Jodie Miller

Transformations of teaching and learning through digital technologies

This chapter is a critical synthesis of research related to the transformations that take place when digital technologies are incorporated into teaching and learning practices. In developing this synthesis, research from all levels of education was reviewed with a focus on the opportunities digital technologies offer for cognitive, pedagogical, affective and professional change. The chapter is structured in alignment with Pierce and Stacey’s (Pierce and Stacey, Int J Comput Math Learn 15(1):1–20 2010) map of pedagogical opportunities in which three dimensions for educational transformation were identified: tasks, classroom, and subject. A discussion of future directions for research into technology enhanced mathematics education concludes the review.

Working together: strategies that support cross-cultural engagement of Indigenous teacher assistants working in Indigenous contexts

ABSTRACT Indigenous teacher assistants (ITAs) are often employed in schools to assist in addressing educational issues relating to Indigenous students. While, this practice has occurred for over 40 years in most Australian states, little has been written about their contribution in assisting Indigenous students to learn. This paper explores the influence of a large longitudinal research project (Representations Oral Language and Engagement in Mathematics) with respect to the role of ITAs in supporting Indigenous students’ to learn mathematics. Data are collected from the perspectives of ITAs, teachers and school principals. In particular, the research proposes that including ITAs in high stakes professional learning, not only changes their confidence and contribution in the classrooms but also allows them and their students to begin to “walk” between the two knowledge worlds, Indigenous knowledge and Western knowledge.

Supporting young ESL students from disadvantaged contexts in their engagement with mathematics: Teachers' pedagogical challenges

Abstract Australian students from disadvantaged contexts who speak English as a second language (ESL) are at risk of being developmentally vulnerable when compared to their peers (Gonski et al., 2011). This article presents selected findings from a large-scale longitudinal study designed specifically for young students in disadvantaged contexts. It reports the positive students’ gains, and the challenges teachers faced while engaging and supporting students in developing their understanding of mathematics. Data were collected from Early Years students (Foundation to Year 2) across three schools with large identified ESL cohorts (N = 379). Additionally, data were also collected from the participating students’ teachers (N = 35). The students were tested twice yearly, while the teachers were interviewed three times during the year(s) they participated in the project. The improvements in the students’ pre- and post-test scores were statistically and educationally significant. The teachers identified two main challenges as they implemented a program called Representations, Oral Language and Engagement in Mathematics (RoleM). First, relates to language and communication difficulties when teaching students whose first language was not Standard Australian English, and second, the teachers had to rethink their pedagogical practices after participating in RoleM professional learning. The results of this study add to the literature with regard to the pedagogical approaches used to teach mathematics to ESL students. In particular by providing evidence that the concepts of representing and communicating mathematics are intertwined, and thus teaching mathematics as a linguistic experience should be avoided.

Redressing the Imbalance

This chapter reviews the main findings of the study in relation to the research questions, and presents the implications for practice and research. While participating in the RPL, we theorize that teachers and students transitioned through five distinct stages of a professional learning and teaching trajectory. Each stage contributed to their journey towards becoming expert teachers and their students achieving academically, and each stage required different levels of support. Given the size and scope of the participants and the differing contexts in which they were situated, we also claim that this trajectory is generalizable to many other marginalized contexts at both the national and international level. Thus, the hypothesized professional learning and teaching trajectory frames our recommendations with regard to assisting young ESL students and Indigenous students living in disadvantaged contexts to effectively engage in Western mathematics.

Maintaining the Momentum

This chapter discusses the importance of maintaining the momentum of the RoleM project (and other like projects), and gaining its sustainability for students and teachers in marginalized contexts. New Zealand and Canadian perspectives are presented in relation to actions that ensure a smooth transition for these young children throughout their first four years of school. Differences and similarities are drawn between all contents to present key factors that support sustainability of programs in schools. Finally, conclusions are drawn, and actions delineated that ensure a smooth transition for these young students throughout their first four years of school.

Crossing the Divide

The demographics of these teachers closely align with international and national trends for teachers in marginalized contexts. The majority of these teachers were inexperienced and under qualified (Borman and Kimball in Elementary Sch J 106(1):3–20, 2013). This problem was exacerbated as the geographical location became more remote. The more remote the location the higher the percentage of inexperienced teachers, and the more under qualified and under-confident they felt. This chapter discusses the teacher and student data with regard to the literature, and identifies the particular dimensions that assisted these teachers and students to succeed in teaching and learning Western mathematics.

Being at the Margins ≠ Being Unsuccessful at Mathematics

Students at the margins are disadvantaged as they enter school, and the educational gap between disadvantaged and advantaged students widens as they progress through school. We would suggest that a primary cause for this occurring is how the envisaged mathematics curriculum is enacted in these classroom contexts. Thus this chapter is organized under the two major dimensions that are purported to influence the enactment of mathematics teaching: teachers’ affective domain and their cognitive domain. This chapter critiques the literature relating to these domains and identifies particular elements that assist this educational gap being ‘closed’. It also shares the theoretical constructs that underpinned the selection and development of materials for the classroom and the development of the RoleM professional learning model utilized across the four years of the project.

Mathematics at the Margins

Schools classified as marginalized exhibit a complex cluster of factors, including parents who have low socio-economic status and low levels of education, and contexts where social networks are weak, there are few role models and in general there is a lack of opportunity. In the Australian context these schools tend to be in isolated geographical locations, and have large cohorts of students who either have English as their second language or are Indigenous. The problems that these schools face are universal. Teachers often struggle to work in these contexts, and students are at the greatest risk of not succeeding at school let alone mathematics. The focus of this book is to share the findings from a four-year longitudinal study Representations, Oral Language and Engagement in Mathematics (RoleM) that was situated in the most marginalized schools in Queensland, Australia. The participating students were in their first four years of school. The overall aim of the book is to share the journey of these teachers and students, and to draw out the dimensions that assisted these students to become successful learners of mathematics.

Mathematics and Marginality

Mathematics is a content area that many elementary teachers struggle with in the classroom. For many teachers their self-efficacy with regard to their own ability to do mathematics is low (Hoy 2000). This struggle is even more pronounced in the early year classrooms in the elementary school, with a consequence that many childhood teachers focus their teaching on literacy at the expense of mathematics (Frigo et al. 2004; Jurdak 2009). Teaching in marginalized contexts only adds to this problem, especially for teachers who are new to the profession and hold feelings of not being able to cope. This chapter begins by sharing the journey of teachers working in these contexts as they progress through the RoleM professional learning. It also delineates the strategies used in RoleM that helped them become quality teachers.

Marginality and Mathematics

As evidenced in Chap. 3, the problem of disadvantaged students underperformance in mathematics can be addressed by changing how mathematics is enacted within the classroom context. This chapter investigates the issue of disadvantage in terms of the context in which students live, their cultural and educational background and the impact these have on learning mathematics (what these students bring to the equation). Its particular focus is on the participating students and their development as they move through the four years of the longitudinal study. At the completion of the project, the majority of students’ achievements in mathematics mirrored that of their mainstream counterparts. Students’ growth is measured according to their pre and post-test scores on a test administered at the commencement and conclusion of each year. This growth is examined in terms of students’ geographical location, ethnicity, and teacher experience. In addition, the chapter includes illustrative examples of how these students’ engagement with, and learning of, mathematics evolved over the four-year period.