Matt Skoss - Mathematics Project Officer for NT DEET, supporting urban and remote teachers in the southern region of the NT, and

Dr. Thelma Perso - Executive Director Curriculum, Education Queensland and Immediate Past President of the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers.

Read on for more information...........................

Keynote One: My way or the highway with Professor Merrilyn Goos

A ten year retrospective on continuity and change in mathematics education

Abstract

In 1998 I presented my first keynote address, at the QAMT annual conference in Surfers Paradise. Ten years later I have the same privilege at the 2008 conference. In between lies a great deal of activity in research, professional development, and curriculum development in mathematics education … but for what benefit? In this talk I’ll draw on my interactions with teachers, students, curriculum and assessment authorities, and professional associations to reflect on what has changed and what has stayed the same over the last ten years – and perhaps what could have been different.

Bionotes

Merrilyn Goos is a Professor of Education at The University of Queensland and Director of the Teaching and Educational Development Institute, which supports the university’s mission in pursuing excellence in all aspects of teaching and learning. From 1998-2007 she co-ordinated pre-service and postgraduate courses in mathematics education at UQ.

Her research in mathematics education investigates teaching approaches that promote higher order thinking and connects mathematics learning to real world contexts, and she has individually or collaboratively authored more than 100 research and professional publications.

Merrilyn has won two national awards for research excellence in mathematics education, a University of Queensland Award for Teaching Excellence, and an Australian Award for University Teaching. She is an Associate Fellow of the Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. She was a member of the QAMT Executive from 1999-2006 and Vice President (Professional Development) from 1999-2001. From 2005-2007 she was Chair of the Queensland Studies Authority’s P-12 Mathematics Syllabus Advisory Committee, which develops mathematics syllabuses across all levels of schooling.

Keynote Two: My Way or the Highway with Matt Skoss

Reflecting on the Distance Travelled in Mathematics Education

Abstract

Since being invited to attend the QAMT Conference, I have been pondering on how best to reflect the conference theme. What might people be interested in from my visits to remote and urban schools across Australia? This presentation will chronicle how I feel I have shifted in my thinking about 'how to be the best teacher I can be' and my role in supporting isolated teachers in being 'instructional leaders' in their setting. Several words help to provoke my thinking: Competence, Confidence, Context, Community. I hope to reflect with you on the distance travelled in our honourable craft.

Bionotes

Matt Skoss is an experienced classroom teacher, most recently from Alice Springs High School. He has a strong interest in using Learning Technologies that enable students to create artefacts that provide substantial evidence of their learning, arising from rich investigative mathematical tasks.

He currently has a variety of part-time roles:

• Mathematics Project Officer for NT DEET, supporting urban and remote teachers in the southern region of the NT
• Critical Friend for the Australian Catholic University (Melbourne) to ASISTM projects in remote localities
• External lecturer & marker for Charles Darwin University in Mathematics Education courses for external pre-service students
• Private consultant in the area of Mathematics Education and the strategic use of ICT into the classroom with remote schools
• Supporting role with an ARC project in remote Kimberley Region (WA) schools with researchers from Griffith University & Monash University

Keynote Three: My Way or the Highway with Dr. Thelma Perso

Reflecting on the Distance to be Travelled in Mathematics Education in the 21st Century

Abstract

Politicians have used the promise of ‘back to basics in our schools’ as an educational platform for some time now, possibly in recognition that that this is something the general population perceives as an issue capable of winning an election.

In the various positions I have held, both professional and in community service, I have been required to respond to ministerial correspondence, questions on notice in parliament, questions by the media and policy positions on issues such as the following:

• When are children taught long division? or
• Why aren’t children taught long division anymore?
• Why can’t our children work with fractions?
• Why do children need a calculator to work things out when we were taught to do them in our heads?

For voters to ask/write these questions of their member of parliament and for them to subsequently make headlines in newspapers, these questions clearly strike a chord with many members of the voting public.  In my presentation I will discuss this phenomenon from my perspective as a public servant and from a broader perspective as a mathematics educator and teacher. It is not my intention to provide definitive answers, merely to raise awareness, explore this topic, and make suggestions for solutions (in the context of what mathematics teaching and learning might look like in the 21st century), in the hope that we as teachers and educators can gain a better understanding of the issues and why they are issues, and to better position us to provide informed responses to the community and parents when the issues are raised.

Bionotes

Dr. Thelma Perso is currently Executive Director Curriculum, Education Queensland
and Immediate Past President of the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers.