Australia Association for Research in Education
Maths curriculum
It’s all about balance: why analogies might make maths easier to understand
For over a decade now, I have aimed to understand the mathematical knowledge needed to teach mathematics effectively, …
Why kids under five must start learning to code
There’s a lot of pressure to learn coding in primary school to develop 21st century computational skills. But I think we should start in preschool. Schools and governments recognise the need for teaching 21st century skills. We can see the evidence for that in the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics. But just as we teach preschool children …
Lazy, crazy mathematicians and other myths we need to bust
Creating opportunities for students to develop ‘healthy’ images of mathematicians and mathematics is paramount. The images of mathematics …
Five questions to ask if you think teaching problem-solving works
Every few decades there is a campaign to include general problem-solving and thinking skills in school curricula. The motivation is understandable. Everyone would like our schools to enhance students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Because it is so obviously important for students to have such skills, these campaigns are frequently successful in including thinking and …
How to do the sums for an excellent maths curriculum
As we await the release of a new Australian curriculum for mathematics, debates about its contents are developing. As is typical with educational debates, the issues are often painted in binary terms: traditional vs progressive, explicit teaching vs problem solving, content vs skills, procedural vs conceptual knowledge. In mathematics education, these debates have existed for …