New Zealand Mathematical Society Grantee Report
Bill Barton: University of Auckland
Duing the early part of January I attended the AMS/MAA Joint Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland and the associated one-day seminar in honour of Ubiratan D'Ambrosio, the father of Ethnomathematics. Not only was I able to attend sessions on the History of Mathematics,
Mathematics Education Reform, and Mathematics for Minorities, and to present some of my own work on ethnomathematics; but I was also able to access an overseas group of point set topologists for a research project on the conceptions of topology held by researchers from different language groups.
The Seminar for D'Ambrosio was a veritable "Who's Who" in the field, and a highlight was a twenty-minute presentation by the 103-year-old Dirk Struik on the origins of sociological investigations in mathematics. In the History of Mathematics session John Fauvel gave a delightful presentation on Barnes Wallis which I hope he repeats on his visit here this year. Also worth noting for those interested was Judith Grabiner's study on Colin McLaurin, and Marcia Ascher's analysis of the mathematical aspects of divination systems in Madagascar. The programmes for minority groups in the USA which I heard about confirmed for me that, while there is still a long way to go, the development of Maori mathematics education in New Zealand is at the forefront of such work. I hope that support for these programmes continues to grow.
But perhaps the most relevant sessions I attended were those on Mathematics Education Reform. On the one hand it was heartening to find a significant group of university mathematicians interested in what is happening in schools and ready to get involved in the debate at a fundamental level. While acknowledging the effort of those such as Derek Holton and Megan Clarke in our community, there is room in New Zealand for much more involvement and informed debate about the nature of mathematics and the directions of curriculum reforms. On the other hand I found it dismaying to hear yet again that Australian and New Zealand experiences of Unit Standards and similar developments were "successfully operating systems with positive outcomes" which should be adopted more or less uncritically. I heard the same thing in South Africa last year. I believe that Unit Standards are, at worst, harmful mathematically and unworkable at the classroom level, and at best are still being trialled with many changes taking place. That they should be promoted as a model of successful mathematics education is a serious worry.
I would like to thank New Zealand Mathematical Society for their support for my travel to the AMS/MAA Joint Meeting and for the many varied ways it provided for pursing my work and interests in cultural and historical aspects of mathematics.
LOGOS #3
Practitioners, Mathematicians, Researchers:
Mathematics Teacher Pre-Service Education
The third Mathematics Education Unit
1-day seminar in the LOGOS series was held at the University of Auckland on Wednesday 1997 December 3rd. This seminar made use of the opportunity of simultaneous visits by two Professors of Mathematics Education from our partners in Universitas 21: Professor Susan Pirie from the University of British Columbia, and Professor Kaye Stacey from the University of Melbourne.
The seminar had four presentations: Professor Pirie talked about the innovative teacher education programme at UBC; Professor Stacey used her research on learning algebra to discuss the role of research in teacher education; Judy Paterson from our own teacher education programme discussed the role of associate teachers; and Megan Clarke from Victoria University of Wellington reminded the audience of four critical factors in teacher education in this country, in particular the mathematical knowledge and the need for action in the area of Maori and Pacific Island mathematics education. Each presenter was followed by a commentator. They were: Dr Kay Irwin (School of Education), Greg Lomas (Auckland College of Education), Graeme Aitken (School of Education) and Bronwen Cowie (Waikato University).
Each presentation was followed by an equal time for discussion, and the 30 participants engaged in vociferous debate on a variety of issues. This was a strength of the seminar. The other factor contributing to the success of the day was the geographical and ideological diversity of participants. Visitors from Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington and Hamilton were attracted to this seminar. Graduate students, teachers, College of Education and University lecturers, and private educational contractors were represented.
Bill Barton
TACKLING MATHS TEACHER SHORTAGE
A totally new way of tackling New Zealand's chronic shortage of maths teachers is being trialled. The University of Auckland is taking experienced teachers of other subjects and retraining them as maths teachers. The one-year course is the first of its kind in New Zealand. The Ministry of Education has made a grant of $250,000 to cover the costs of the trial, which include nine months full pay for the six teachers taking the course. The six teachers have been teaching a range of subjects at Auckland schools including geography, English, food technology, junior French, social sciences, biology, physical education, as well as primary teaching. Latu Huakau, for instance, is a teacher of English and social sciences at Kelston Girls' High School. She has been involved in a school initiative to increase by 10% the number of Pacific Island girls at Kelston passing School Certificate English and maths, before the year 2000. She believes that by taking part in the maths retraining programme she can act as a role model to Pacific Island girls who often have particular problems with maths. Without any background in maths and three children under the age of four, the retraining course will be a huge challenge for her. But she is determined to see it through: "I want to show the girls that if I can do it they can too." The one-year retraining programme will cover mathematics, statistics, mathematics curriculum and issues in mathematics education. Some of the participants will take summer school courses in statistics before the main programme begins in March. The six experienced teachers will be studying alongside ten students with degrees in mathematics but no teaching experience.
"We believe that each group can help the other," says Professor Ivan Reilly, director of the School of Mathematical and Information Sciences. With the teacher retraining trial in place, the University is now developing a second approach to solving the shortage of maths teachers. "A large number of immigrants have both maths degrees and teaching experience," explains Dr Bill Barton, from the Department of Mathematics. " They are not getting teaching jobs because of language difficulties, and also because they lack knowledge of the New Zealand curriculum and the culture of the New Zealand classroom." The University is now developing a proposal for a one-year diploma programme for immigrants, which would include both a language component and a classroom placement.