25 January 2016

The AAMT electronic newsletter is distributed fortnightly. Our aim is to provide members and others with a short news digest of items relevant to the teaching of mathematics in Australian schools.

Welcome to 2016

The Council and staff of AAMT – your national association – hope you have had a refreshing break and are looking forward to an exciting and rewarding year in 2016. It will be a big year for AAMT – our 50th anniversary, completing the current  Connect with Maths project and establishing our next phase of communities of mathematics practitioners, commencing work on the Mathematics by Inquiry project, work on other projects in the Australian Mathematics and Science Partnerships Program, as well as all our regular activities.

And of course your local mathematics teacher association also has a range of activities to support the teaching and learning of mathematics.

Research Project – National Best Practice in Mathematics Education: your help requested

This nationally important research project provides a unique opportunity to identify factors that lead to quality mathematics learning. The project is an initiative of and funded through the Office of the Chief Scientist. The goal of the project is to build a compelling evidence base for national best practice in mathematics education by identifying key factors in school mathematics improvement as measured by NAPLAN. The study is being conducted by a highly experienced national team of researchers led by the University of Tasmania.

The current second phase of the projects is looking to confirm some initial findings.There are surveys for school leaders (principals, curriculum leaders, mathematics coordinators and so on), teachers of mathematics and students (Years 3 – 6 and in Years 7 – 10). The ideal would be to have a class of students with their teacher from last year, and the school leaders all complete the survey, but if that is not possible we would love responses from anyone interested. The study is looking only at the positive aspects of schooling and does not seek to identify deficits.

Time is of the essence. The project has a very short overall timeline – 6 months – and we invite and seek your approval for you and your school to participate. The survey links are provided below. These will remain open for one month.

Further information can be obtained from Rosemary Callingham (Rosemary.Callingham@utas.edu.au) who can also provide additional letters for teachers or parents if requested.

Please consider contributing to this important initiative

Connect with Maths Day 2016

Connect with Maths Day on Friday 18 March is a one day professional learning event to celebrate and promote the importance and diversity of mathematics in society, themed by the five Connect with Maths communities. The unique format of the day will allow teachers to log in and engage with some of Australia's leading figures in mathematics teaching and learning from any location with an internet connection. More details are available, and you can register now.

Science Programme Index 2016

SPI 2016 is the first comprehensive guide to business and university STEM initiatives for Australian schools and students. 

More than 250 programs are currently listed including in-class, after school, residential, holiday, university, competitions and online activities. The index has been produced by the Office of the Chief Scientist and was released  on 20 January by the out-going Chief Scientist, Prof. Ian Chubb, as a parting contribution to STEM education in our schools.

This will be a valuable resource for teachers and schools looking to enthuse young people about STEM. You can download a copy of the SPI 2016.

​International Mathematical Modelling Challenge

The IM2C will be held in Australia for the first time this year. It provides an opportunity for senior students to work in teams on a challenging modelling problem over 5 days (17 March – 23 April). For more information, including a full information pack, go to the IM2M Australian website or contact contact@immchallenge.org.au.

[featured resource] Adam Spencer's World of Numbers

Almost 400 full-colour pages crammed with facts, observations and investigations about numbers. From the serious (Avogadro’s number and atomic mass units) to the intriguing (the highest ever score for a single word in a Scrabble game) to the downright hilarious (345 is the average number of squirts from a cow’s udder to yield a US gallon of milk), this is a book to dip into for pleasure and knowledge.

#NSB001 $30.00 * AAMT members: $37.50 *

www.aamt.edu.au/Webshop/Entire-catalogue/Adam-Spencer-s-World-of-Numbers

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