Completed scholars commence teaching in 2022

As an initiative under the NSW Mathematics Strategy, the NSW Government is funding a total of 320 scholarships for STEM undergraduates and those changing to a STEM-related career. The teach.MathsNOW scholarship program is designed to attract the mathematics teachers of tomorrow and strengthen the mathematics teaching workforce. The aim of the scholarships is to support scholarship holders while completing an initial teacher education qualification in mathematics, such as a Master of Teaching degree, and to increase the number of specialist secondary mathematics teachers.

In 2022, with their studies now complete, 12 scholarship recipients have commenced as new secondary school mathematics teachers in NSW public schools and will join their five colleagues who started last year. Applications for the 2022 secondary teach.MathsNOW scholarships opened on 19 July 2021 and closed on 27 August 2021. Forty successful applicants were offered a scholarship to commence their study in 2022.

On-demand professional learning at your fingertips

If you’re looking for mathematics professional learning options, make sure you check out the Becoming mathematicians suite. This series of short mathematics professional learning videos and resources explore important mathematical concepts from K-8 and are a great option for a busy schedule as they are available on-demand in MyPL. The suite includes:

• Becoming mathematicians: How numbers and fractions work - examines some components of number sense, from kindergarten to high school.

• Becoming mathematicians: Quantifying collections - examines two components of quantifying collections; subitising and counting with understanding.

• Becoming mathematicians: Exploring patterns - examines some components of exploring patterns, from kindergarten to high school.

Additionally, planning for the 2022 Starting Strong and Working with the Big Ideas professional learning is underway. In alignment with the department’s strong focus on its COVID contingency plan to keep schools operational during Terms 1 and 2, these courses will be available later this year. Please keep an eye on Staff Noticeboard for course updates.

Graduate primary teachers with a mathematics specialisation start in 2022

This year, 24 new primary teacher graduates with a mathematics specialisation have joined the ranks of NSW public primary school teachers.

As part of their university studies, primary teaching students can choose to undertake additional units in an area of specialisation such as mathematics or science and technology, languages or English. The new additions bring the total to 69 primary school teachers with a mathematics specialisation working in NSW public primary schools.

Read more about primary teaching specialisations on the NESA website.

New resources on Thinking Mathematically

New resources are often added to the Thinking Mathematically site so repeat visitors to the site should look out for the ‘new’ labels that make these resources easily identifiable.

One of the new resources added to the site is based on the ancient strategy game, Mancala. The game is played between two students or in teams and is a great way to build confidence with counting in younger learners. For older students, it can be used to develop computational thinking and to investigate winning strategies.

Thinking Mathematically was created for Stages ES1 -3 by the NSW Mathematics Strategy Professional Learning and Curriculum Early Years and Primary Learners Mathematics teams and resources are divided into two sections. The targeted teaching section includes tasks that explicitly explore mathematical ideas, skills and capabilities while the contexts for practice section provides rich games and investigation tasks where students can deepen their understanding and knowledge, practise skills and develop fluency.

Check out the Online learning tools marketplace today!

Have you visited the Online learning tools marketplace (OLTM)? Schools are now purchasing online learning tools for mathematics and other key learning areas (KLAs) via the OLTM.

All products on the OLTM come with the reassurance that they have been quality-assessed by the department’s primary and secondary curriculum teams and also checked to ensure they comply with cyber security and privacy standards.

A product catalogue with information on each of the products, including pricing is available online, with orders completed using EdBuy.

Visit the OLTM today or if you need more information, contact the Marketplace team by email on marketplace@det.nsw.edu.au

Building positive maths mindsets using the Everyday Maths hub

For parents and carers looking for ways to explore mathematics with their children, the Everyday Maths hub has a range of resources to help. Aimed at showing the important role mathematics plays in everyday life, the Everyday Maths hub has materials for students in kindergarten to year 10.

For older learners, supporting them to have the right mindset when it comes to mathematics is just as important as sitting down and helping them revise their learning regularly. A positive mindset to mathematics and learning can improve student outcomes, so how can parents help build a positive mindset in their child? Check out the Everyday Maths hub’s five resources to help build positive maths mindsets in years 9-10 and consider sharing it with your school community.

STEM conference back in-person for 2022

Educators from primary, secondary and higher education are invited to hear from leading STEM influencers and industry experts at STEM 2022, back live and in-person at the Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley on Monday 18 July 2022.

Featuring a series of keynote presentations and deep dive workshops, attendees will hear from Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, the Girls in STEM Toolkit team, Prof. Amy Cutter-Mackenzie-Knowles from Southern Cross University, Nathan Towney from the University of Newcastle and more!

Visit https://stem2022.com.au/ to find out more about this STEMtacular event!

Join our Yammer community

Join the NSW Mathematics Strategy Yammer group (staff only) to share insights with your colleagues.