Education Commons^™

Australian Curriculum Linked Lessons, Derek Hurrell

Derek Hurrell

In providing a continued focus on tasks and activities that help to illustrate key ideas embedded in the new Australian Curriculum, in this issue we focus, on Algebra in the Number and Algebra strand.

Effectiveness Of Professional Learning: Enhancing The Teaching Of Fractions In Primary Schools, Derek Hurrell

Derek Hurrell

No abstract provided.

Tasks And Resources For Developing Children's Multiplicative Thinking, Derek Hurrell, Chris Hurst

Derek Hurrell

The development of multiplicative thinking determines largely the extent of the mathematics that a person learns beyond middle primary school. Our current research project has so far revealed that many primary children have a procedural view of aspects of multiplicative thinking that we believe inhibits their progress. This workshop focuses on some of the teaching resources and tasks that have been developed from our research. The purpose of these tasks is to promote the development of conceptual understanding of 'the multiplicative situation' and the many connections within it and with other big ideas such as proportional reasoning and algebraic thinking.

An Explanation For The Use Of Arrays To Promote The Understanding Of Mental Strategies For Multiplication, Lorraine Day, Derek Hurrell

Derek Hurrell

This article provides a convincing argument for using arrays to promote students’ understandings of mental computation strategies for multiplication. Also a range of different examples that illustrate the benefits of arrays in the primary classroom are provided.

Developing Proportional Reasoning, Derek Hurrell, Lorraine Day

Derek Hurrell

Proportional reasoning is one of the big mathematical ideas students will encounter. It applies to a wide range of contexts across all of the content strands and is considered a critical concept for success in secondary mathematics. It requires an ability to think multiplicatively and relationally, and is often problematic for students.

The Importance Of Fractions In Being A Successful Mathematics Student, Derek Hurrell, Lorraine Day

Derek Hurrell

Research and experience tells us that fractions are not easy to teach and learn and that a solid conceptual understanding of fractions has far reaching ramifications in the secondary mathematics classroom. A failure to acknowledge and remediate 'inherited' challenges to this understanding may result in the further success of students being severely impeded.

The Reasoning Proficiency, Lorraine Day, Derek Hurrell

Derek Hurrell

If students are to reason mathematically, they need to be engaged in mathematically rich, investigative tasks that allow them to explain their thinking, justify the strategies they use and the conclusions they reach, and adapt the known to the unknown. 1he importance of contextualised Learning should be highlighted so students may be encouraged to transfer their learning from one context to another, explain their choices within a context, and compare and contrast related ideas. 1he reasoning proficiency naturally interrelates with the understanding, problem solving and fluency proficiencies.v

A Teaching Team: More Than The Sum Of Its Parts, Lorraine Day, Derek Hurrell

Derek Hurrell

Team teaching is not a new idea with a history spanning more than 40 years. It is an enduring idea yet its practice would not be the norm in most Australian school settings and across most content areas. This paper discusses the experiences of two educators who were given the opportunity to team teach in the area of mathematics education at a tertiary institution. It explores some of the challenges and joys of working in an educational environment which celebrates discourse, questioning and risk taking while modelling a collaborative approach for students.
Keywords: team teaching, professional practice, pedagogy, tertiary teaching, …

Australian Curriculum Linked Lessons, Derek Hurrell

Derek Hurrell

In providing a continued focus on tasks and activities that help to illustrate key ideas embedded in the new Australian Curriculum, in this issue we focus on the Statistics and Probability strand.

Australian Curriculum Linked Lessons, Derek Hurrell

Derek Hurrell

In providing a continued focus on tasks and activities that help to illustrate key ideas embedded in the new Australian Curriculum, the focus in this issue is on Measurement in the Measurement and Geometry strand.

Mathematical Games: Just Trivial Pursuits?, Derek Hurrell, Paul Swan

Derek Hurrell

No abstract provided.

Measurement: Five Considerations To Add Even More Impact To Your Program, Derek Hurrell

Derek Hurrell

The potential of using Measurement as a way of “tuning students into mathematics” is demonstrated. Five ideas that can form the basis of focusing on measurement to access other strands of the mathematics curriculum are examined.

Learning Environments That Support The Development Of Multiplicative Thinking, Derek Hurrell, Lorraine Day

Derek Hurrell

Given the right learning environment primary aged children can and do develop the capacity to think multiplicatively. Through vignettes taken from interviews with a Year 5 class during a research project, the optimal conditions for the conceptual development underpinning multiplicative thinking is examined.

Developing The Big Ideas Of Number, Chris Hurst, Derek Hurrell

Derek Hurrell

The mathematical content knowledge (MCK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of primary and elementary teachers at all levels of experience is under scrutiny. This article suggests that content knowledge and the way in which it is linked to effective pedagogies would be greatly enhanced by viewing mathematical content from the perspective of the ‘big ideas’ of mathematics, especially of number. This would enable teachers to make use of the many connections and links within and between such ‘big ideas’ and to make them explicit to children. Many teachers view the content they have to teach in terms of what curriculum …

Investigating Children's Multiplicative Thinking, Chris Hurst, Derek Hurrell

Derek Hurrell

Multiplicative thinking is a ‘big idea’ of mathematics that underpins much of the mathematics learned beyond the early primary school years. The conference presentation reports on a recent study that utilised an interview tool to gather data about children’s multiplicative thinking. Using a workshop format, we present some of the interview tool and some of the findings, as well as demonstrate how the tool can be used for planning, teaching and assessment. The session also emphasises the importance of developing deep conceptual understanding as opposed to the teaching of procedures. This paper considers how evidence from the interview can be …