NSW Mathematics Strategy
The NSW Mathematics Strategy brings to life the vision of NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
This is “for every child in NSW to have the necessary maths skills to succeed in life – whether that’s managing home budgets or preparing them for the high tech jobs that will be on offer in coming years.”
- NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian
Source: New maths strategy prepares students for jobs of the future, October 2018.
Why mathematics?
Mathematics matters. It opens up a world of learning and possibility for students.
Mathematics gives them the opportunity to develop skills in problem solving, analysing, reasoning, justifying, collaborating, questioning, interpreting, proving, wondering and noticing.
Students learn to communicate in words, symbols, models, diagrams and in ways that are so succinct they can be applied by anyone, anywhere irrespective of the language they speak.
Through mathematics, students are empowered with the foundational skills, understanding and dispositions needed to meet the demands of the communities that they will come to lead.
Our Strategy
The Strategy includes initiatives through to 2025, which will:
- develop students’ mathematical capabilities which enable them to thrive now and into the future
- increase the number of students studying mathematics in their final years of school and the proportion studying higher level HSC mathematics
- support a confident, well-trained workforce to teach mathematics using evidence-based practices and resources
- improve community understanding and perceptions of mathematics. This also includes engaging parents/carers to:
- highlight why mathematics is important and useful
- help them support their child’s learning and engagement.
The initiatives, announced by the NSW Premier, include:
- a new HSC mathematics course being piloted, focused on numeracy and practical applications for everyday life for students who have not typically chosen to study mathematics
- recruiting 100 new specialist mathematics teachers into primary schools over five years (to 2025) to improve mathematics teaching and build students’ skills and confidence in mathematics from the start of their schooling
- awarding up to 320 scholarships (up to $50,000 each) to go towards a Master of Teaching (Mathematics) degree for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) undergraduates and career changers. Subscribe to be notified when teach.MathsNOW scholarship applications open
- collaborating with universities to further attract students to take higher level HSC mathematics courses to best prepare them for future study and careers
- introducing more Mathematics Ambassadors to join current NSW Mathematics Ambassador, Eddie Woo to spark students’ love of mathematics by promoting its fun, value and relevance.
Supporting initiatives
To best achieve the aims of the Strategy, we are also delivering:
- communications initiatives targeting students, parents, carers and teachers, featuring:
- a campaign to change perceptions of mathematics in the community
- online resources for parents and carers
- a Mathematics Growth Team led by Eddie Woo to:
- roll out a team of mathematics teachers, from the state’s Best in Class Teaching Unit, to selected high schools to lift performance using evidence-based teaching methods
- challenge and improve pedagogical and assessment practices among mathematics educators
- a consolidated platform for schools and teachers to collaborate and easily access high quality, research-based resources and software applications
- initiatives to build teacher and student capabilities through:
- investigating and applying evidence-based practices in mathematics teaching and learning
- developing, trialling and refining evidence-based mathematics K-12 resources
- challenging and improving pedagogical practices, including assessment strategies
- redefining mathematical mindsets of students, parents, carers and communities
- improving the initial teacher preparation in mathematics of primary teachers in consultation with NSW universities
- independent evaluations by the Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation throughout the life of the Strategy to:
- assess the effectiveness of all its components
- inform decisions to achieve the Strategy’s aims into the future.
Other key announcements
The NSW Government committed to further strengthen mathematics teaching and learning by:
- making mathematics compulsory from Kindergarten to Year 12 through the NSW Curriculum Review
- requiring at least a Band 4 in HSC Mathematics or equivalent from 2021 for students going on to teach mathematics in NSW primary schools
- setting up a Best in Class Teaching Unit made up of handpicked educators, chosen for being leaders and teaching experts in their respective fields.
