Rhonda Faragher

CAS-Enabled Technologies as "Agents Provocateurs" in Teaching and Learning Mathematical Modelling in Secondary School Classrooms

This paper draws on a one year study of three secondary school classrooms to examine the nature of student-student-technology interaction when working in partnership with computer algebra systems (CAS) on mathematical modelling tasks and the classroom affordances and constraints that influence such interaction. The analysis of these data indicates that CAS enabled technologies have a role to play as provocateurs of productive student-student-teacher interaction in both small group and whole class settings. Our research indicates that technologies that incorporate CAS capabilities have the potential to mediate collaborative approaches to mathematical enquiry within life-related mathematical tasks.

The Role of Textbooks in Developing a Socio-critical Perspective on Mathematical Modelling in Secondary Classrooms

One approach to teaching using mathematical modelling and applications is to take a socio-critical perspective where the goal is development of a critical understanding of the world through modelling physical and social phenomena. Several curriculum documents in Australia as well as in other countries, with a modelling and applications emphasis, promote socio-critical aspects to be developed by mathematics curricula, particularly at senior secondary level. The role of modern textbook resources in promoting this development and how teachers could use these resources to mediate such a learning goal in relation to the applications of mathematics is an under researched area. This chapter interrogates curriculum documents and textbook tasks to assess the potential role of textbooks in developing this understanding in students through mathematical modelling.

‘Visual clutter’ in the classroom: voices of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Objectives To date, there has been little qualitative research exploring how students interpret visual sensory input in the classroom. Research has found that seeking student voice has the capacity to act as a change agent for Educational Quality of Life (EQOL), in several aspects of educational decision-making. In light of this knowledge, this study endeavored to fill this gap in the educational research literature. In this research, we take a qualitative, deductive approach to exploring students’ interpretations of ‘visual clutter’ in the classroom, to seek to improve EQOL. Methods Through Arts-informed methodology, this study sought students’ interpretations of ‘visual clutter’ in the classroom. The study was conducted in three stages using photo elicitation, draw and talk, and semi-structured interviews. Results In seeking three students’ voices regarding their personal interpretations of ‘visual clutter’ in classrooms, light was shed on four themes: color palette, feature congestion, affordances, and spatial size, which were each shown to elicit negative emotional responses from the students. We analyzed the drawings of one child in depth as an exemplar for the qualitative methodology used. Conclusion Student voice is central to educational quality of life. In seeking student voice, students are given the opportunity to convey the scope of their adaptive responses to incoming visual input, thus providing personal context to support measures. In doing so, student voice is given meaning in another facet of educational decision-making. This can include implications for classroom design.

Developing Numeracy to Enhance Quality of Life

Being able to use the mathematics we need in the contexts of our lives, and the willingness to do so are the essence of numeracy. And numeracy matters! Numeracy is a key factor for the enhancement of an individual’s quality of life, especially those with intellectual disabilities. In this chapter, the importance of numeracy for quality of life forms the basis of an argument that numeracy development is too important to be left to chance. Numeracy development needs to be approached systematically. One method to do this, a Numeracy Development Plan is offered and the process explored through a case example.

Inclusive Practices in Mathematics Education

Inclusive mathematics education acknowledges human diversity and involves supporting the diverse learning needs of all students in general mathematics classrooms. In this chapter we review Australasian research concerning the various categories of diversity using the three themes of our framework: Access to the curriculum through policies and leadership practices; Diverse approaches to learning mathematics; and Teaching approaches for inclusion. Our analysis of the literature explored commonalities in research approaches and issues across the field. Our framework deliberately avoids reviewing literature under categories of diversity which would only serve to further segregate. Our review focused on issues arising in the teaching and learning of mathematics and the policies and practices that enable those endeavours. We were unable to identify any research that indicated some groups of learners needed to be taught away from other students. Those strategies or techniques needed for some could be used to enhance the learning of all. Following our review under the three themes, we propose areas of needed research and encourage mathematics education researchers in our region to further develop this field.