

Assessment GEMS

The Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA) is a one-on-one oral assessment designed to measure a student’s foundation skills in numeracy and mathematics in the early grades. The instrument was first developed by the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International through funding provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The EGMA has been designed to use as a country-level diagnostic tool to determine how students in a country are performing overall compared to its stated curriculum; and for program evaluation to examine the effectiveness of specific curricula, interventions, or teacher training programs

Investigating The Manifestations Of Bias In Professional Noticing Of Mathematical Thinking Among Preservice Teachers, Jonathan Thomas, Taylor Marzilli, Brittney Sawyer, Cindy Jong, Edna O. Schack, Molly H. Fisher

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Faculty Publications

This study examines potential bias with respect to perceived gender and ethnicity in preservice teachers’ professional noticing of children’s mathematical thinking. The goal of the study was to explore how, and to what extent bias emerges within pre-service teachers’ professional noticing of children of differing perceived races and genders. Our findings suggest that bias tends to emerge in the interpreting phase of professional noticing; however, such emergence did not appear to vary in conjunction with the perceived ethnicity and gender of the student. Further, our findings suggest that the inclusion of visual imagery (i.e. photos) influence the manifestation of bias …

Scottish National Assessments: National Report For Academic Year 2018 To 2019, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Assessment and Reporting

No abstract provided.

Predicting Third-Grade Mathematics Achievement: A Longitudinal Investigation Of The Role Of Early Numeracy Skills, Allyson J. Kiss, Gena Nelson, Theodore J. Christ

Early and Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Despite the vast research on the early predictors of mathematics achievement, little research has investigated the predictors of various domains of mathematics (e.g., geometry, statistics). The purpose of the present study was to examine the predictive relationship between first-grade early numeracy and computation skills and third-grade mathematics achievement as measured by a state test. Further, we explored the relations between these measures for students who were Below Proficient and Proficient. Findings suggest that proficiency level matters when examining the relation between mathematics skills. Also, there are different patterns of significant predictors depending on the domain of later mathematics achievement and …

Developing Numeracy And Problem-Solving Skills By Overcoming Learning Bottlenecks, Anita Lee-Post

Marketing & Supply Chain Faculty Publications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present an educational approach to elevating problem-solving and numeracy competencies of business undergraduates to meet workplace demand. The approach is grounded in the theory of constraints following the Decoding the Discipline model. The authors investigated a cognitive bottleneck involving problem modeling and an affective bottleneck concerning low self-efficacy of numeracy and designed specific interventions to address both bottlenecks simultaneously. The authors implemented the proposed approach in an introductory level analytics course in business operations.

Design/methodology/approachThe authors use an empirical study to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in addressing deficiency in …

Scottish National Assessments: National Report For Academic Year 2017 To 2018, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Assessment and Reporting

This report has been developed to provide a summary of outcomes at a national level on the newly established system of national standardised assessments, which has since been termed ‘Scottish National Standardised Assessments’ (SNSA) in the 2017 to 2018 academic year, the first year of the programme. A central aim of SNSA is also to provide information on the outcomes of Scottish children and young people in literacy and numeracy over time. The assessments have been available for use in publicly funded schools in Scotland since August 2017. They are administered to children and young people in Primary 1, Primary …

Class 3 Proficiency In Afghanistan 2015-16 : Outcomes Of A Learning Assessment Of Mathematical And Reading Literacy, Danielle Anzai, Pam Munro-Smith, Sally Robertson, Maurice Walker, Alexander Daraganov

Monitoring Trends in Educational Growth (MTEG)

This report presents the results of an assessment of mathematical and reading literacy of Class 3 students in 15 provinces in Afghanistan. The data were collected between late 2015 and mid-2016. The report also describes the growth in mathematical and reading literacy between Class 3 and Class 6. The Class 6 data were collected from the 2013 assessment in 13 provinces in Afghanistan.

Review Of The Piaac Numeracy Assessment Framework: Final Report, Dave Tout, Diana Coben, Vince Geiger, Lynda Ginsburg, Kees Hoogland, Terry Maguire, Sue Thomson, Ross Turner

Transition and Post-School Education and Training

The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) is an international assessment of the proficiency of adults (aged 16-65 years) in key information processing skills (reading, numeracy and Problem Solving in Technology-Rich Environments). The PIAAC Survey of Adult Skills has revealed that a considerable number of adults in OECD countries possess only limited literacy and numeracy skills. The OECD is currently reviewing the content of the frameworks and cognitive assessment instruments for the 2nd cycle of PIAAC ready for delivery in 2021-22. This report is the result of a review of the numeracy construct and assessment in PIAAC. …

Pisa 2015 : A First Look At Australia’S Results, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Catherine Underwood

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an international comparative study of student achievement directed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). PISA 2015 represents the sixth such study since PISA was first conducted in 2000. Seventy-two OECD countries or partner economies participated in PISA 2015. In Australia, PISA is managed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and is jointly funded by the Australian Government and the state and territory governments. The goal of PISA is to measure how well 15-year-olds, who are nearing the end of their compulsory schooling in most participating educational systems, …

Pisa 2015 : A First Look At Australia’S Results Data Tables [Excel] [Data Set], Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Catherine Underwood

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

The data tables for the report PISA 2015 : a first look at Australia's results (2016). This report provided a first look at the results from PISA 2015, and focused on the achievement results in scientific, reading and mathematical literacy.

Reducing Mathematics Anxiety, Catherine Pearn

Teacher articles

Catherine Pearn discusses how to approach maths anxiety in the classroom. The symptoms of mathematics anxiety vary from expressing a dislike of mathematics to an adult who had to exit a lecture theatre in a hurry when numbers are displayed on a screen.

A Teacher's Guide To Pisa Mathematical Literacy, Sue Thomson, Kylie Hillman, Lisa De Bortoli

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

This report focuses on mathematical literacy and is one of a series of three reports on Australian students' performance in PISA. The report provides an overview of the PISA mathematics framework and Australia's results in the PISA 2003 international assessment. Also included are mathematics items released for public viewing after the PISA 2003 assessment and examples of responses, marking guides and comparisons of results with other countries. The context behind achievement, e.g. attitudes, engagement and learning strategies, is also presented.

An Investigation Of Palindromes And Their Place In Mathematics, Ryan Andrew Nivens

ETSU Faculty Works

What do the Honda Civic, the Mazda 626, and the Boeing 747 have in common? What about Weird Al's song Bob, the first name of Miley Cyrus' alter ego, and the 70s sensation Abba? What do all these things have in common? They all contain palindromes. While some people recognise a palindrome when they see one, fewer realise that a palindrome is a special case of a pattern and that these patterns are all around. Palindromes frequently occur in names, both of vehicles and people, and in music.

Pisa In Brief : Highlights From The Full Australian Report : Challenges For Australian Education : Results From Pisa 2009 : The Pisa 2009 Assessment Of Students' Reading, Mathematical And Scientific Literacy, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Marina Nicholas, Kylie Hillman, Sarah Buckley

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

PISA in Brief summarises the results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009 assessment of students’ reading, mathematical and scientific literacy skills. It tells us about how students performed in the assessment and describes some wider findings about what lies behind their results. PISA 2009 assessed students’ capacities to apply knowledge and skills in reading, mathematical and scientific literacy. More assessment time was given to reading literacy, as this was the main focus for this cycle.

A Good Start To Numeracy : Effective Numeracy Strategies From Research And Practice In Early Childhood, Brian Doig, Barry Mcrae, Ken Rowe

Student learning processes

The Commonwealth-funded Project Good Start was a longitudinal study of children during their year before school and the first year of school, involving preschool centres and schools across Australia. It considered the questions: how can effective numeracy programs be identified at both year-before-school and the early years of school; and what constitutes evidence of effectiveness. This report provides a review of the international and Australian research literature on numeracy in early childhood that complements the Department of Education, Science and Training’s major review of the numeracy literature undertaken by Deakin University. It is designed to provide early childhood professionals and …

Language Implications For Numeracy: A Study Of Language Use Of Disadvantaged Students, Robyn Zevenbergen

2000 - Improving Numeracy Learning

Increasingly language is recognised as causing difficulties for students when they come to learn mathematics. Many different levels and aspects of language can be seen to create such difficulties for students. This paper looks at the implications of language on learning mathematics or developing a sense of numeracy.

Calculator Use In Western Australian Primary Schools, Len Sparrow, Paul Swan

Research outputs pre 2011

There are very few issues in mathematics teaching over the past twenty five years which have caused so much debate among teachers, parents and the community than the use of calculators in primary schools. Letters to newspapers, magazine articles and public comment often express the opinion that the apparent decline in the ability of young people to calculate, even simple computations, is a direct result of the use of calculators in schools. Anecdotal evidence in the form of reports from teaching practice students, personal observation in schools and comments from teachers suggests there is, in fact, very little calculator use …

Children's Knowledge And Understanding Of Basic Number Facts, Jack Bana, Richard Korbosky

Research outputs pre 2011

Automatic recall of all the basic number facts is a major objective in primary school mathematics. This is an objective that is not easily attained. Many students have problems acquiring the skills which lead to correct and immediate responses (automatic recall) for all the basic number facts. Knowledge of the basic number facts is essential for undertaking all computation efficiently. These basic facts are defined as 0 + 0 to 9 + 9 for addition and their subtractive opposites; and 0 x 0 to 9 x 9 for multiplication and their inverses in division. This is a total of 390 …

Mental Computation In School Mathematics: Preference, Attitude And Performance Of Students In Years 3, 5, 7 And 9, Alistair Mcintosh, Jack Bana, Brian Farrell

Research outputs pre 2011

Commencing in 1989 a team consisting of Alistair Mcintosh, Paul Swan and Ellita de Nardi at Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, probed the strategies used by children of primary school age when calculating mentally, with a view to developing and promoting more appropriate and effective mental computation...This present monograph, which looks at the mental computation of Western Australian students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, is one of the outcomes of this collaborative research project.

Issues In Primary Mathematics Education Computers: Classroom Practice And Curriculum Reform, Lorraine Kershaw, Kevin Jones, Len Sparrow

Research outputs pre 2011

The advent of an interactive multimedia approach in teaching and learning has opened up yet another horizon to be explored in search of the perceived potential of the computer in primary mathematics education. Benefits promoted have included its use as a motivational aid, the developing of content knowledge and problem solving skills of children of varying abilities, its capacity to support an integrated curriculum, and to assist children in controlling their own learning. Many have doubts about the veracity of these assertions and disagree about the types of appropriate uses of the computer. For classroom teachers, software and hardware availability, …

Issues In Primary Mathematics Education: Calculators: Research And Curriculum Implications, Len Sparrow, Lorraine Kershaw, Kevin Jones

Research outputs pre 2011

Calculators: Research and curriculum implications is one of a series of monographs on issues in primary mathematics education. It has been written to support initiatives in the development of student-centred learning programs at Edith Cowan University - programs designed to accommodate current views on effective adult learning strategies, as wells as the development of professional and generic (key) competencies. Irrespective of the nature of individual learning programs, students and teachers working at undergraduate and postgraduate levels will find the series useful- either as a synthesis of currently available research findings and reference material, to identify potentially significant initiatives and developments …

Number Sense And Computation In The Classroom, Kevin Jones, Lorraine Kershaw, Len Sparrow

Research outputs pre 2011

Number sense and computation in the classroom is one of a series of monographs on issues in primary mathematics education. It has been written to support initiatives in the development of student-centred learning programs at Edith Cowan University - programs designed to accommodate current views on effective adult learning strategies, as wells as the development of professional and generic (key) competencies. Irrespective of the nature of individual learning programs, students and teachers working at undergraduate and postgraduate levels will find the series useful- either as a synthesis of currently available research findings and reference material, to identify potentially significant initiatives …

Profiles Of Learning. The Basic Skills Testing Program In New South Wales 1989, Geoff N. Masters, Janice Lokan, Brian Doig, Siek Toon Khoo, John Lindsey, Lynette Robinson, Susan Zammit

Assessment and Reporting

The 1989 Basic Skills Testing Program in New South Wales provides the most comprehensive picture yet compiled of literacy and numeracy learning in Australian primary schools. In 1989, some 53,800 Year 6 students in NSW government schools were tested in five aspects of literacy and numeracy. Another 2,300 Year 3 students took part in a pilot study. This book discusses the writing of the tests, the analysis of results, and the reporting of results to parents, teachers and schools. The aim of the basic skills tests is to describe, in positive terms, the skills that students have mastered, to identify …