Unit Outline

Each of EMT625 and EMT627 is the second of a pair of units that present the theory, methods and practice of teaching high school mathematics and numeracy, with EMT625 focussing on the 7-12 curriculum and EMT627 focussing on Grades 7-9. These units generally will be taken after completing the appropriate pre-requisite unit EMT525 Teaching the Grade 7-12 Mathematics Curriculum or EMT527 Teaching the Grade 7-9 Mathematics Curriculum.

EMT625 and EMT627, and ESH325 focus on the learning of mathematics in secondary school classrooms, particularly Years 7 to 12 for EMT625, and Years 7 to 9 for EMT627, and will build pre-service teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge for teaching mathematics in a productive way. This unit develops an appreciation of how students in the secondary years form mathematical concepts, and how teaching can foster effective learning, with a particular focus on the “proficiencies” in the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics. It will consider issues associated with understanding mathematics and developing mathematical thinking, which includes an examination of incomplete and misconceived understanding. In addition, the units will investigate ways to incorporate reasoning and problem-solving in the mathematics classroom, and how to foster higher-order thinking from students. The use of technology in relation to issues of understanding, reasoning, and problem solving is considered. The unit will also address the design and evaluation of assessment approaches at the junior and senior secondary levels.

The broad aims for this unit are:

To increase knowledge of how to address the mathematics proficiency strands in the Australian Curriculum, especially understanding, reasoning, and problem solving;

To develop capacity and competence to identify and deliver mathematics teaching and learning experiences that develop higher order thinking and conceptual understanding;

To acquire knowledge and develop skills relating to designing and evaluating assessment tasks in mathematics curriculum for Year 7 to Year 12 students; and

To understand how research in mathematics education can inform practice.

Note: EMT625 and EMT627 have similar content but there will be some distinctions in the focus of the assessment criteria, particularly in AT2 and AT3 (see the Assessment section of this unit outline).

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1.	Explain what it means to teach for different kinds of understanding and foster higher order thinking in students, and use appropriate strategies to develop these when devising teaching and learning experiences
2.	Describe and use current curriculum content and contemporary teaching practices in high school mathematics education, especially in relation to reasoning and problem solving
3.	Demonstrate the ability to plan, develop, and analyse mathematical assessment experiences that incorporate appropriate assessment principles
4.	Assess and provide feedback on student work, and plan for further learning experiences
5.	Use contemporary research in mathematics education to inform teaching practice

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	EMT527

Alterations as a result of student feedback

Weekly Zoom sessions will be organised for off-campus students.

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Teach Mathematics to Peers	Week 4	15 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 2:	Analysing Understanding and the Effectiveness of Learning Resources	Week 8	35 %	LO1, LO2, LO5
Assessment Task 3:	Evaluating and Developing Assessment	Week 14	50 %	LO3, LO4, LO5

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Teach Mathematics to Peers

Task Description:

Choose a mathematical topic (pick a favourite result or area of interest — it does not need to be a "school" topic) and present/teach it to your peers in a 10 minute presentation. This will need to be recorded and uploaded (details will be provided on how to do this). The topic should be engaging and mathematically interesting.

The final product could be uploaded to, or linked to from, your portfolio.

Detailed instructions will be provided on MyLO.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.2, 2.1, 2.6, 3.1, 3.4, 3.5

Task Length:

500 words (nominal)—presentation is to be no more than 10 minutes.

Due Date:

Week 4 (19/Mar/2024)

Weight:

15 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Use of media/resources/materials to support the presentation of the ideas	LO1, LO2
2	Teaching strategies used to help facilitate learning (e.g. explanations, examples, use of questions, stimulus, learner activities, etc.)	LO1, LO2
3	Content knowledge of the mathematics being presented	LO1, LO2
4	Evaluation of other students’ presentations	LO3

Assessment Task 2: Analysing Understanding and the Effectiveness of Learning Resources

Task Description:

This assessment task involves writing an academic paper where you demonstrate your ability to select, understand, and relate research findings to practice, associated with a key issue for teaching and learning of a selected mathematics topic in the secondary school. Success will be demonstrated by producing an essay that identifies and discusses the critical ideas, using well-structured and justified arguments that are appropriately referenced. You will be expected to use the literature to motivate a goal for your own teaching practice, and then to use your findings as the basis of an evaluation of an on-line learning resource.

Further details and a list of starter references will be provided on MyLO.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.2, 1.5, 3.4, 6.2

Task Length:

1500 words total (1000-1200 for the essay and 300-500 for the evaluation of the on-line resource)

Due Date:

Week 8 (24/Apr/2024)

Weight:

35 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Understanding of what research tells us about the chosen topic and students’ understanding of it (well-synthesised and focussed; good choice of literature with at least 6 papers cited; major issues/issue discussed in depth)	LO1, LO5
2	Application to teaching clearly understood and articulated, including the implications for differentiating learning, and the identification of an attainable and meaningful teaching goal	LO1, LO2, LO5
3	Analysis of the on-line resource identifies clear strengths and weaknesses in relation to attainment of student understanding and is aligned to the arguments developed in the essay	LO1, LO2, LO5
4	Communicate through the use of appropriate writing conventions including APA referencing, punctuation, grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and word choice	LO2, LO5

Assessment Task 3: Evaluating and Developing Assessment

Task Description:

For this assessment task, you will need to obtain a copy of a mathematics assessment instrument (artefact) being used in a school. This might be an end-of-unit test, an open-ended task, a project, a set of practice exam questions, etc. The main requirement is that it is being used to assess students on a particular topic (not the whole of a course), and is a "substantial" instrument (not a quick quiz, for example). For this assignment you will need to do the following:

1. Conduct an analysis of the assessment artefact, in terms of what kind of assessment it involves, what understanding is assessed, its diagnostic capacity, any strengths or weaknesses, its level of demand, etc.
2. Separately from 1, conduct an analysis of how the assessment artefact allows students to engage in problem solving and reasoning.
3. Produce a set of exemplary/model solutions for the assessment artefact.
4. Develop a marking scheme/rubric for the solutions. Make sure criteria are clearly identified. Justify your choices.
5. Prepare an alternative assessment instrument or task that addresses the same content but has a different style to the original artefact (e.g., if the original artefact was a test, you might design an open-ended task). If possible (and applicable) your alternative instrument should try to address concerns that you had with the original artefact. Your assessment instrument should include a component that clearly allows students to use problem solving and reasoning skills.
6. Conduct an analysis of your alternative assessment artefact, in terms of what kind of assessment it involves, what understanding is assessed, its diagnostic capacity, any strengths or weaknesses, its level of demand, etc.
7. Separately from 6, conduct an analysis of how the assessment artefact allows students to engage in problem solving and reasoning.
8. Produce a set of exemplary/model solutions for the assessment artefact.
9. Develop a marking scheme/rubric for the solutions. Make sure criteria are clearly identified. Justify your choices.
10. Conduct an analysis of supplied student responses to a separate task (the task and responses will be provided on MyLO, together with additional instructions).

Where applicable, please ensure that ideas are referenced (e.g., if ideas for the alternative task came from the internet or if you refer to any of the literature we discussed in the unit).
Your choice of assessment for parts 1-9 should be appropriate for a content area determined by your unit enrolment:
- If you are enrolled in EMT625 you should consider content from Years 9-10 of the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics, or from a suitable Year 11 or 12 mathematics unit.
- If you are enrolled in EMT627 you should consider content from Years 7-9 of the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics.

Details of exact requirements (including word counts and criteria) will be provided on MyLO.
The final product could be uploaded to, or linked to from, your portfolio.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.2, 1.5, 2.3, 3.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.4, 5.5

Task Length:

2000 words (nominal) (because this assignment includes worked solutions and an assessment artefact, it is difficult to nominate a definitive word count; guidance will be provided on MyLO).

Due Date:

Week 14 (04/Jun/2024)

Weight:

50 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Analysis of the assessment artefact and solutions	LO3, LO5
2	Appropriateness of the marking scheme/rubric for assessment artefact	LO3, LO5
3	Appropriateness of the design of alternative assessment tasks	LO3, LO4, LO5
4	Quality of feedback and appropriateness of teaching approaches in response to students’ work	LO4

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.

Required Resources

Required reading materials

You will need to be able to access the mathematics curriculum area of the Australian Curriculum, and you will need Improving learning in mathematics: Challenges and strategies for Week 3. The other resources have informed the preparation of this unit and will be beneficial to you, but are not essential.

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2022). The Australian Curriculum. Sydney, NSW: Author. https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/

Boaler, J. (2010). The elephant in the classroom: Helping children learn and love mathematics. London: Souvenir Press.

Goos, M., Stillman, G., & Vale, C. (2017, 2nd Edition). Teaching secondary school mathematics: Research and practice for the 21st century. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. [Note the 2007 first edition is suitable if you already have a copy].

Swan, M. (2005). Improving learning in mathematics: Challenges and strategies. London: Department for Education and Skills Standards Unit. Freely downloadable from https://www.stem.org.uk/elibrary/resource/26057