Sandra Frid

Negotiation of meaning in mathematics classrooms: A study of two year 5 classes

This study investigated the relationship between students’ classroom experiences and the manner in which they construct mathematical meanings. There were two intertwined research foci: (a) how students make sense of and utilise mathematics concepts and operations, and (b) the social context within which teachers’ and students’ individual contributions play a role in the sense-making and utilisation of mathematics concepts and skills. Data was collected from classroom observations and video-taping sessions and from subsequent video-stimulated interviews with 6 students in each of two Year 5 classes. Analysis revealed the existence of four primary sources by which students determined the meaning or correctness of mathematical activity: the teacher, intuition, familiarity and procedural knowledge. In relation to the social level, the teacher emerged as playing the most valued role in the sense making and ratifying of procedures or answers.

Engaging primary students in working mathematically within a virtual enrichment program

This is a study of student learning in a mathematics enrichment program offered via the Internet. Twenty-eight students participated in a course involving a range of problem solving and investigative activities. The course aimed at fostering students’ capabilities to “work like a mathematician”. Students’ correspondence and work were examined for evidence of how students were ’working mathematically’. Some aspects of the course structure and its virtual classroom environment were found to act as learning constraints, but did facilitate communication and reflection. These findings offer insight into how both face-to-face and on-line teaching might be designed to enhance students’ mathematics learning.

Increasing Accessibility to Science in Early Childhood Teacher Education Through Collaboration Between Teacher Educators and Science/Engineering Academics

The challenge of better preparing pre-service early childhood teachers to deliver appropriate science learning experiences in the classroom poses complex yet relevant issues. An innovative strategy to solve this problem has been a unique cross-discipline and collaborative approach. The purpose of this innovation was to provide pre-service early childhood teachers with the best possible chance of acquiring the requisite science content to merge with their pedagogical skills and thus increase their confidence to teach science in the classroom. The collaborative approach involved teacher educators and science/engineering academics together developing science resources and implementing them through team-teaching within the pre-service teachers’ science methods course. Data collection from the pre-service teachers included pre- and post-questionnaires, open-ended questions, poster analysis and semi-structured interviews. Across the course, the pre-service teachers’ confidence to teach science increased due to being shown how to teach science to young children, the wide range of ideas and activities presented that could be transferred to the early childhood classroom and increased science content knowledge. Science content knowledge increased due to active participation within the science methods course, access to science/engineering academics to explain concepts and information presented within the new science resources. This collaborative approach to developing and implementing science resources within a science methods course increased pre-service teachers’ accessibility to science and encouraged the teaching of science in the early childhood classroom.

Innovations in a pre-service teacher education programme

Recent graduates of pre-service education completed a written questionnaire on teaching practices in mathematics, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and science; professional development needs; and teaching locations. The graduates were implementing innovations in teaching, including integration of ICT into student learning. Surprising findings that emerged for teachers in metropolitan compared to non-metropolitan locations were the influence of the school on practices, lack of time in non-metropolitan locations for professional development and the degree of diversity in student ages and grade levels being taught. Teacher education, while fostering the development of innovative practices, therefore needs to address broader educational factors involving student diversity and school culture.