Rachael Whitney-Smith | Curriculum Specialist, Mathematics
ACARA

Rachael is the Mathematics curriculum specialist at ACARA and led the recent Australian Curriculum: Mathematics review.

She is also undertaking her PhD at Notre Dame University in Mathematics Education. Rachael is passionate about applied mathematics, STEM and teaching mathematics through rich tasks that engage student thinking and reasoning, problem solving, modelling and investigation processes. Rachael has worked on National and International projects focussed on improving the mathematical outcomes of Australian students and has actively participated in the OECD Education 2030 project. Rachael is an active member on a number of mathematics advisory groups and led the work in revising the National Numeracy Learning Progressions as part of the National Online Formative Assessment Initiative. Rachael has been the Executive Officer, a Professional Learning consultant and is currently a board member for the Mathematical Association of Western Australia and on the board for the Australian Association of Mathematics teachers.

Appearances:

Day 1 @ 11:20

Maths Forum

This 2 hour breakout forum has been designed in partnership with the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers (AAMT) and the Australian Maths Trust (AMT) specially for maths teachers who are looking for ways to improve student learning.

Chairperson - Janine Sprakel, National Partnerships and Engagement Manager, Australian Maths Trust

The Forum will kick off with -

The new Australian Curriculum: Mathematics version 9.0 – “What has changed and why?”

Rachael Whitney-Smith, Mathematics Curriculum Specialist, ACARA

Embedding the mathematical proficiency strands into the curriculum content and achievement standards in an explicit and integrated way, raising the expectations for all students to become proficient in mathematics they are learning
Connecting content within and across the strands of mathematics and making more explicit the key connections to general capabilities, cross curriculum priorities and to related content from other learning areas
Describing the functionality of digital tools and emphasising where there is a need to use digital tools in the teaching, learning and assessing of mathematics
What is new to the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics

Computational thinking looks new – but you’ve already been teaching it

Janine Sprakel, National Partnerships and Engagement Manager, Australian Maths Trust

In the latest version of the curriculum computational and algorithmic thinking features more strongly than ever before, but is it new content. Most teachers have been teaching computational thinking and problem solving for many years. In this session we will walk through the curriculum and make links that will strengthen the teaching and learning of problem solving and computational and algorithmic thinking in classrooms. We will discuss strategies that work, and the importance of taking the time to think and BE a problem solver for teachers as well as for students.

Knowing and Doing Mathematics

Dr Kristen Tripet, Program Manager, reSolve: Mathematics by Inquiry, Australian Academy of Science

Students need to deeply know mathematics so the they can do mathematics fluently
To build ‘knowers’ and ‘doers of mathematics’ we need to teach students in a way that builds their understanding of important mathematical concepts
The types of tasks we use and the culture of learning in the classroom are key components of teaching for conceptual understanding in mathematics.

(Really) engaging maths learners F-8

Penny Addison, Director, Curriculum and Assessment Branch, DET Victoria

Transforming mathematics pedagogies – where are we now and where do we need to be to make it robust, rich and relevant for kids [this will cover the Department’s latest guidance on how to teach mathematics at different stages of learning and development]
Student centred learning design – showcasing the Department’s new mathematics resources (and why design matters) [this will cover (high level) the Department’s newest (and best yet!) resources that support this transformation]

The Self-paced, asynchronous Maths Class

Joel Speranza, Head of Mathematics, St Aidan's Anglican Girls' School

This presentation show how the lessons learnt from COVID and online learning can be applied in a face to face classroom.

Includes:

How my students access the learning in a self-paced way
Managing the power and responsibility that students have in an asynchronous maths class
Teaching accountability, autonomy and self-regulation
The role of a teacher in this new classroom

Q&A Session

Moderated by Allan Dougan, CEO, The Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers

Rachael Whitney-Smith, Curriculum Specialist, Mathematics, ACARA

Janine Sprakel, National Partnerships and Engagement Manager, Australian Maths Trust (AMT)

Penny Addison, Director, Curriculum and Assessment Branch, Learning and Teaching Division, Department of Education and Training