20250730 MAV25 synopsis - Flipbook - Page 117
G12 PREPARING FUTURE TEACHERS TO
TEACH FOR NUMERACY ACROSS THE
CURRICULUM
long-term memory. Australian research shows significant
differences in student capabilities, spanning up to eight years
by middle school.
Subtheme: Contemporary challenges and successes
PCBL directly addresses these challenges by aligning
educational practice with the science of how students learn.
Students advance based on demonstrated mastery rather
than time spent on a topic or their age level. PCBL manages
cognitive load by allowing students to work within their zone
of proximal development. This ensures a solid foundation
is built for subsequent learning and prevents students from
being overwhelmed. Schools implementing such approaches
have reported significant positive results, with students
making substantial academic growth and feeling more
confident.
Kathy O’Sullivan, University of Galway
(Year 3 to Year 8)
This presentation draws on research investigating pre-service
teachers’ knowledge of numeracy and their capacity to
teach for numeracy across the curriculum. Aligned with the
MAV25 theme Thriving in Mathematics, this paper explores
how teacher education programmes can better prepare future
teachers to develop students’ numeracy skills in meaningful
and authentic ways.
Using O’Sullivan’s ‘N’ Framework (2025), which outlines the
professional knowledge base required to teach for numeracy
across the curriculum, this study examines how pre-service
teachers conceptualise numeracy and their pedagogical
readiness to support students’ numeracy development in all
subject disciplines. Findings reveal the challenges pre-service
teachers face in supporting numeracy development across
the curriculum, as well as key enablers that support effective
numeracy development. This presentation will share practical
recommendations for embedding numeracy across subject
areas and offers valuable insights for teachers and teacher
educators.
Key takeaways:
1. Understand how pre-service teachers conceptualise and
approach teaching for numeracy across the curriculum.
2. Explore challenges and supports in preparing teachers to
embed numeracy meaningfully in all subjects.
G13 STUDENTS NEED PERSONALISEDCOMPETENCY BASED LEARNING (PCBL) TO
THRIVE IN MATHS
Subtheme: Contemporary challenges and successes
Janine Mowat, Blackburn High School, Liam Jones,
Maths Pathway
(Year 3 to Year 10)
Learning is defined as a change in long-term memory, after
being processed in a limited working memory. When new
information is too complex, presented too rapidly, or students
lack the necessary prior knowledge, their working memory
becomes overloaded, hindering the transfer of learning to
Key takeaways:
Students struggle to learn new maths when they don’t have
the prior knowledge to draw upon.
2. A PCBL approach ensures all students have the prior
knowledge they need.
3. Learn practical ways to incorporate PCBL into your
classrooms.
G14 THE LEARNING SCIENCE OF AERO:
SOME ASSOCIATIONS WITH STEM TEACHING
Subtheme: Contemporary challenges and successes
Fabio D’Agostin and Michael Lawrence, The Geelong
College
(Year 3 to Year 10)
Our presentation elaborates the AERO learning principles
that underpin its subsequent pedagogical advice. We
identify 3 central issues; concerns related to the differences
between conceptual and procedural learning, the exclusively
behaviourist nature of AERO’s pedagogical advocacy and the
highly limited treatment of student motivation. We present
alternative approaches to developing effective pedagogies
including the substance of Fabio’s research. The presentation
then shows two of AERO’s demonstration teaching videos in
STEM and offers constructive critiques. The final aspect of
the presentation is a discussion of how teaching and learning
in Finland differs from the approach promoted by AERO.
Key takeaways:
1. The AERO online teaching resource is limited in several
ways.
THE MATHEMATICAL
ASSOCIATION OF VICTORIA
117
