Course Outline
EDU774 Teaching Primary School Mathematics
Course Coordinator:Peter Curtis (PCurtis@usc.edu.au) School:School of Education and Tertiary Access
2024Semester 1
UniSC Sunshine CoastUniSC Moreton Bay |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Please go to usc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
What is this course about?
Description
This course will advance your knowledge and application of mathematics as you explore and interpret the ongoing process of curriculum development and emerging versions of the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics. You will scrutinise the use of pedagogy and assessment for learning and teaching that meets the needs of all learners in primary classrooms. This course develops your ability to critically reflect on mathematics teaching practice and on your personal identity as a primary school mathematics teacher.
How will this course be delivered?
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Learning materials – You are required to engage and interact with asynchronous materials and activities accessed through Canvas modules, course readings and required texts. | 2hrs | Week 1 | 9 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – On campus tutorial. | 2hrs | Week 1 | 10 times |
Course Topics
- Understanding how children learn mathematics
- Inquiry based learning experiences
- Understanding the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics
- Mathematics Content Knowledge (MCK) for teaching mathematics in primary schools
- Assessing students’ mathematics learning
- Differentiating curriculum to be inclusive of all learners
- Literacy, numeracy and digital literacy as General Capabilities in the Australian Curriculum
- Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education in primary schools
What level is this course?
700 Level (Specialised)
What is the unit value of this course?
12 units
How does this course contribute to my learning?
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Mapping Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | Professional Standard Mapping * Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership | |
| 1 | Explain mathematics teaching, learning and assessment in primary schools aligned with educational theories | Knowledgeable |
2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6 |
| 2 | Apply deep knowledge of mathematics, including mathematical communication, to demonstrate proficiency necessary to develop students’ conceptual knowledge and understanding of mathematics in primary schools. | Empowered |
2.1, 2.2, 2.5, 2.6 |
| 3 | Apply deep knowledge of mathematics curriculum, pedagogy and assessment to the design of learning experiences and assessment opportunities that are informed by a range of teaching strategies and cater for diverse learner needs. | Empowered |
2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5 |
| 4 | Explain the meaning of numeracy and its place as a general capability across all learning areas in the Australian Curriculum. | Knowledgeable |
2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6 |
| 5 | Communicate in written and oral texts using academic literacy skills including English expression, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and APA referencing conventions. | Knowledgeable | |
* Competencies by Professional Body
| CODE | COMPETENCY |
| Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership | |
| 2.1 | Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area |
| 2.2 | Content selection and organisation: Organise content into an effective learning and teaching sequence. |
| 2.3 | Curriculum, assessment and reporting: Use curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design learning sequences and lesson plans. |
| 2.5 | Literacy and numeracy strategies: Know and understand literacy and numeracy teaching strategies and their application in teaching areas. |
| 2.6 | Information and Communication Technology (ICT): Implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students. |
| 3.1 | Establish challenging learning goals: Set learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students of varying abilities and characteristics. |
| 3.2 | Plan, structure and sequence learning programs: Plan lesson sequences using knowledge of student learning, content and effective teaching strategies. |
| 3.3 | Use teaching strategies: Include a range of teaching strategies. |
| 3.4 | Select and use resources: Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning. |
| 3.5 | Use effective classroom communication: Demonstrate a range of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support student engagement |
| 3.6 | Evaluate and improve teaching programs: Demonstrate broad knowledge of strategies that can be used to evaluate teaching programs to improve student learning. |
| 5.1 | Assess student learning: Demonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning. |
| 5.2 | Provide feedback to students on their learning: Demonstrate an understanding of the purpose of providing timely and appropriate feedback to students about their learning |
| 5.3 | Make consistent and comparable judgements: Demonstrate understanding of assessment moderation and its application to support consistent and comparable judgements of student learning. |
| 5.4 | Interpret student data: Demonstrate the capacity to interpret student assessment data to evaluate student learning and modify teaching practice. |
| 5.5 | Report on student achievement: Demonstrate understanding of a range of strategies for reporting to students and parents/ carers and the purpose of keeping accurate and reliable records of student achievement |
Am I eligible to enrol in this course?
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
Pre-requisites
EDU768 Teaching Mathematics in the Early Years and enrolled in ED707 Master of Teaching (Primary).
Co-requisites
Not applicable
Anti-requisites
Not applicable
Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)
Not applicable
How am I going to be assessed?
Grading Scale
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Details of early feedback on progress
A draft copy of your conference poster (Task 1) will be peer reviewed in your tutorial in Week 3.
Assessment tasks
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1 | Oral and Written Piece | Group | 30% | 1500 words (on poster) and 15-minute presentation |
Week 4 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check and in class |
| All | 2 | Written Piece | Individual | 40% | 2000 words (inclusive of essay and peer feedback) and assessment task, rubric and mathematical response to the task. |
Week 7 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 3 | Quiz/zes | Individual | 30% | 1.5 hours |
Week 10 | In Class |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Conference Poster and Presentation | |
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to collaborate with colleagues and demonstrate a mastery of knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of real-world mathematical problem solving (numeracy) and apply this to learning mathematics in primary school classrooms. |
| Product: | Oral and Written Piece |
| Format: | This task gives you the opportunity to create and present a conference poster of a real-world problem solving task that your group has investigated. The stimulus for the problem can be any real-world situation of interest to you (e.g., How much water is wasted by a dripping tap? Is red wine good for your health? What is the best mobile phone plan?). You are to investigate your problem, create a digital poster (e.g., using PowerPoint or Canva) to display your findings and reflections on how the investigation could be adapted for learning mathematics in primary schools, and present your findings. Refer to Canvas for further details. |
| Criteria: |
|
| All - Assessment Task 2:Assessment Task, Rubric and Task Response, Peer Feedback, and Reflective Essay | |
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to apply assessment principles to the design of assessment tasks and rubrics that could be used to to assess mathematics learning in primary school classrooms. |
| Product: | Written Piece |
| Format: | Part A: Assessment Task, Rubric and Task Response (due end of Week 5) • Apply current theories, assessment principles and research to design (or source) a mathematics task that can be used to assess students’ mathematical learning. • Create a rubric that is aligned to the assessment task and provides criteria and standards of achievement for Year 4, 5 or 6 in the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics. • Provide a mathematical response to your assessment task. Part B: Peer feedback (300-400 words; due end of Week 6) • Provide feedback on a peer's task and rubric that is consistent with current theories, assessment principles and research. Justify your feedback with reference to appropriate literature. Part C: Reflective essay (1600-1700 words) • Explain mathematics assessment principles. • Critically evaluate and justify the value of your task and rubric for assessing mathematical learning with reference to mathematics assessment principles. Refer to Canvas for further details. |
| Criteria: |
|
| All - Assessment Task 3:In-class quiz | |
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to synthesise knowledge of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. |
| Product: | Quiz/zes |
| Format: | Short answer quiz questions based on content from Learning materials and tutorial activities. The quiz questions require application of knowledge of mathematics, curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. Refer to Canvas for further details. |
| Criteria: |
|
Directed study hours
A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
What resources do I need to undertake this course?
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
Prescribed text(s) or course reader
Please note that you need to have regular access to the resource(s) listed below. Resources may be required or recommended.
| Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
| Required | Robyn Jorgensen,Shelley Dole,Kevin Larkin | 0 | Teaching Mathematics in Primary Schools | n/a | Routledge |
| Recommended | John Van de Walle,Karen Karp,Jennifer Bay-Williams,Amy Brass,Brendan Bentley,Sue Ferguson,Wendy Goff,Sharyn Livy,Margaret Marshman,David Martin,Cath Pearn,Theodosia Prodromou,Duncan Symons,Karina Wilkie | 0 | Primary and Middle Years Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally | n/a | Pearson |
Specific requirements
Nil
How are risks managed in this course?
What administrative information is relevant to this course?
Assessment: Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Assessment: Additional Requirements
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying: The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4% The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale You have not failed an assessment task in the course due to academic misconduct
Assessment: Submission penalties
Late submission of assessment tasks may be penalised at the following maximum rate: - 5% (of the assessment task's identified value) per day for the first two days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. - 10% (of the assessment task's identified value) for the third day - 20% (of the assessment task's identified value) for the fourth day and subsequent days up to and including seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. - A result of zero is awarded for an assessment task submitted after seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. Weekdays and weekends are included in the calculation of days late. To request an extension you must contact your course coordinator to negotiate an outcome.
SafeUniSC
UniSC is committed to a culture of respect and providing a safe and supportive environment for all members of our community. For immediate assistance on campus contact SafeUniSC by phone: 07 5430 1168 or using the SafeZone app. For general enquires contact the SafeUniSC team by phone 07 5456 3864 or email safe@usc.edu.au.
The SafeUniSC Specialist Service is a Student Wellbeing service that provides free and confidential support to students who may have experienced or observed behaviour that could cause fear, offence or trauma. To contact the service call 07 5430 1226 or email studentwellbeing@usc.edu.au.
Study help
For help with course-specific advice, for example what information to include in your assessment, you should first contact your tutor, then your course coordinator, if needed.
If you require additional assistance, the Learning Advisers are trained professionals who are ready to help you develop a wide range of academic skills. Visit the Learning Advisers web page for more information, or contact Student Central for further assistance: +61 7 5430 2890 or studentcentral@usc.edu.au.
Wellbeing Services
Student Wellbeing provide free and confidential counselling on a wide range of personal, academic, social and psychological matters, to foster positive mental health and wellbeing for your academic success.
To book a confidential appointment go to Student Hub, email studentwellbeing@usc.edu.au or call 07 5430 1226.
AccessAbility Services
Ability Advisers ensure equal access to all aspects of university life. If your studies are affected by a disability, learning disorder mental health issue, injury or illness, or you are a primary carer for someone with a disability or who is considered frail and aged, AccessAbility Services can provide access to appropriate reasonable adjustments and practical advice about the support and facilities available to you throughout the University.
To book a confidential appointment go to Student Hub, email AccessAbility@usc.edu.au or call 07 5430 2890.
Links to relevant University policy and procedures
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
- Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs
- Review of Assessment and Final Grades
- Supplementary Assessment
- Central Examinations
- Deferred Examinations
- Student Conduct
- Students with a Disability
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
Student Charter
UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.
General Enquiries
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In person:
- UniSC Sunshine Coast - Student Central, Ground Floor, Building C, 90 Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs
- UniSC Moreton Bay - Service Centre, Ground Floor, Foundation Building, Gympie Road, Petrie
- UniSC SouthBank - Student Central, Building A4 (SW1), 52 Merivale Street, South Brisbane
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- Tel:+61 7 5430 2890
- Email:studentcentral@usc.edu.au