Conference synopsis_FINAL_20260815 - Flipbook - Page 86
SESSION C: Thursday, 2pm-3pm (cont.)
efficient use of CAS within VCE courses, and in high stakes
assessment like the Maths Methods Paper 2, this workshop
will work through the 2025 paper and consider how the
Casio ClassPad was best used to best support student
success. Other ClassPad-based assessment resources and
other issues will be discussed.
2. A positive classroom culture matters especially in
mathematics.
Key takeaways:
C35 TRANSFORMING ASSESSMENT: FROM
PERSONAL JUDGEMENT TO ACTION,
AGENCY AND CONFIDENCE
1. How easy the ClassPad is to use
2. How can CAS be used to complete a challenging exam
paper
3. When to put the calculator away
Remember:
This will demonstrate ClassPad use. Teachers should bring
their own ClassPads, or borrow one of ours.
C34 A POSITIVE APPROACH TO
MATHEMATICS.
Sub-category: Engaging and including every learner
Donna McNeight, Wendouree Primary School
F - Y6
This session explores practical approaches to supporting
students who find mathematics challenging and helping them
become more engaged, confident learners. It focuses on the
small, intentional changes teachers can make that have an
impact on student achievement, confidence, and attitudes
towards mathematics. A key theme of the session is the
creation of a positive classroom environment where students
feel safe to take risks and learn from mistakes. Participants
will examine strategies that build mathematical confidence
through achievable goals, explicit instruction and meaningful
feedback. Central to this work is the important role of the
teacher. Through positive relationships, high expectations,
encouragement, and responsive teaching practices, teachers
can help students develop confidence, resilience, and a
positive mindset. Participants will leave with practical ideas
and a deeper understanding of how their actions as educators
can make a lasting difference in the mathematical journeys of
their students.
Key takeaways:
1. Small changes make a big difference to students learning
and success.
86
3. Teachers have a powerful impact of how a student can see
themselves as mathematics learners.
Sub-category: Assessment
Thomas Allott, Dean Carlton and Anthony Liu,
St Michael’s Grammar School
Y7 - Y12
This session focuses on a developmental approaches to
assessment, highlighting how classroom teachers and
leadership must collaborate to achieve the best results.
We explore how distributive leadership builds shared
ownership and trust across mathematics teams, with leaders
empowering staff to drive sustained change. We explicitly
tackle mathematics anxiety among students and parents,
showing how assessment can reduce fear by focusing learners
on ACTION and growth, rather than passive self-judgement
that limits learning. We will demonstrate how to build student
agency by rigorously training students to ACT on feedback,
reflect on outcomes, and take responsibility for improvement.
We will unpack how assessment processes can be engineered
to shift student focus from fixating on static results, to
thinking about the learning process, and how to improve
their knowledge. Practical examples will include rubric
design, formative assessment, and meaningful use of data.
The session will also emphasise relational trust, staff buy-in,
and time-neutral workloads essential for sustainable cultural
change.
Key takeaways:
1. Students and teachers must ACT on assessments –
otherwise great learning opportunities are lost
2. How to lead sustainable assessment change within a
mathematics faculty.
3. Students develop confidence and mathematical ability
when they focus on their capacity to learn, not just on a static
test grade.
