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  8. Seminar 7 - Successful Teaching

What makes for successful teaching of mathematics for remote and very remote learners? The importance of middle leaders - Robyn Jorgensen (19 Nov 2015)

Professor Robyn Jorgensen spoke on the importance of middle leaders in supporting teachers to build quality learning practices.

Mathematics, or numeracy, is a key learning area for all students, but for students who live in remote, isolated communities and whose first, or home, language is different from that of the language of instruction, the learning of school mathematics can create very nuanced learning contexts. This seminar draws on the findings of a large national study that is documenting the practices of successful schools in remote and very remote areas in relation to the teaching and learning of school mathematics. The significant learnings from the project will be shared in this seminar. One of the key findings of the research has been the importance of middle leaders to bring about reformed practices. The middle leaders support the leadership team to enact the vision of the school, and to support teachers to build quality learning practices at the level of the classroom. Most importantly for quality was the rollout of reforms that were explicit, transparent and consistent. The middle leaders played a crucial role in enabling these practices to be realised. The learnings arising from this comprehensive study have implications for quality practice in all schools.

View the video of Professor Jorgensen's seminar

Download the slide presentation (86.3Kb PDF  l  15.9Kb RTF)

Robyn Jorgensen, Professor in Education - Equity and Pedagogy, ESTeM, UCRobyn Jorgensen (Zevenbergen) is Professor of Education: Equity and Pedagogy at the University of Canberra. She has worked in the area of equity and access in mathematics education for more than 20 years. Her work focuses on the level of practice and she seeks to understand how practice is implicated in the marginalisation of learners, and to develop pedagogies to change access and success for marginalised learners. Robyn is the recipient of 12 ARC projects, and her current project is looking at successful teaching of numeracy in remote contexts, with the intent to identify those practices that are bringing about success for Indigenous learners. Robyn is widely published and has an international reputation as a leader in the area of equity in mathematics.