MAV Event Management

MAV Annual Conference 2012 Thu 06 Dec 2012

Closing date for registrations is : 08/12/2012

Cancellation fee: $25 if cancelled after 09/11/2012.

The MAV Annual Conference is the largest educational conference in the southern hemisphere. It offers 8 sessions over 2 days with more than 45 presentation options per session; as well as an industry exhibition for more than 60 companies. VIT Registration Code - 6632

Event Venue: La Trobe University

MAV ABN: 34 004 892 755

Pricing	1 Day	2 Day
Member Cost Metro (Inc GST)	$212.00	$424.00
Member Cost Non Metro (Inc GST)	$206.00	$412.00
Non Member Cost (Inc GST)	$275.00	$550.00
Student Cost (Inc GST)	$110.00	$220.00

NOTE: Options AB, CD and FG are double sessions

Therefore if you choose option AB then DO NOT choose option A or option B. Similarly if you choose option CD then DO NOT choose option C or option D and so on for option FG.

Options:

Exploring the Mathematics in the World’s Great Buildings (Presenter: Jeanne Carroll)

KEYNOTE - Architecture is the place where humans can really express their sense of geometry in creating structures of great beauty. In this session the mathematics underlying the creation of some of the world’s most spectacular and interesting buildings is explored.

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Innovative Teaching With Technology In The Light Of The Theory Of Distributed Cognition (Presenter: Pumadevi Sivasubramaniam)

KEYNOTE - The presentation will addresses ‘Technological Pedagogical And Content Knowledge’ (TPACK) the specialized knowledge that teachers must acquire in order to use technology in their instructions effectively. The impact of technology on the students learning process is then discussed based on the theory of distributed cognition. The theory of distributed cognition will also be used to explain the importance of the power of the tool used in the teaching and learning process. Examples to illustrate the application of technological pedagogical and content knowledge with the use of the graphing calculator and a dynamic geometry software to create innovative instruction will also be provided in the presentation.

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Working Mathematically With Infants (Presenter: Douglas Williams)

Children learn more and teachers love it. Developed by teachers who are engineering their classrooms to enhance children’s number sense, Working Mathematically with Infants splices Threaded Activities from Calculating Changes with Investigations adapted from Mathematics Task Centre and Maths300. Threading is a teaching technique using rich, differentiated activities for small amounts of time often. The workshop introduces you to these activities and investigations, and the planning model teachers have developed to implement them. Mathematical conversation and learning in community - whole class and small groups - are key features of the learning environment.
Not repeated

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Incorporating Higher Order Thinking in the Primary Mathematics Classroom (Presenter: Cathy Attard)

In this session participants will engage with a range of activities and ideas that promote higher order thinking in the primary mathematics classroom. The activities explored provide opportunities for students to address the Proficiency strand of the Australian Curriculum while promoting positive student engagement with mathematics.
Not repeated

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Empowering Teachers in New Ways (Presenter: Alexander Young)

This paper will introduce you to the concept of digital rubrics, a methodology that enables the teaching and assessment of deep learning. Readers will see how teachers can:
* Improve their ‘assessment for learning’ through the innovative use of their school photocopier as a high speed scanner obtaining exceptionally powerful insights into their assessment of written responses and multiple choice assessment.
* Measure ‘the effect size’ of their teaching.
* Reduce their workload and at least double their students’ rate of learning.
* Identify gaps in student learning not observable under conventional assessment.
* Quantify question quality.
Repeated as A5 & F3

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Big Ideas! Have You Got Any? (Presenters: Juanita Blades, Janette Neilsen, Patricia Boon-Smith)

Driven by a mission to implement sustainable improvement in mathematics teaching practice, based on high quality professional learning, and aligned with a vision of excellence, where do you start? How do you create a truly inspirational network that drives improvement of teaching and learning in mathematics in classrooms? Learn how a network of mathematics teacher leaders, from the East Tamar Federation of schools, in northern Tasmania utilised National Partnerships funding to deliver sustainable improvement in teaching practice. This incorporated the development and delivery of a professional learning package, based on the research and theory of Professor Di Siemon’s Big Ideas in Number. The team will share the ‘how to, highlights and hiccups’ of their journey and the theory and research base they have drawn upon. The audience will engage in examples of professional learning activities (e.g. games/literature) that were used to align the language and shared purpose of the Federation Network Leadership team and staff.
Not repeated

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Personalising Maths Learning Using iPads in the Early Years (Presenters: Helen Edmonds, Pam Wright, Annemarie Holmyard, Neschelle Castello)

Teachers will participate in the Concord School experience by investigating multiple ways to personalise maths learning in the Early Years setting. The school has undertaken extensive action research to investigate the impact of iPads on student learning and pedagogy. Participants will be strongly facilitated in their professional learning and will leave the session with a wealth of ideas, resources and skills for using iPads effectively in their Early Years maths teaching.
Repeated as A7 & F4

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Transforming the Way Students Understand Mathematics Using Manipulative Materials (Presenter: Rachel Kennedy)

Developing early number ideas is complex and is frequently underestimated. A multi-sensory approach to mathematics, using structured apparatus, supports students to build a strong concept image, leading to a deeper understanding of number ideas and number relationships. The Numicon Approach grew out of a classroom-based research project founded in the daily experience of intelligent children having real difficulty with mathematics. This interactive session will give direct experience of the Numicon materials and approach and will provide educators with the opportunity to reflect on their pedagogy, and support them in processing new and challenging ideas.
Repeated as A8 & F5

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Fluency in Number (Presenters: Ann Rasmussen, Judy Powell, Melissa Campbell)

Presenters will share simple tasks that can be used successfully on a daily basis in any class to develop fluency in number. They will demonstrate how to differentiate a task to meet the needs of all students in your class. As Primary Maths Specialists, the team of presenters are currently working as classroom teachers as well as mentors and coaches across the school.
Repeated as A9 & B5

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CANCELLED - Really Engaging Maths (REM) (Presenters: Daniel Murphy, Amanda Portelli, Kate Wilkins)

Have you ever thought how you could bring the outside environment into your maths classroom? Mathematics doesn’t just have to be taught within the four walls of your classroom. This session provides teachers with engaging hands-on activities which links mathematics to a student’s everyday environment. Key concepts will be learnt through children exploring their environment and applying various mathematical skills to solve real life problems.
Not repeated

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Lesson Study at Kororoit Creek Primary School (Presenters: Colleen Vale, Wanty Widjaja, Hannah Jordan, Anita-Louise Cory, Dane Harney)

There is growing worldwide interest in Japanese Lesson Study as a form of professional development, with large scale adaptations of Lesson Study taking place in many countries around the world. This presentation will describe a Lesson Study project being carried out in one of three Victorian schools participating in a network Lesson Study project in 2012. It will illustrate the typical Japanese structured problem solving research lessons that form the basis for Lesson Study, and discuss how the research lessons were planned, the role of the teacher research team, the teacher of the research lessons and other teachers who observed the research lesson and the outcomes of the post-lesson observation discussion in this Lesson Study project. As well we will identify issues relating to the adaptation of Lesson Study as a means of professional development in Victorian primary schools.
Not repeated

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Literacy in Mathematics (Presenter: Donna Yates)

Looking at pedagogy and strategies in literacy and how to transfer them into your Mathematics. Using books and stories to teach mathematics through engaging students to explore and problem solve within a context. We will be looking at books, and exploring some examples. Also a look at using ICT to help improve Mathematical Language.
Repeated as A12 & B7

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CANCELLED - “I Just Knew It!” Communicating and Reasoning Tips (Presenter: Tierney Kennedy)

Have you ever asked students, “So how did you get your answer?” and heard back, “I just knew it”? This workshop addresses common reasoning difficulties such as
Students who work out the answer in their heads and have difficulty putting the steps down on paper, including highly intelligent students and those with Asperger’s syndrome, and students with low literacy levels who have difficulty writing about their mathematical reasoning. It gives great tips and practical strategies for teachers to use with individuals and also with whole classes.
Not repeated

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Mathletics ‘Where to Start and Course Selection’ (Presenters: Claire O'Connor, Julie Thompson)

This course is designed as an introduction to teachers new to using Mathletics. Its aim is to ensure teachers are able to confidently navigate their way around the Student Centre and the Teacher Centre. Teachers are shown how these two areas of the program can be used to complement contemporary mathematical teaching methods supporting engagement, mathematical exploration, concept clarification, collaborative learning and performance assessment. Further, teachers are shown how to align the programs course content to state based learning outcomes and specific teaching plans.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as A14 & H9

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Preserving the Past and Passing on the Best - Publishing for Mathematics Teachers (Presenter: Bill Healy)

During a career in the classroom a mathematics teacher creates thousands of pages of resources for students. Sadly, much of this work in both printed and electronic format is lost when mathematics teachers resign or retire from teaching. Kilbaha Multimedia Publishing has started a commercial project to preserve and distribute the best resources created by today’s classroom teachers. On a dedicated website http://top100schoolresources.com.au, teachers will offer their resources for sale to schools. Would your favourite mathematics lesson make the top 100? Come along to see how it will work and perhaps be published for the first time.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as A15 & H10

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Approaching Mathematics Through Rich Tasks (Presenters: Fiona Fox, Deb Reeves)

What is a rich mathematical task and why would I want to use them in my mathematics lesson? Where can I find rich mathematical tasks for Years 1-8? This is a practical hands-on workshop where we will examine what a rich task is and how we can take a task and make it richer. We will look at how we can support, elicit and extend children’s thinking methods referring to Judith Fraivillig’s work around this. You will take away useful rich tasks across the mathematics strands that you can use in your school. A very fun, practical workshop.
Repeated as A16 & B13

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Pattern & Structure - Based on Joanne Mulligan’s Work With Early Years Children (Presenter: Marilyn Holmes)

Joanne Mulligan, recently working in New Zealand, shared her ideas about young children’s ideas of pattern and structure. She mentions that pre-school and school based intervention focused on patterning can lead to a significant improvement in mathematical outcomes. This workshop will look at some of the practical ideas that teachers can use in their classrooms. Although aimed at teachers of young children there are ideas for teachers of older children who experience difficulty in mathematics learning.
Repeated as A17 & B14

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Mental Thinking Using ‘Make The Target Number Strategy’ (Presenter: Richard Korbosky)

In the classroom we are constantly asked to gain insights to whether students understand the mathematics they are using. This session introduces participants to the ‘make the target number strategy’ which is a strategy that can be developed for Year 1 to 8+. The ‘make the target number stragety’ sets up a number of organised activities which give students the opportunity to show how they mentally calculate, calculate in written form or calculate with a calculator. Mathematical ideas associated with the Year 1-8 ‘make the target number strategy’ include whole numbers, money, decimal numbers, indices, perimeter, area and the four operations. Mathematics ideas in this session such as number, mental thinking, fluency, problem solving and reasoning will be linked to the Australian Curriculum. The strategy can be used as a whole classroom activity, as an individual activity for differentiating the classroom and most important as an assessment strategy.
Repeated as A18 & E15

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Maths Enrichment in Cambodia (Presenter: Isaac Nativ)

Teachers who volunteer to teach in 3rd world countries usually feel they are going to save the world, or at least the standards of mathematics in that part of the world. Actually, doing a ‘teaching round’ in remote schools in countries like Cambodia is the fastest, though not the easiest, way to become a better teacher. A better learner to be precise... The presentation will include the personal experiences from the teaching period, in particular what can you do when most of your students don’t speak a word of English. We shall briefly go over the mathematical games and problems that seemed to work best. Useful tips and contact details will be given to teachers who might want to do same in the future.
Repeated as A19 & E16

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Higher Order Thinking Tasks for Low Achievers in Mathematics (Presenters: Pearlyn Gan, Mei Yun Ng)

Previous studies have found that low achievers make considerable progress when they engage in tasks that foster higher order thinking skills. In this study, three higher-order thinking tasks related to the topic of fractions were assigned to students of mixed ability in Primary 3. We are interested to find out whether these tasks are effective in helping the low achievers understand fractions better and if low achievers can perform higher order thinking tasks as well as high and middle achievers.
Repeated as A20 & D15

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Knowing What Works With Teaching Fractions (Presenters: Judith Callaghan, Elizabeth Johnson)

Fractions have always represented considerable challenge for students. This workshop will deepen teachers’ understanding of the key progressions in the teaching of fractions from Years 3-6. A range of practical, hands-on activities that have been proven in the classroom setting will be explored. Teachers will leave this workshop with a clear understanding of effective classroom practises that will enable them to personalise programmes for a diverse range of learners.
Repeated as A21 & B18

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Visual Representations of Learning Intentions Drawn from the Australian Curriculum Elaborations in Mathematics (Presenter: Donna Ludvigsen)

By using visual representations of learning intentions teachers are able to plan the explicit teaching of concepts as well as connecting practice activities and application tasks to this teaching. This workshop presents the action learning journey of a Professional Learning Team as they develop visual learning intentions drawn from the elaborations in the Mathematics learning area of the Australian Curriculum.
Repeated as A22 & B21

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The BIG F - All About Fractions - Consolidation of the Number System and an Introduction Into the World Of Algebra (Presenter: Ian Bull)

What is it about fractions that strikes fear into the experience of most of our students? Why are fractions so hard to teach and what is it about fractions that makes them such a challenge for students to understand? Fractions are everywhere around us and often they are more convenient to use than decimals - rather than eating a third of a pizza, eating 0.33333..... of a pizza is a clumsy way of expressing that quantity. Fractions are just numbers but according to research how can they be best be presented in the classroom - come and play with some activities to find out.
Repeated as A23 & B22

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The TPACK Model Within a Mathematics Education Context (Presenter: Ahmad Samarji)

The Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model is an emerging one which adds technology as a lens and context to the Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (PCK) model. The TPACK model reflects the need that teaching and learning should be viewed, conceptualised, and re-conceptualised from a “21st Century Digital Lens”. Technology is no longer an ad-hoc visitor that teachers can invite or exclude. Technology is integrated in students’ and teachers’ lives from A-Z. Hence, there are no excuses for it not being integrated across the teaching and learning of all disciplines, including mathematics. This presentation shows examples of three mathematics lessons (primary, early secondary, and VCE) underpinned by the TPACK model in a manner which actively engages students and promotes mathematics teaching and learning.
Repeated as A24 & F22

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Problem Solving (Presenters: Daniel Avano, Bronwyn Quint)

In this session participants will work through a series of hands-on problems (real-life situations) to test out their problem solving skills. This will be followed by a discussion about practical ways of going about solving problems. Participants will then prepare their own individual problem solving checklist. It’s a great way to introduce problem solving in primary or lower secondary school. This session is based on a program available to schools at Scienceworks. Participants will also be given a quick overview of other maths resources available from Museum Victoria.
Repeated as A25 & B24

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Using Self-Assessment Tools to Inform Your Teaching in Middle Years Classrooms (Presenters: Meredith Clegg, Justine Johnston)

Formative and summative assessments can be more than pre and post testing. It is possible to gather informative data through the use of student self-assessment tools. This workshop will explore how to develop and use tools such as capacity matrices, vocabulary lists, progress passes and little books to gauge student understanding and make the learning explicit to students. Middle year’s students will readily engage when given the opportunity to express themselves and these tools will enhance that, and provide valuable assessment information for the teacher. Participants will be given an assortment of tools to utilise in their own classrooms.
Repeated as A26 & B26

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The Mathematics of Planet Earth (Presenters: Janine McIntosh, Lachlan McIntosh)

In 2013 we celebrate the International Year of Mathematics of Planet Earth. The four themes include: A Planet to Discover, A Planet Supporting Life, A Planet Organized by Humans and A Planet at Risk. In this session we will explore the mathematics involved in topics ranging from meteorology and climate to solar systems, from ecology to transport networks and from telecommunication to epidemiology.
Repeated as A27 & B27

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Delivering Differentiation - Including Every Child (Presenters: Yvonne Reilly, Jodie Parsons)

This workshop will expose participants to an effective model of practice in which teachers plan and prepare the delivery of fully differentiated and inclusive maths lessons suitable for a middle years’ classroom. The philosophy for this model is the empowerment of all learners to choose a task which is ‘just right’ for them.
Repeated as A28 & C29

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Connecting Mathematical Concepts Through Collaborative Problem Solving (Presenters: Caroline Mazurkiewicz, Kathryn Palmer)

Research has shown that student learning is improved when connections are made with prior learning. Providing the opportunity to collaborate and discuss mathematical concepts is also vital for student learning. This workshop will provide participants with a research based model for developing and using collaborative problem solving to connect ideas, differentiate the teaching and learning and engage students with a focus on students in Years 5 to 10. Links will be made with Australian Curriculum and participants will receive a range of resources to trial in their classes.
Repeated as A29 & B28

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From NFI to WTF: Real Higher Order Thinking Skills a Strategic Shift (Presenters: Martin Westwell, Kristin Smith, Deb Lasscock)

Not Following Instructions to Willing to Fail. Bloom’s Taxonomy has served us well and now with the shift in the Australian Curriculum from teaching to learning what does the future of higher order thinking skills look like? Shifting the focus from what we teach to what students learn will require a more evidence informed approach. This workshop provides both research and practical ideas to reflect on the thinking and understanding in our mathematics classrooms. This is a stand-alone workshop with links to other workshops within the conference.
Not Repeated

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Using GeoGebra to Enhance Teaching of Primary School Mathematics (Presenters: Foo Him Ho, Cher Hern Koh)

GeoGebra as an open-source Dynamic Geometry Software has been gaining popularity amongst secondary school mathematics teachers in Singapore. However, the use of GeoGebra in our primary school mathematics teaching has been rather minimal and superficial. In this presentation we will demonstrate and explain with a few suitable problems on geometry and ratio, how teachers could enhance pupils’ learning by using GeoGebra constructions and applets to engage pupils in mathematical problem-solving and explorations in an interactive and collaborative learning platform.
Repeated as A31 & D26

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Supporting Struggling Students: Place Value and Fractions, Years 7-8 (Presenter: Anita Chin)

The development of place value understanding begins in the early years with part-part-whole ideas and progresses to partitioning numbers in standard and non-standard forms. However, many students lack the ability to represent numbers in more than one way. The fraction concept is difficult to teach as it is composed of multiple ideas and can be represented in various notations. So, how can we help students build connections between concepts and plug gaps in their learning? This hands-on workshop will examine the ‘big ideas’ in ways that are accessible and engaging for all students using a concrete-pictorial-abstract approach. Black line masters provided.
Repeated as A32 & B30

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Constructing Animated Proofs Using a Dynamic Geometry Software (Presenter: Wee Leng Ng)

Dynamic geometry software (DGS) refers to computer programs which allow one to create and then manipulate geometric constructions. Many DGS packages offer graphing utilities as well. DGS, which is suitable for implementation in a discovery-learning environment or for demonstration purposes, is particularly common in secondary school geometry classrooms. In this workshop we shall explore the use of DGS in constructing animated geometric proofs. The DGS used in this workshop is the Geometer’s Sketchpad.
Repeated as A33 & C35

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Getting Rid of the Textbook: Theoretical Basis and Practical Experience (Presenters: Lachlan Yeates, Hayley Paproth)

This presentation looks at how textbooks are traditionally used in secondary mathematics classes and discusses the experiences of two teachers from different schools who have moved away from textbook based instruction. Options that exist to replace roles currently filled by textbooks, especially in 1-to-1 classrooms, are examined along with some of the challenges of moving away from a traditional model. This presentation will be useful to teachers in schools that are moving towards 1-to-1 models as well as those who are interested in exploring alternative teaching methods.
Repeated as A34 & E32

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Action Research and Its Impact on Student Outcomes (Presenter: Michelle Moses)

Action research in the mathematics classroom can help teachers develop an understanding of which approaches are effective to improve student-learning outcomes. At Elisabeth Murdoch College an action research project was conducted in fraction multiplication to determine whether using the area model was an effective representation to improve students learning outcomes. Does using mathematical representations, engaging in discussion and drawing on students’ informal knowledge make a difference in their learning outcomes? How effective are students in retaining their mathematical knowledge? This session will focus on results, statistical analysis as well as student worked examples to determine the effectiveness of the area model in teaching fraction multiplication.
Repeated as A35 & F31

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Teach Australian Curriculum Maths for Understanding - Secondary (Presenter: Ian Lowe)

One challenge to teaching maths is drawing together all the available resources around the structure of the Australian Curriculum. Ian has made this available in “Teach Maths for Understanding”, free to MAV members on <www.mav.vic.edu.au>. Thousands of hyperlinks include Hands-on, ICT, Teaching and Whole-class investigations for all topics at all levels catering for many learning styles. Another challenge is planning for differentiation. Teach Maths for understanding has organised the material into Differentiated Unit Plans. For most classes TM4U makes resources for six Australian Curriculum levels accessible.
Not repeated

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Five Minute Activities (Presenters: Kim Streek, Ingrid Jahnke)

We will supply a number of five minute activities to use in the Middle school classroom. However, the aim is for all participants to bring one or two activities they currently use to make a ‘bank’ of them for all participants to take home to use in their own school.
Repeated as A37 & C39

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MATHOMAT, School Project Day and Creative Drawing at Year 8 (Presenters: John Lawton, Tanya Jones)

MATHOMAT is a widely available, inspiring, resource. This workshop presents a range of creative drawing possibilities with MATHOMAT including: investigation of symmetry, construction of 3D models from nets, the use of bearings and scale rulers with maps, and representation of 3D shapes on paper. There will be a presentation of the creative work by students at Emmanuel College using MATHOMAT to explore tessellations with mixed, and boys only, groups of 50 Year 8 students on their school project day. The session concludes with reflection and discussion about the ability of non assessed school projects to foster relational understanding of mathematics.
Repeated as A38 & H27

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The Pedagogical Advantages of the Wireless Networked Classroom (Presenter: Ray Williams)

This workshop provides participants with an opportunity to actively experience all aspects of the interactive capacity of the wireless connection of TI-Nspire devices (both calculator and netbook) to the teacher’s computer in the classroom. The ability to place a student in the role of ‘teacher’ provides a most useful degree of freedom for the teacher and results in immense pedagogical gains in the classroom.
Repeated as A39 & B37

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Using SOLO Taxonomy in the Mathematics Classroom (Presenter: Mitchell Howard)

SOLO taxonomy is a way of structuring thinking. In New Zealand high schools, SOLO is used as the framework for national assessments in senior mathematics. At Lincoln High School SOLO taxonomy has been adopted throughout the school as a common language of learning. The mathematics department uses SOLO taxonomy for planning units of work, differentiating and structuring of open ended tasks, scaffolding thinking, and providing both feedback and feed-forward. The intent of this session is to give a big picture of what SOLO taxonomy is and provide some practical examples of how it can be used in mathematics classrooms.
Repeated as A40 & F35

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FX Draw Q&A (Presenter: Paul Hooper)

A session of hints, tips, how to’s, questions and answers for FX Draw. This session is suitable for both new users of FX Draw and gurus.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as A41 & G36

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Using CAS as a Teaching Tool for Linear Functions to Linear Programming (Presenter: Jennifer Curtis)

This session highlights the enhancements to the graphing capabilities of the latest TI-Nspire OS (V3.2). The session will highlight the versatility this gives to exploring all types of linear graphs in middle school leading to more exciting ways to teach linear programming in senior school.
Repeated as A42 & B41

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Never Used a ClassPad and Need to Know How? (Presenter: Anthony Harradine)

This workshop is for those who have never used a ClassPad and would like to learn the fundamentals in a short space of time. You will leave with support materials that will assist you in taking the next step. A tried and proven workshop that will have you using the machine with confidence by the end of the hour.
Repeated as A43 & D40

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From Geoboard to CAS Calculator (Presenter: Michael Chapman)

This session investigates “Pick’s Rule” for finding area using the latest version of the TI-Nspire OS. Either by inspection or by using some clever programming help, participants can work through data capture, graphing and simple algebra to arrive at a neat little proof of the theorem. (No programming skills required!)
Repeated as A44 & G39

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Mathematica™: Pandora’s Box or Classroom Empowerment I? Teaching with Mathematica™ (Presenter: Brenton Groves)

The amount of material on the web is huge: The Virtual Book (10,000 pages); Tutorials, how-to’s and white papers; Alphabetical site index; Wolfram MathWorld (13,086 entries); Wolfram Web Resources (blog.wolfram.com, forums.wolfram.com, www.mathematica-journal.com); Wolfram Education Group Courses; Interactive demonstrations under the Wolfram CDF. Everything can be downloaded for free and Mathematica™ is not required. This presentation will outline a path through the Wolfram maze with selective interactive demonstrations of common mathematical topics. It will be available on the web so teachers can investigate the material at their own pace afterwards.
Repeated as A45 & D41

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Engaging Foundation Mathematics Students - Some Suggestions (Presenters: Leah Whiffin, Sue Scott)

Running out of ideas for VCAL and VCE Foundation Mathematics. This workshop will provide units of work such as budgeting and kite making that can be easily modified or used in the classroom.
Repeated as A46 & B45

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An Introduction to Markov Chains (Presenter: Terry Mills)

Markov chains are models that use concepts from probability to describe how a system, such as the weather or the economy, changes from one state to another. The basic ideas were presented by a Russian mathematician A.A. Markov about 100 years ago. These days Markov chains arise in Year 12 mathematics in several States. However, many teachers will not have encountered these objects in their university studies. This presentation provides a gentle introduction to Markov chains. A notable feature is a list of applications that show how these models are useful in contemporary applied mathematics. This paper is joint work with K.C. Chan and C.T. Lenard (La Trobe University).
Repeated as A47 & E43

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VCE and the Virtual Learning Network (Presenters: Stuart Payne, Tony Carroll)

Students of VCE Specialist Maths and Maths Methods CAS Units 1 to 4 have successfully completed these courses entirely online in 2012, through the Virtual Learning Network established at Bendigo Senior Secondary College. The details of this exciting project, including the structure and organisation, the methods used to develop materials and the results of formal evaluations of the project will be discussed during the workshop. Participants will have the opportunity to explore the learning materials available to students through the Virtual Learning Network site.
Repeated as A48 & B48

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Kissing in the Mathematics Classroom Using the TI-Nspire CAS! (Presenters: Russell Brown, Rodney Anderson)

Unfortunately the term “kissing” in a mathematical context conjures up circles just teaching each other! In this session we will investigate the relationship between exponential and logarithmic functions together with calculus concepts, to solve, in exact terms, where the general parent functions actually kiss each other. Used as an assessment task this problem ties together many concepts expected at this level using both graphical and algebraic techniques.
Repeated as A49 & F45

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Programming Ti-Nspire for Fully Automated Solutions of Mathematical Methods CAS Exam 2 Questions (Presenter: Mehmet Akif Altundal)

In this workshop we will create programs with TI-Nspire which can solve some Mathematical Methods CAS Exam 2 questions with one click. After covering essentials of programming with TI-Nspire, participants will start writing their first programs. We will then examine our programs with past exam questions. Participants will leave with programming skills and TI-Nspire programs that are ready to be used to boost their students in VCE exams.
Not repeated

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What’s New in the Australian Curriculum for Victorian Mathematical Methods and Specialist Mathematics Teachers (Presenters: Allason McNamara, Philip Swedosh, Dean Lamson)

Philip, Allason and Dean are members of the Specialist Mathematics and/or Mathematical Methods CAS Setting and Marking Panels. They will discuss the new content in the Australian Curriculum and different approaches which could be used to assess this content.
Repeated as A51 & B51

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studyON for VCE Mathematics - Want to Improve Your Students’ Exam Results? (Presenter: Shirly Griffith)

studyON is the online study, revision and exam practice tool from Jacaranda that recognises the online world in which students live. In this hands-on workshop you will get to test out studyON for VCE Specialist Mathematics Units 3&4, VCE Mathematical Methods CAS Units 3&4 and VCE Further Mathematics Units 3&4. Incorporating myriad learning tools - videos, animations, actual past VCE exam questions, a results tracker, concept screens and interactive study activities - studyON opens the door to a stimulating and flexible learning environment that encourages all students to study how they want, when they want. Participants will also get to engage with the Teacher Edition which allows teachers to monitor and track the progress of students.
(Commercial Presentation)
Not repeated

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Take Real Data Into Your Classroom Using CensusAtSchool (Australian Bureau of Statistics) (Presenter: Mary-Anne Aram)

Looking for different ways to use and teach statistics in the classroom? In this session teachers will get the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Education Services’ free website focusing on CensusAtSchool including new material. We will look at the teacher registration process and the 2012 Questionnaire. You will see how to access CensusAtSchool and Education Services resources, activities and marking rubrics, which are aligned with the Australian Curriculum; as well as datasets and interactive graphs. You get a bumper goodie bag, but be prepared for a fast moving website tour!
Repeated as A-B1 & F-G2

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Motivating Students & Transforming Teaching with the Classroom Organiser Software (Presenters: Bill Murray, Victoria Pichler)

Leading teachers in several top Melbourne schools are now using the Classroom Organiser to help prepare lesson and student plans, and to track and report individual students’ progress. Differentiated programmes are easily introduced and students are motivated through being involved in developing their own learning programme. The system encourages teachers to plan ahead and review work in a timely and organised manner, while achieving valuable time savings. Easy tracking and reporting closes the loop for administrators and parents. A variety of sample plans in several subjects are now freely available, as is a 90-day free trial.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as A-B2 & F-G3

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The Big Maths Ideas in 14 Poems (Presenters: Helen Prochazka, Maurice Murphy, Adrian Jacobson)

Maths is more than measurement and number calculations
More than geometry, statistics and algebra manipulations
So we set out to elucidate its beauty, heart and history
Its concepts, connections and contexts - and do all of this with poetry!
For the economy of a rhyme, has significant potential
To communicate, with feeling, what in maths is quintessential
We hope that our content-rich verses, many teachers will soon find
Are a way to link some big ideas, to a mathematics student’s mind!
Repeated as A-B3 & F-G4

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Using ‘Algebra Tiles’ to Teach Integers, Expansion and Factorisation (Presenters: Michael O’Reilly, Norrian Rundle)

This double session is an introduction to ‘Algebra Tiles’. ‘Algebra Tiles’ are a hands-on teaching aid used to introduce and teach Middle Years students directed numbers and expansion, and factorisation of algebraic terms. The focus will be on how to introduce and teach algebraic expansion and factorisation using this successful hands-on teaching aid. This will include both linear and quadratic expressions. We will be developing the ideas firstly with integers, and then moving on to algebraic expansion and then factorisation. The ideas of using arrays and the algebra tiles build on the initial work with integers. [This is a repeat of the sessions we offered at the 2009, 2010 & 2011 MAV Annual Conferences.] Detailed notes, including many examples, will be provided. Teaching strategies will be explained throughout the session. We will also provide participants with the templates to cheaply make their own class sets of ‘algebra tiles’.
Not repeated

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Using TI-Nspire CAS Navigator to Transform a Good Lesson Into a Great Lesson: Revisiting the Surd Spiral (Presenter: Roger Wander)

Experienced teachers will know particular lessons they’ve taught in the past which have really hit the mark. No matter when they were first developed, these good lessons can be improved through judicious use of interactive mathematics technology. The presenter will show how a lesson/investigation based on surds and geometry (seen at the 2009 MAV December Conference) can be enhanced for increased student engagement and understanding using the interactive features of TI-Nspire CAS CX Navigator hardware and software. Participants will use the handheld calculator (provided) to pose questions and offer solutions within the ‘lesson’ environment, and will discuss how they might adapt their current lessons in a similar manner. Lesson materials will be made available in both printed and electronic form.
Repeated as A-B5 & F-G7

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Get More TI Inspired! (Presenter: Frank Moya)

This is a hands-on workshop where a number of student-centred activities will be presented. These activities will include the use of a number of the less well known features of TI-Nspire CAS, which are user friendly but under-utilised in most schools. New and improved functionality available in the latest version of the operating system will also be discussed. There will be a balance of types of activities presented; some are appropriate for Years 9 and 10, while others are most applicable to VCE.
Not Repeated

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Differentiation: The Heart of Personalising Learning (Presenter: Nadia Walker)

KEYNOTE - Let’s be honest, personalisation is challenging in the busy classroom... so many students, so little time! This workshop will explore ideas around how effective differentiated instruction can enable personalised learning. We’ll explore what personalising learning really looks like in today’s classroom, what are the features of an effective personalised lesson, and what tools and resources can support teachers to make this feasible and manageable in every classroom? In this hands-on workshop, we will look at a range of rich learning tasks allowing for differentiation. We’ll explore how problem solving and open-ended tasks can incorporate many levels of learning. And we’ll look at some easy ways to collect evidence about your students’ learning.

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Orchestrating Productive Mathematical Discussions: A Model for Moving Beyond “Showing and Telling” (Presenter: Mary Kay Stein)

KEYNOTE - Adopting and setting up high-level tasks in the classroom will not, in and of itself, lead to student success. Teachers also need to learn ways to support students’ engagement with such tasks, including how to steer students’ nascent work on these tasks toward understanding of the key mathematical idea that is the goal of the lesson. In this presentation I will introduce an instructional approach, known as the Five Practices (Smith & Stein, 2011), that focuses on using student-developed work as the launching point of whole-class discussions in which the teacher actively shapes the ideas that students produce to lead them toward more powerful, efficient, and accurate thinking. The intent is to make discussion facilitation more manageable for teachers by purposely de-emphasising the improvisational aspects of discussion facilitation in favour of a focus on those aspects of classroom discussions that can be planned for in advance. Teachers will learn how to anticipate likely student contributions, prepare responses they might make to them, and make decisions about how to structure students’ presentations to further their mathematical/scientific agenda for the lesson.

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Hands-on Activities to Engage Every Child (Presenter: Cathy Attard)

This workshop will focus on using, creating and differentiating mathematics tasks that are engaging, innovative, and represent ‘best practice’ for teaching mathematics. Participants will engage in a variety of hands-on activities that can be adapted to suit the needs of diverse learners. All workshop activities will be framed against current research and understandings of the concept of engagement as it relates to primary mathematics teaching and learning.
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Developing Flexible Thinkers in the F-3 Mathematics Classroom (Presenter: Richard Korbosky)

The ability to think flexibly in mathematics is an important skill to acquire from the start of the mathematics journey. Young students should be given the opportunity to manipulate materials, draw the mathematics sentences. There are many graphic organisers which assist and organise their thinking. This session explores a variety of strategies and will arm the participants to return to the classroom with new ideas about flexible thinking.
Repeated as B4 & G5

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Geometric Thinking Through Geocaching (Presenter: Leicha Bragg)

Geocaching is an exciting global treasure hunt engaging children and adults alike with over 5 million participants worldwide. Geocaching provides a unique educational opportunity to develop students’ geometric thinking through an authentic treasure hunt linking to the local and international community. This session includes an introduction to geocaching and a series of rich tasks developed as part of a Geocaching Program for primary aged children. Come along and discover firsthand some fun geometry activities you and your students will enjoy.
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Nurturing the Maths Learner from Concrete to Abstract - Laughing all the Way (Presenter: Rod Cameron)

The developmental continuum from fully concrete/manipulative, through fully representational and partially representational, to abstract/algebraic is a clear pathway, and all of your students are somewhere along it. This workshop aims at building the capacity of teacher content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge through the simple introduction of new learning materials designed to allow the deliberate and strategic movement of learners from concrete (metric pattern blocks), through fully representational (1:1 templates of the metric pattern blocks) to partially representational (different scales) to abstract (creating and using rules with no visual representation). Active fun for all, with free resources and online support. The author has developed these materials while working with NESB communities in Papua New Guinea, and as such, this is a commercial presentation.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as B8 & G11

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Transform Your Classroom with Online Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting - Cambridge HOTmaths (Presenters: Sharon London, Victoria Cook)

Explore an exciting range of curriculum content, activities, games, investigations, assessment material and reporting for Australian Curriculum F-10A. Cambridge HOTmaths can also be used with a range of mathematics textbooks, providing exceptional integrated text and online programs. Find out about the powerful Test Generator, the Search/Research tools, and the Class and Homework Task Management system, supporting students of all ability levels and learning styles. Find out how Cambridge HOTmaths is being used for classrooms with and without technology, for 1-to-1 programs, for homework, for study, research and personalised learning.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as B9 & C11

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A Lesson Study Approach to Professional Learning (Presenters: Stan Koullas, Robert Park)

Research has shown that the most effective professional learning involves teachers working together, sharing ideas and discussing observed lessons and student work. Facilitated by the Network Numeracy Coach, many teachers of secondary maths in the Keilor/St Albans Network have been involved in Lesson Study professional learning over the past year. This session outlines the approach taken, the benefits gained and the lessons learnt from the process. There will also be an opportunity to discuss the experience with some of the participants.
Repeated as B10 & F14

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Training Teachers in Tanzania (Presenter: Jenny Clarke)

Volunteering overseas in a developing nation can be a wonderful experience both personally and professionally. I had a 12 month placement as a teacher trainer in the Kagera Region of Tanzania in 2010/11. While there I worked with teachers, education administrators, teacher training college lecturers and students to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics. Teachers are desperate for in-service training in participatory teaching methods and creation of teaching aids - you could help them! This session is to give anyone interested in volunteering a taste of what a positive and satisfying experience it can be.
Repeated as B11 & H8

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Fractions - The Pieces Get Skinnier and Skinnier! (Presenters: Anne Milburn, Alison Howard)

Do your students find fractions confusing? Is their understanding of fractions quite fragile? Are you unsure how to help them? If so, this practical and hands-on workshop is for you! We will explore children’s fractional misconceptions through a range of activities and games. The focus of this workshop will be on supporting students aged from 5 to 8 years.
Repeated as B12 & C16

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From NFI to WTF: Creating an Engaging Learning Community (Presenters: Martin Westwell, Kristin Smith, Deb Lasscock)

From Not Following Instructions to Willing To Fail. A Community of Inquiry shifts the ‘power’ in the classroom from teacher to students. It creates an environment in which students choose to question, challenge and discuss key ideas. Take home a process where students are free to articulate what they are wondering, drive towards authentic higher order thinking and delve into students’ mathematical understandings. This is a stand-alone workshop with links to other workshops within the conference.
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ACER’s Online Assessment and Reporting Platform (Presenters: Mette Hoeyberg , Julia Inglis)

We will demonstrate features of ACER’s online assessment and reporting platform which has been operating across Australia since February 2012. We will be introducing some exciting new features in the second half of 2012. One of the assessments currently on this platform is the Progressive Achievement Tests in Mathematics (PATMaths). This assessment will be the focus of the second half of this presentation. PATMaths is ACER’s best selling test of achievement in mathematics. 2013 will see the release of the PATMaths Fourth Edition. This session will discuss the differences in the fourth edition and show how it will provide objective information about mathematics achievement levels to inform teaching practice and monitor progress.
(Commercial Presentation)
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Planning for Retirement (Presenter: Edward Patterson)

Retirement Victoria’s seminar program is directed to those close to retirement and to those positioning for retirement in the medium term. We provide a framework for thinking which assists people to build an efficient model for retirement. The model takes account of planning periods, lifestyle objectives and the building of an efficient income and capital strategy.
(Commercial Presentation)
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Using the Modified Lesson Study to Develop Students’ Relational Thinking (Presenters: Lei Bao, Max Stephens)

This presentation will showcase my research on Relational Thinking based on Lesson Study, conducted in a small rural primary school in western Victoria. Throughout the cycles of Lesson Study, we found that Lesson Study made a difference to students’ achievement and appreciation of relational thinking and for teachers’ content knowledge as well.
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Maths With Attitude: Take a 2nd Look (Presenter: Douglas Williams)

In time for the new Australian Mathematics Curriculum with its focus on “... increasingly sophisticated and refined mathematical understanding, fluency, logical reasoning, analytical thought and problem-solving skills”, Maths With Attitude has been revised and strengthened and is now available in its second edition. It unites tasks and Maths300 into a core curriculum for Years 3-10. Investigations are central. Skills are developed and practised in context. If you already use Maths With Attitude, a second look will be a useful refresher. If you don’t know MWA, here is your opportunity to discover a genuine alternative to text-based learning.
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Sundials and Other Solar Instruments (Presenter: Tim Byrne)

Participants are introduced to the world’s oldest scientific instrument and make two simple sundials. Participants are given notes with various sundial equations. Participants learn to construct sundials from first principles. Participants are shown how to construct a simple equatorial sundial from inexpensive materials. Participants construct simple shadow casting instruments for measuring the sun’s altitude, zenith and azimuth. By way of providing a more meaningful context to time telling, participants learn how to calculate the correct time for noon, the equation of time, as well as make adjustments for latitude and longitude.
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CANCELLED - Knowledge Plus Action Equals a Positive Outcome (Presenters: Marilyn Snider, Megan Bourke)

Could your young mathematicians play a role in ensuring global food security? Could they use their mathematical minds to bring energy to all corners of the earth? All the authentic data they need is at their fingertips. Learn how to access and integrate a range of mathematical information which will engage your students in a deeper understanding of the important issues in our world today.
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Spreadsheets - The Ultimate Maths Tool (Presenter: Glenn Sullivan)

This session will explore the option of using spreadsheets in the classroom. Sample spreadsheets that help student learning will be introduced. Several spreadsheets will be developed as a student would develop them in a classroom. Participants will use functions, formatting, charts and lookup tables. Suitable for new and intermediate spreadsheet users - upper primary school to senior secondary
Repeated as B29 & H20

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Tall Trees: An Accelerated Indigenous Program (Presenter: Jan Cavanagh)

The Accelerated Indigenous Mathematics (AIM) is designed to boost the mathematical skills of students entering secondary school without the basics which would prepare them for opportunities of trade or tertiary studies. This program is being implemented in nine North Queensland schools - supported by the staff of the YuMi Deadly Centre at Queensland University of Technology. This is a hands-on workshop, be prepared to get involved!
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Mathematica Links to AusVELS 7-10A (Presenters: Brian Hodgson, Craig Bauling)

Mathematica is available free of charge to most students in Victorian Government secondary schools. This session illustrates how Mathematica can be used in 7-10 classes by providing direct links between AusVELS outcome statements and Mathematica resources. Participants will be shown how to create dynamic demonstration for the development of concepts and associated student exploration; modelling and problem solving with real data; production of interactive student work sheets; test construction; word processing (incorporating mathematical symbols, graphs and diagrams) and electronic/multimedia delivery of student assignments and receipt of their responses.
Repeated as B32 & C34

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Mathematics Competition Questions as Problem Solving Experience (Presenter: Tin Lam Toh)

Besides developing the mathematically talented, mathematics competition questions are useful resources in the mathematics classrooms for the general student population. In this session the participants will be introduced to how some mathematics competition questions could provide students with rich meaningful learning experience on mathematical problem solving. Examples for discussion will be taken from the Australian Mathematics Competition and the Singapore Mathematical Olympiad.
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Inquiry-Based Learning in Mathematics (Presenter: Jennifer Nolan)

The Australian Curriculum “encourages teachers to help students become self-motivated, confident learners through inquiry and active participation in challenging and engaging experiences”. How can we effectively aim to achieve this goal? In this practical workshop we will explore different tasks that can be used with students so they discover new mathematical concepts for themselves. These inquiry-based tasks allow students to build on their existing knowledge and understanding. They provide structured learning so students think about their understanding, and develop the ability to connect and transfer new skills and knowledge.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as B34 & C40

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Pearson Assess (Presenters: Evan Curnow, Dirk Strasser)

Pearson Assess takes online maths assessment to the next level. Teachers have the ability to easily create and assign differentiated tests and homework revision, with all questions automatically marked. Students can also use Pearson Assess as a tool for revision. See how Pearson Assess works with an interactive demonstration of this product.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as B35 & F33

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Classroom Assessment in Mathematics: Learning from Students’ Responses for Better Test-Item Design (Presenter: Khiok Seng Quek)

Classroom assessment is essential to teaching well. Be it assessment of, for, or as learning, a test item is one way of obtaining information about student learning, and dependable information is crucial to a proper assessment. How might a classroom teacher craft a better test item, fit for its purpose? This session presents for discussion an item design approach informed by students’ responses to mathematics test items. The approach is developed by examining the students’ responses from an eclectic mix of perspectives (e.g., mathematical, social, cultural, psychological).
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The Paperless Mathsroom - Finally (Presenter: Ro Bairstow)

Well almost... A class using iPads with access to a range of interactive digital resources. These include iBooks, Apps, Google Docs, Blogs, Wikis, websites... and not a piece of paper in sight. All for less than the cost of a traditional textbook. My class will still have to sit a traditional examination using pen and paper but this will be at another venue. I will demonstrate how a typical lesson works and how the resources used were created and sourced. I am a full time mathematics teacher and created two of the key resources. They are available for under $10 each. Access to the website, Blog, Wiki is free. Most of the other Apps used were either free or under $10 each from the App store.
Repeated as B38 & C42

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Taking a Chance - Personalised Maths in Action (Presenter: Roslyn Mullins)

Everyday numeracy issues exist within the myriad of gambling products available today, from lotto numbers and dividends through to the statistics of winning at roulette. Consumer Affairs Victoria’s Responsible Gambling resource is a comprehensive educational tool for teachers - with activities, video clips and reflective exercises - that promote personalised maths learning in this important social context. This workshop will provide teachers with an opportunity to explore the maths within chance, probability and data and how students can apply maths skills on a personal level. All attendees will receive a free copy of the Responsible Gambling resource.
Repeated as B39 & H31

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Deepen Your Students Understanding of Data: Using TINKERPLOTS Dynamic Data Exploration Software (Presenters: John Lawton, Ian Lowe)

Statistics is important to the Australian Curriculum. This workshop explores how the constructivist program TINKERPLOTS can be used across the curriculum. Using the data sets recently created by UTAS to exploit TINKERPLOTS, schools can give their students “the ability to create their own plots and tell their own story”. This is because the open ended structure of the program avoids “requiring students to decide beforehand on a graphical form created by the software”. Recent classroom experience of schools that have adopted TINKERPLOTS will be discussed along with the enormous potential that it has for developing deeper understanding by using data.
Repeated as B40 & G37

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Empowering Teachers in New Ways (Presenter: Alexander Young)

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Using GeoGebra to Stimulate (Presenters: Dianne Frost, Adrian Berenger)

The notebook program for students in Years 9 and 10 provides opportunities for teaching and learning activities in Geometry and Measurement to become more interactive and engaging to all learners. Students are able to investigate mathematical properties and analyse complex geometrical problems through GeoGebra. This workshop provides opportunities for teachers to become familiar with some of the tools contained within the GeoGebra program and to create engaging activities to experiment with in classrooms. GeoGebra is freely available to teachers through Edustar.
Repeated as B43 & C48

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How Can We Use an iPad in Mathematics Class (Presenter: Dennis Fitzgerald)

How can we use iPads and similar technology in our classrooms? What apps exist for us and which of the free ones are worthwhile. This will be a discussion of my use of iPads in a Year 9 and 11 class for the first time and some suggestions on how to use them and some of the pitfalls of their introduction. Please bring your iPad if you have one and any success stories!
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A Smorgasbord of Univariate Data Analysis on the TI-Nspire (Presenters: Russell Brown, Rodney Anderson)

In this hands-on session both raw data and frequency tabulated data will be analysed. Some hints will be given to maximise the TI-Nspire’s functionality. It will cover box-plots (including parallel box-plots), histograms with techniques of aligning columns depending whether discrete or continuous data is used, pie charts, bar charts (including splitting of categories), relative frequency plots and cumulative frequency plots.
Repeated as B46 & E44

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Intro to Mathematica (Presenter: Craig Blake)

This session will introduce participants to using Mathematica as a teaching, learning and computational tool when teaching Further Mathematics and Mathematical Methods. It is assumed that participants will be beginners to using Mathematica.
Repeated as B47 & F40

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An Amazing Theorem (Presenter: John Kermond)

Marden’s theorem is an amazing theorem that links the roots of a complex cubic polynomial and the roots of its derivatives with several geometrical properties of triangles and ellipses. In this session the theorem is presented and discussed in detail using several examples. The examples provide interesting material that could be used for the VCE Specialist Mathematics Unit 3 Analysis Task.
Repeated as B49 & F46

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10 Things Your VCE Students Need to Know About the Casio ClassPad (Presenters: June Warren, Cathy Devlyn, Maria Schaffner)

This is a beginners/novice session for teachers new to VCE Maths. The presenters are experienced and accomplished Year 12 Further and Maths Methods teachers and will present tips and suggestions on how your students can best use the functions and extended capabilities of the Casio ClassPad. An insight into maximising your students’ exam marks will be provided along with worksheets highlighting recent VCAA exam style questions and suggested solution processes.
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My Maths? An Oxymoron or Wake-Up Call in an Era of National Curriculum and NAPLAN (Presenter: Dianne Siemon)

KEYNOTE - Large-scale research data and the widespread use of the assessment options from the Scaffolding Numeracy in the Middle Years (SNMY) project indicate that many children in Years 4 to 9 are being left behind in relation to the key mathematical ideas and strategies needed to successfully participate in further school mathematics. This is recognised in the emphasis on differentiation inherent in the e5 instructional model and the development of e-book boxes by the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD). While these approaches and targeted teaching informed by research-based advice (e.g., the SNMY Learning Assessment Framework for Multiplicative Thinking) have a critical role to play in personalised mathematics teaching and learning, understanding and responding to the emotional needs of students is also important. This presentation will revisit the notion of streaming or ability-based grouping in the middle years and consider what ‘my maths’ might mean for the teaching and learning of mathematics in the middle years.

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Starters and Independent Activities for the First Years at School (Presenter: Vivienne Thompson)

This workshop will provide a selection of practical ideas to start a mathematics lesson with young children. It will also include a number of relevant independent activities which relate directly to the starting activity allowing opportunities for children to practise in pairs and small groups.
Repeated as C2 & D2

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Picture Books and Mathematics (Presenter: Dorothy Butterfield)

This workshop will use picture books and other materials to develop understandings of number, space or measurement.
Repeated as C3 & D3

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What I Have to Teach Algebra! (Presenters: Sharyn Livy, Tracey Muir)

Number and algebra can be developed together, as each enriches the study of the other. During this workshop a range of tasks will be presented that will assist your students to recognise patterns, conduct investigations, solve problems and communicate their reasonings for algebra.
Repeated as C4 & D5

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Early Years Concept Map (Presenter: Rob Proffitt-White)

This session uses a concept map and activities that take teachers through some of the key understandings of the number strand of the Australian Curriculum. It offers open ended ideas that can be immediately taken back to the classroom, allowing students multiple entry points and aiding teachers in differentiation.
Not repeated

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How We Introduced Personal Learning at Tallis Street (Presenters: Patricia Conheady, Michelle Gawronski)

As primary maths specialists we have had the opportunity to look at data then introduce change to improve student outcomes. Beginning with changes in planning and the way we look at our personal learning.
Repeated as C6 & D6

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Student Reflection (Presenters: Sheila McCarthy, Sandi Warrick)

This session aims to increase knowledge of the importance and purpose of student reflection and to provide ideas for teachers to develop those skills with their students. Teachers need to:
* Be aware of the importance and purpose of student reflection.
* Understand how questioning encourages student reflection.
* Be aware of the importance of timing.
It also aims to provide teachers with ideas that will help to develop the skill of student reflection so that they have:
* Improved understanding of learning.
* Increased confidence.
* Increased knowledge of learning behaviours that encourage success.
* Increased ability to work as supportive team members.
* Increased ability to set goals and reflect on their achievement.
Repeated as C7 & D7

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Models and Representations to Support Problem Solving (Presenters: Mike Askew, Lisa Canty, Lucy Gorman)

Problem solving and reasoning are core proficiencies in the Australian Mathematics Curriculum. In this session we will explore a collaborative project between university researchers and the staff of a primary school designed to promote these proficiencies through learners reasoning about the structure of the mathematics underlying word problems. A two-fold approach was taken:
* Helping learners articulate categories of problems, and
* Using diagrammatic models of problems as bridges into setting up equations.
The session will explore the thinking and research behind these approaches, report on teachers’ and learners’ responses to the problem solving lessons and explore implications for practice.
Not repeated

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Primary Maths Specialists at Upwey South Primary School (Presenters: Julie Hall, Lee Reich)

Primary Maths Specialist is a Federal Government Program. Hear about the program and how we used this opportunity to improve our numeracy results at Upwey South Primary School. We began with our documents and worked with teachers to introduce differentiation in classes. We have made great progress and would like to share with you our journey, including where to next.
Repeated as C9 & G7

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Let’s Be Reasonable (Presenters: Colleen Vale, Leicha Bragg, Sandra Herbert, Esther Yook-Kin Loong, Judy Mousley, Gaye Williams)

The Mathematical Reasoning Research Group (MaRRG) at Deakin University was established to generate knowledge about Reasoning for and in the learning and teaching of mathematics in pre-school, primary and junior secondary classrooms. In this session, we will share our findings from research based on resources from the AAMT In Teacher’s Hands Project and the ways local and international primary classroom teachers are injecting reasoning into the mathematics lessons. Engaging investigations that assist students to construct generalisations and justify their decisions will be presented
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MAV Maths Talent Quest - Working Mathematically, Investigation Projects Workshop (Presenters: June Penney, Kelly Anne Gallivan)

The Maths Talent Quest (MTQ) has been running for over 30 years and continues to be an important component of the MAV’s student activities program. MTQ involves students engaging in personally chosen ‘real life’ maths investigations. The categories include all Primary and Secondary year levels and the investigations may performed by individuals, groups or classes. Do you want to find out more about the MTQ and how it links to the curriculum? Do you have a personal interest or do you want to find out how to run it at your school? Come join us! You will also be provided with the opportunity to ask questions, discuss ideas and read past investigations.
Repeated as C12 & D12

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From NFI to WTF: Not Everyone’s Good at Mathematics! (Presenters: Martin Westwell, Kristin Smith, Deb Lasscock)

From Not Following Instructions to Willing to Fail. We often hear people describe themselves as either good or bad at mathematics. How do they get like this? What difference does it make to their outcomes? Based on the research findings of Carol Dweck at Stanford this workshop highlights how our classroom practice shapes students’ views of themselves as learners in mathematics. Even our attempts to build self-esteem can go horribly awry and the workshop will help to navigate this tricky ground. This is a stand-alone workshop with links to other workshops within the conference.
Not repeated

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Mathletics ‘Integrating the Resources’ (Presenters: Lauren Anderson, Andrew Nicholls)

This course is designed to illustrate different methods for incorporating Mathletics into your learning unit and daily lesson plans. Utilising the different resources available within the program such as Teacher Toolkit and Concept Search, teachers are shown how to introduce new concepts in a collaborative forum for discussion and review. Teachers are taught how to develop lesson plans for units of work using a carousel approach, carefully integrating Mathletics in rotation between online, practical and paper-based activities. The course also briefly revisits the Results area of the program, illustrating how to focus students around new concepts for class work or homework revision.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as C14 & G14

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GradeXpert Student Assessment Tracking Software (C Session CANCELLED) (Presenter: Anthony Sacker)

GradeXpert is a student assessment tracking software tool used by schools to centrally store, track and analyse student assessment results and outcomes-based progress, including NAPLAN, PAT and any other external or internal assessments. It is a central repository for student assessment results, digital attachments, individual learning plans, teacher comments and semester reports, enabling a school to easily create a complete, historical electronic portfolio for each student. Teachers can graphically analyse and compare student, class and year level progress from term to term and year to year and print a variety of comparative reports and graphs to ensure students who are falling behind or racing ahead can be quickly identified. Better than the Ultranet, faster than Excel and easier than 1-2-3!
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as C15 & E14

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Open and Closed Questions for Differentiated Learning (Presenters: Greg Butler, Fiona Lindsay, Leanne Cummings)

A hands-on session using both open and closed questions and different types of scaffolding techniques to use the same question to meet the mathematical abilities of your whole class. A variety of problem solving experiences will be provided with opportunities to formulate your own questions and scaffolding strategies with a little bit of assessment and fun thrown in.
Repeated as C17 & D14

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Making Maths Marvellous with Manchester and Manipulatives (Presenter: Gabrielle West)

This workshop looks at engaging ways to teach the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics strands - Number and Algebra, Geometry and Measurement, Statistics and Probability. Teachers will see what the 4 mathematics proficiencies actually look like in the classroom through a series of hands-on activities that will engage the learner, ask the ‘right’ questions and help students to use problem solving strategies and think about their learning. Participants will use tablecloths, tea towels, angle wheels, elastics, coloured paper, paddle pop sticks, 100 grids, money and fraction walls, dice, dominoes, decks of cards and other manipulatives to create motivating, real activities and investigations as part of this enjoyable session.
Repeated as C18 & H12

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From Number Sense to Fluency Using Playing Cards: No Joke(r) (Presenters: Paul Swan, Derek Hurrell)

While participants in this session will play a number of card games, all linked to the Australian Curriculum, the focus will be on the development of number sense and mental strategies with the aim of improving computational fluency. Suggestions will be made for simplifying the games and making them more challenging.
Not repeated

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Developing Logical Thinking (Presenters: Rose Golds, Jo Knox)

How much logical reasoning do you build into your mathematics programme? Attribute blocks (or logic blocks) were ‘all the rage’ in the 1980’s. The New Zealand assessment tool, Junior Assessment of Mathematics (JAM), is using attribute blocks to help assess students in regards to algebraic thinking. However, there is much more that can be done with these blocks. This workshop looks at some very practical applications of attribute blocks to allow you to develop the logical mathematical thinking skills of your students between the ages of 5 and 12.
Not repeated

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Beyond the Tip of the Iceberg (Presenter: Douglas Williams)

A mathematician’s work begins with an interesting problem. Therefore in a curriculum built around learning to work like a mathematician, students will often be invited to begin their work in this way. Hands-on problem solving tasks from Mathematics Task Centre are the world’s largest source of such interesting starting points and offer much more than the tip of the puzzle described on the card. In this workshop you will explore a sample of these tasks and find out about their depth, their multiple lives, stories of success from experienced colleagues and the web support provided by Mathematics Centre.
Not repeated

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Algebraic Thinking (Presenter: Richard Korbosky)

This session explores early patterning ideas to generalisations to develop logical thinking, algebraic thinking and how to solve problems using manipulative mathematical materials. Materials such as pattern blocks, three bear family, matchsticks, connecting people, two cm wooden coloured blocks and number balance will support the development of pre-algebra thinking to formal algebra. Focus is on the manipulation of mathematics materials, patterning, number sentences collecting data, using tables, interpreting results, stating generalisations as a rule and using pro-numerals to describe repeating and growing patterns. These skills are needed to develop their understanding of algebra. They assist in problem solving situations and develop student’s ability to improve their reasoning about mathematical situations.
Not repeated

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Focusing on the Language of Mathematics to Enhance Understanding, Years 3-8 (Presenter: Anita Chin)

Mastering the language of mathematics and understanding the content can be challenging for many students and not just ESL learners. The components of the Proficiency strands of the ACM provide the language to build in the developmental aspects of the learning of mathematics. This hands-on workshop will provide practical ideas for embedding rich mathematical language into the mixed ability classroom for number and geometry concepts. Strategies for scaffolding will be modelled to make tasks accessible, rigorous and engaging for all students. Assessment ideas will include the use of open-ended questions. References to NAPLAN questions and blackline masters provided.
Repeated as C23 & Repeated as D17

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iPads and Apps in the Mathematics Classroom (Presenter: Brett Stephenson)

Apps for the iPad and tablets in general are growing at an phenomenal (perhaps exponential) rate. In this session I will demonstrate some of the apps that I have found useful in a mathematics classroom. Some of the apps could be utilised in any classroom, some are designed for upper secondary and beyond and some are just entertaining. There are some I would find it hard to be without!
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Mathematics Investigations in Primary Mathematics (Presenters: Phong-Lee Koay, Lu Pien Cheng)

Mathematical problem solving is at the centre of the framework of the mathematics curriculum in Singapore, and mathematical problems include non-routine, open-ended investigations and real-world problems. There are primary school mathematics teachers who are unfamiliar with the investigative processes in mathematics, and have seldom attempted to integrate mathematics investigation into their teaching. In this session we will share some investigation tasks and ideas on the integration of investigations in primary mathematics classrooms.
Repeated as C25 & F20

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Time for YuMi Deadly Maths (Presenter: Jan Cavanagh)

Time for a change in the way we teach Time! The YuMi Deadly Maths programs have a variety of body, hand and mind activities to help teachers to present to students from disadvantaged backgrounds the basics of mathematics in a practical way. Be prepared to learn about “time well spent” in a hands-on practical workshop. Jan Cavanagh works with teachers on several projects from QUT - YuMi Deadly Centre.
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Bridging the Gap (Presenters: Tanya Smith, Sophie Matta)

In this workshop participants will be involved in breaking ‘tricky’ mathematical concepts into three levels of ability and adapting hands-on activities aimed at scaffolding weaker or less confident students to a higher level of understanding. This session will show how questions and investigations can be adapted to engage more students and encourage individuals to develop their own set of learning strategies. Teaching strategies outlined in the workshop will also show ways that we, as educators, can support the transition from primary to secondary mathematics in a mixed ability classroom. Participants will leave with ready-to-go maths activities, and new ideas for teaching mathematics.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as C27 & G21

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A Problem to Tease You (Presenter: Derek Holton)

I will take one problem and show how it might be used in a classroom. The problem should be accessible in various ways to students at different levels. It will involve extensions and generalisations and I hope to give some idea of the way a mathematician works when looking at a problem. As it turns out that is not too different from the way students are able to look at problems. This session is a repeat of another session but with a different problem.
Repeated as C28 & H16

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Teaching Families to Learn Maths at Home (Presenters: Nathaniel Bradshaw, Justin Matthys)

In this session three Family School Partnerships activities will be presented. These are college-run and involve family participation and peer-to-peer mentoring. The “Learning at Home” program provides an environment where families participate in numeracy exercises with a view to better being able to support learning at home. At the “Gaming Choices” evening, students present to an audience of their peers and parents about different types of video games, their potential benefits and potential risks. “Maths Club” is a weekly program where senior mathematics students tutor junior students who are in need of numeracy support. The session will equip attendees with a model for running similar programs successfully within a school, as well as relevant web-based resources.
Repeated as C30 & D21

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CAS in Years 7 and 8: What! Why and How (Presenter: Sue Garner)

This session will consider how Computer Algebra Systems (CAS) could be used by teachers in Years 7 and 8 Mathematics Classrooms. Even for teachers who are wary of this type of calculator’s use for students this young, there are ways that this tool can enhance learning by showing patterns in number, graphs and elementary algebra. Teachers will be guided through some of the activities in the Teacher Editions from Nelson Think Maths for Year 7 and 8.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as C31 & G27

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Quiz-it Maths! A Trivia Show Mixing Pop Culture With Maths (Presenters: Peter Curry, David Warneke)

Quiz-it maths combines year level appropriate subject matter with pop culture to produce an entertaining and educational trivia competition. Designed for Years 7 and 8 the quiz is an excellent way to gauge student’s knowledge before an idea is explored, or to revise content. Quiz-it maths includes DVD games, such as The Triangulator, Maths Genie, PrimeTime, Panda’s Problem and many more. This demonstration will re-create the incursion where professionally trained, energetic Quiz Meisters will come to your school to present the quiz in a location of your choice. Questions are presented along with current pop music to create an exciting and competitive environment that will make you feel like a TV show has arrived at your campus. This is the most fun you will have at the MAV conference. As one participant commented last year…”This was the best session ever!” And another… “I can’t believe I won a double movie pass, it was much better than the protractor I won in the geometry session before lunch!”
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as C32 & H22

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CANCELLED - Achieving Better Results by Tailoring Mathematics to Individual Students’ Needs With Assess (Presenter: Sam Hopley)

The average mathematics classroom is home to a diverse range of student needs and abilities. The accessibility and flexibility of Assess allows teachers to scaffold and support while providing great opportunities for inquiry-based and student-lead learning. Students are more engaged and will achieve much better results when challenged at the appropriate level. This session will demonstrate a variety of uses of Assess in the classroom as a teaching and learning tool as well as a means to gauge the progress of individuals and the class as a whole.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as C33 & E31

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Using Mathematica in the Classroom - By Teachers for Teachers (Presenters: Karen Reid, Carmen Popescu-Rose)

Mathematica is computational software which we, as teachers, have discovered to be a very powerful teaching and learning tool. It helps demonstrate concepts, create supporting course materials, assessment tasks, and presentations, and engages students in interactive learning, exploring and developing an understanding of mathematical concepts. It can be used from basic computations to very complex operations. Bring your laptop and begin to explore and use some of the functionality of Mathematica for the classroom. Teachers from government schools have access to Mathematica as part of the EduStar package. Teachers who do not have a Mathematica licence can download a free trial version from Wolfram Research.
Repeated as C36 & G30

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‘Realistic Mathematics Education’ for Secondary Maths (Presenters: Bruce Schmidt, Peter Durance)

The Dutch approach to teaching mathematics ‘Realistic Mathematics Education’ (RME) has 6 guiding principles that can be used as a framework to guide the development and teaching of a secondary maths unit of work. RME particularly promotes ‘learning by doing’, the value of social interaction in the learning process, and the importance of guiding students to experience the development, usefulness and relevance of mathematics with curriculum goals in mind. This workshop will present an overview of RME and its principles, and how they translate into practice with some example activities and experiences.
Repeated as C37 & D28

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Interactive Diagrams for Understanding Maths on a Computer - Secondary (Presenter: Ian Lowe)

Ian has become a master in the use of interactive diagrams, created in Excel, to help students develop their understanding of mathematical ideas. These are available from MAV on the CD “Interactive Learning”. Ian will demonstrate many of these in all curriculum areas, and show how they fit into the ‘Teach Maths for Understanding’ Differentiated Unit Plans.
(Commercial Presentation)
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Resourcing Financial Literacy in the Australian Curriculum (Presenters: Anne Nunan, Katrina Birch)

Traditionally, only students studying Business and SOSE have been exposed to financial literacy education. Mathematics has a significant role in supporting young people to become financially literate. Financial Literacy is also an ideal context for developing competency and confidence in numeracy. Implications for curriculum development in Mathematics, and methods of implementation will be addressed. A range of strategies for incorporating ESSI Money within the middle school curriculum will be demonstrated in a practical session. ESSI Money is an engaging digital resource which provides an opportunity for middle school students to learn how to better manage personal finances. Financial Basics Foundation is a registered charity. FBF teaching resources are provided FREE OF CHARGE to all Australian secondary schools.
Repeated as C41 & D32

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The Quantified Self - Collecting and Visualising Data About You… (Presenter: Colin Chapman)

The quantified self framework seeks to collect data using simple technologies about an individual’s inputs, states and performance. The framework foregrounds data processing, analysis and presentation to facilitate decision making for participants. The session will be interactive featuring platform neutral techniques for collecting data about the self. A broad range of data collection techniques will be explored using a variety of different microprocessors, smartphones and physical instruments. Cloud based cooperative tools for data processing, analysis and presentation will be featured and explored for opportunities to engage classroom participants in collaborations that reach beyond the borders of their school.
Repeated as C43 & D33

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Physical, Hands-On Activities for General and Further Mathematics (Presenters: Kara Fox, Duane Anderson)

Mathematics in a secondary classroom can sometimes be a static, unimaginative environment where students are caught in a routine that bears little relevance to the world we live in. As part of our Professional Development goals we actively implemented a range of physical and hands-on activities in our General Maths and Further Maths class in order to engage a wider range of learners and also bring a point of difference to our classes. In this workshop we will be sharing some of these ideas.
Repeated as C44 & D34

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Teaching with the iPad (Presenters: Freda Goddard, Ian Taylor)

Doceri is the professional iPad interactive whiteboard and screencast recorder with built-in remote desktop control, from SP Controls. This session will showcase how we’ve used Doceri in the classroom and the powerful impact it has had on our lessons. Connect to Doceri Desktop to access, control and annotate over any file or program on your computer. You can create, edit, replay and perfect your hand-drawn lesson or annotated presentation before recording a screencast. ‘Doceri Remote’ is available free in the iTunes App store. Download a free trial of ‘Doceri Desktop’ at www.Doceri.com
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as C45 & E37

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So This Will Be/Has Been Your First Year of Teaching Mathematics? (Presenter: Rob Vermay)

An experienced mathematics teacher at the end of his career shares a range of ideas, strategies and resources that may be of interest to beginning teachers. This session will explore issues of interest to new mathematics teachers including variety in your teaching, motivating students, common errors, class and time management, settling into a new school, etc. Other issues may arise during discussion and will also be addressed. This is a repeat of a popular option presented in 2011.
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Discussion of Broader Issues in Teaching About the Mathematics of Gambling: Past, Present and Future (Presenter: Donald Smith)

Teaching about gambling to secondary students in maths classes is fraught with difficulty: It’s not in the curriculum, and left out of text books. It’s opposed by parents: Introducing commercial gambling games grooms students. It’s been done badly in the past. Individual teachers do it in an ad-hoc way. Probability concepts are hard to understand. Government sponsored curriculum interventions get it wrong. The Productivity Commission is against it because it hasn’t worked... Let’s talk through a range of these issues together: Have you used gambling in your teaching? Do you have colleagues who have used it badly? What restrictions do you face in class planning? Have you used Government sponsored gambling teaching materials? What are maths teacher’s social responsibilities?
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Mathematica Notebooks as Pedagogical and Assessment Tool for Mathematical Methods (CAS) (Presenters: Trevor Raine, Jennifer Palisse, David Leigh-Lancaster)

Participants will work with sample Mathematica notebooks developed as pedagogical and assessment tools for Mathematical Methods (CAS) Units 1-4 as part of a small scale VCAA computer-based exam trial. These notebooks are teacher and/or student interactive digital files that incorporate text, graphics and computations, and can be readily shared and modified. Benefits and challenges from implementation experience in 2012 will also be discussed briefly. No previous experience with Mathematica is required, however participants should be familiar with working in a Windows environment.
Repeated as C49 & D44

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How Helpful Was the CAS Calculator in this Year’s 2nd Methods Exam? (Presenter: Kevin McMenamin)

Savvy use of the CAS calculator in past Methods 2 examination questions has shown it to be advantageous and worth the time and effort of getting to know its workings. Generally at least half of the multiple choice questions and many parts of the extended answer questions benefit from good calculator skills. This hands-on session will get you using the calculator to see just how helpful (or not) it was with this year’s questions. The most efficient methods will be presented and questions where the calculator should be avoided will be pointed out. Although the Casio ClassPad will be the featured CAS, the content is readily transferrable for TI-Nspire users.
Repeated as C50 & G42

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Hands-On ClassPad Tips and Tricks for Upper School Teachers (Presenter: Charlie Watson)

This workshop is a hands-on session for teachers to explore some of the not so obvious features of the Casio ClassPad that are useful for them and their upper school students. We will be jumping between Main, eActivities, Geometry and most other applications. Participants are assumed to have a reasonable working knowledge of ClassPad to keep up with the hands-on activities, but if you don’t, just come along, sit back and let the ideas wash over you. Bring your own ClassPad where possible and you can load copies of the activities onto it.
Repeated as C51 & H37

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It’s Christmas! Let’s Celebrate and Pop a Cork… or Two! (Presenter: John Bament)

We are going to investigate how pressure changes and makes a particular sound; for example, when you open a champagne bottle by using a pressure sensor with a syringe. The syringe represents the bottle and the plunger represents the cork; the sensor measures how the pressure changes over time when you pull the plunger from the syringe. We are going to set up our own experiment and see how you can configure sensors and triggers so you will not miss the actual ‘pop’.
Repeated as C52 & H38

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Is there Harmony in Polynomials? (Presenter: Marc Adam)

This session makes use of the CAS facility on the calculators to investigate patterns and relationships between successive roots of generalised polynomials to arrive at some intriguing results. It is a great way to use CAS to explore ideas useful for high school algebra and leads simply to some extending students a little beyond the scope of the course. The activities can be done on any platform that has CAS and geometric construction capability.
Repeated as C53 & D49

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Teaching and Learning Maths Through Games (Presenters: Peggy Ashton, Jennifer Vincent)

This session will explore a variety of games for developing students’ mathematical skills and concepts. The purpose and value of incorporating games into the classroom program will be outlined. Participants will have the opportunity to workshop a variety of games, providing a rich resource for use in their own classroom. A CD of all materials will be provided.
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Teach Maths with Games Using Mangahigh.com (Presenter: Mohit Midha)

Mangahigh.com is the first curriculum compliant digital-games-based maths resource designed to be used by schools. It inspires incredible enthusiasm amongst students, while offering unique insights to teachers on students’ ability and effort. The recent launch of m-sensei, a virtual tutor, creates an individualised learning program for each student - personalising their learning, identifying gaps in their skills and recommending activities to address these gaps. Mangahigh, wildly popular in the UK and US, is now available to schools across Australia, offering the Australian Curriculum. Join us for this presentation and receive your FREE 30 day trial.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as C-D2 & F-G1

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Having Fun with Numeracy and Maths (Presenter: Dave Tout)

In order to engage most students in maths and numeracy in the middle years and VCAL the maths taught needs to move beyond the textbook, worksheets and chalk and talk to offer an alternative approach and a chance for ALL students to succeed and enjoy maths. In this hands-on workshop participants will experience a range of games and activities suitable for classroom use. The activities focus on the development of core maths skills through approaches such as co-operative group work that also encourage the development of mathematical language, the use of real-life and hands-on materials, as well as on enjoyment and having fun with maths. The maths content will focus on areas such as number, measurement, statistics and data and location and direction and the activities will illustrate alternative approaches to the traditional worksheet or textbook approach for teaching numeracy and maths.
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Enrich Student Learning with TI-Nspire PublishView (Presenter: Neale Woods)

PublishView is one of the dynamic features of the TI-Nspire software. PublishView documents allow the user to create electronic documents that incorporate text, images, videos and internet links, as well as the seven TI-Nspire applications. These powerful documents allow teachers and students the opportunity to create a wealth of material to enrich learning in the mathematics classroom. In this session, participants will have a hands-on opportunity to learn how to create TI PublishView documents. Creating animations and Lua programming will also be covered in the session. This workshop is suitable for both CAS and non-CAS.
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What Could/Should a School CAS Look Like? (Presenter: Stephen Arnold)

The computer algebra systems that we currently use are based on a foundation that was never intended for the classroom, and we continue to bear that burden as we seek to implement them as tools for learning mathematics, and not just tools for doing mathematics. This is particularly evident when we consider the potential for such use within the junior secondary years. In this session we consider some of the issues and concerns, and raise some possible directions that may serve to make these powerful tools more appropriate for classroom use. A prototype (developed in TI-Nspire using Lua) is offered for consideration.
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Further Maths SACs - Design and Assessment (Presenter: Andrew Stewart)

Two experienced FM teachers will discuss a number of alternatives in grading/assessing SACs. SAC designs for the Core and a number of SAC types for the Modules will be presented, and participants will be encouraged to share their experiences.
Repeated as C-D6 & F-G8

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Differentiation - Practical Strategies That Really Work (Presenter: Tierney Kennedy)

KEYNOTE - The reality of modern classroom teaching is that no teacher has a class of students who are all working at the one level. Teachers who aim their maths lesson at only one or two groups of learners are choosing to believe in a myth that this type of class still exists, if in fact it ever did. With the added stress of implementing the Australian Curriculum while catering for the diversity of learners that exist in the average classroom, teachers will find this keynote address refreshing and timely. Tierney Kennedy will share personal experiences and highly practical tips for differentiating within single-grade and multi-level classes rather than generic advice, principles and theories.

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Engaging Students Through Differentiated, Web-based Learning (Presenter: Alan Power)

MyMaths is a superior, web-based, interactive T&L resource covering each curriculum Year K-12. Lessons merge teaching and learning to enable teachers to develop a mentoring style and to engage students in a differentiated, interpersonal way. The MyMaths Assessment Manager is a powerful support platform for the T&L resources which enables continuous assessment of each student’s learning performance and provides all the information necessary to optimise learning profiles for as long as the students are at the school. Hands-on workshops will focus more on the Assessment Manager.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as D4 & G4

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Fluency Activities to Consolidate Number Learning (Presenters: Hayley Hoy, Rachael Lenehan)

This is a hands-on workshop that gives classroom teachers daily activities that will promote fluency in mathematics. Developing mathematical fluency is best done little and often rather than in less, frequent, longer blocks of time. We will share our experiences with tracking student improvement and retention of concepts and strategies as well as those tried and tested high quality experiences.
Repeated as D8 & G6

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Place Value and Estimation (Presenter: Rob Proffitt-White)

This session takes the audience through the development of place value through the different proficiency strands. It looks at tried and tested activities that schools have been adopting in the last 6 months to gauge students’ procedural and conceptual knowledge of place value from the Early Years into the lower Secondary Schools. Rob will share some results and teacher ideas from small research projects that he has developed in schools throughout the last 12 months.
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How Can We Use Google Earth in Mathematics Class (Presenter: Dennis Fitzgerald)

Google Earth is a free program that most students and teachers are familiar with although mostly to view their own house. Google Earth has measurement capabilities and works in a number of measurement units as well as longitude and latitude. With the use of GPS devices students can develop a better understanding of shapes and scale.
Repeated as D10 & E12

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From NFI to WTF A Strategic Shift (Presenters: Martin Westwell, Kristin Smith, Deb Lasscock)

From Not Following Instructions to Willing To Fail. The Australian Curriculum demands a transformation in the students’ experiences from passive compliance to active learning. Research findings give educators some insights into the ways that student cognition and learner self-concept underpin this transformation. Student abilities to see themselves as effective learners and develop their stop and think skills are shaped in the classroom. Traditionally this has been left to chance but we are now in a position like never before to take control. This presentation will be followed up with workshops throughout the conference.
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Mathletics “Assessment and Reporting” (Presenters: Andrew Nicholls, Lauren Anderson)

This course is all about how to use results obtained within Mathletics to drive student learning in schools. It steps teachers through the process of using Mathletics for formative assessment, identifying areas of strength and weakness by looking at individual student data in Results Manager. Teachers are shown how to respond to this form of assessment by creating subsets (groups) within their class to extend or consolidate the knowledge of the different ability groups. Teachers are shown how to modify course curriculum content in order to design individual or group programs of study for students who need greater degrees of differentiation.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as D13 & F17

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Grouping for Problem Solving: ‘Same Pace of Thinking’ (Presenters: Gaye Williams, Judith Harrington, Sharon Goldfinch)

Gaye and teachers at Brunswick South West Primary School have worked together since 2004, developed strategies for implementing problem solving in mathematics, and investigated effects of varying group composition. In this session, Gaye (previous classroom teacher now researcher), and Judy and Sharon (Grade 5/6 teachers) share what they have learnt about how grouping by ‘same pace of thinking’ rather than performance (mixed, similar) can increase learning opportunities. Participants will work in small groups, try grouping their own students this way, and develop strategies, and identify issues for discussion. Bring a class list (and maybe individual student work): to stimulate thinking/discussion.
Repeated as D16 & H13

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Using Whole Numbers and Number Lines to Develop Fraction Concepts (Presenters: Catherine Pearn, Max Stephens)

This presentation focuses on students’ use and understanding of number lines in two main ways. First, it examines how students represent fractions on a number line, particularly the strategies they employ when placing simple fractions on a number line, without necessarily measuring, but relying on making sensible subdivisions ‘by eye’. A second focus is on how number lines, initially involving whole numbers and their fractional parts, can be used to develop fractional language and to articulate fractional concepts that can subsequently be applied to fractions themselves.
Repeated as D18 & G22

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4 Arm Shapes & Other Visual Algebra Experiences (Presenter: Douglas Williams)

4 Arm Shapes looks so much like a text book exercise. However, by approaching it as a mathematician might and drawing on best practice teaching craft, it becomes a challenge that introduces generalisation in words and symbols, substitution, solution of equations, equivalent algebraic expressions and linear graphs in a concrete, visual manner that makes sense. If you have ever thought your students haven’t really ‘got it’ with a text-based approach to algebra, then building in more of these visual algebra experiences might make the difference.
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To LAF or Not to LAF That is the Question? (Presenters: Christine Lenghaus, Jason McIntosh)

Multiplicative thinking is no LAFfing matter! The Learning Assisted Framework (LAF) is a DEECD resource which our school has run over the past three years for our Year 7 students. It is designed to scaffold a student’s learning in moving from additive thinking (35+35+35) to multiplicative thinking (3x35). This mode of thinking is the basis to move our students on in fractions, algebra, ratio and other topics. In class, our LAF lessons are run in groups of like ability, so come and see how we have evolved this resource, run it in our classrooms and experience some of the activities!
Repeated as D20 & H17

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Make Australian Curriculum Algebra Interesting and Understandable (Presenter: Ian Lowe)

Algebra and Number are wisely linked in the Australian Curriculum, as Algebra is based on generalisations about numbers. Participants in this workshop will explore a number of hands-on activities from Years 5 to 10 that assist students to understand the meaning of algebra, from patterns, functions and graphs, to equation solving, factorising and expanding. Examples will come from Maths300, RIME and Active Learning and be linked to the “Teach Maths for Understanding” Differentiated Unit Plans.
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Spook Numbers? Squimes? Invent Your Own Finite Set (Presenter: Bruce Henry)

97364 is a squime. Its first digit is a prime or a square, the next two digits (97) make a prime or a square. The next two digits (73) make a prime or a square, the next two (36) do, as do 64. The last digit is a prime or a square. There are no zeros and no repeated digits. The set of squimes is clearly finite. This session will look at some finite sets like squimes and show how they can be used to produce different, interesting classroom activities.
Repeated as D23 & E25

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Online Maths Resources (Presenter: Hang Nguyen)

Teachers will be shown a wide range of free resources and programs that are available online; including Maths activities, to printable worksheets, to downloading videos from Youtube.
Repeated as D24 & H19

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Analysing Students’ Result Through Box-Plot Using Excel for Middle to Later Years Mathematics (Presenters: Iqbal Hossain, Rudy Birsa)

A Boxplot is a convenient way of graphically depicting numerical data. This is a very effective means of visually displaying single or multiple data sets. Differences between data are readily discernible using this method of representation. In this hands-on session, participant will use students’ results (i.e. sample data) to construct box plots using MS Excel software. A comparison between the plots will be made based on a statistical understanding of each individual plot. This is a very useful tool in assessing where students strengths or weaknesses lie. The session is suitable for teachers with beginner level MS Excel skills.
Repeated as D25 & E29

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Using Mathematica in the Classroom - By Teachers for Teachers (Presenters: Karen Reid, Carmen Popescu-Rose)

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Using Qedoc on Netbooks to Provide Multimedia Differentiation with LMS Student Tracking (Presenter: Damien Bushby)

Qedoc reader is free software that runs well on netbooks to allow multimedia questions. Student tracking is available on an LMS (such as on Moodle via QuizPort) without the need for continual server access. Teachers can create their own publicly available modules (free version) or limit access to their school (paid licence). As well as mathematical based questions containing variable (randomly generated) values there are questions types that can contain sounds and pictures. With thoughtful structuring of modules students can be differentiated towards consolidation, standard progression or acceleration.
Repeated as D29 & H24

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Middle School Mathematics: An Integrated Approach Using Manipulatives, MATHOMAT and Geometry Software (Presenters: John Lawton, Michael O’Connor)

This workshop explores the integration that is possible between widely available classroom materials such as pattern blocks, the MATHOMAT template and THE GEOMETERS SKETCHPAD software. Participants will explore some of the mathematics in a series of lessons being published by OLM adapted to the Australian curriculum by Michael O’Connor from the original US series written by Henri Picottio. These lessons will support and enrich middle school mathematics classes of all ability levels. The integrated and creative use of a variety of popular resource materials demonstrated in this workshop provides excellent opportunities for discussion with students about subtle and important ideas.
Repeated as D30 & E34

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Oranges or Lemons - CAS in the 7-10 Curriculum (Presenters: Gael McLeod, Antje Leigh-Lancaster)

How could CAS enrich the 7-10 curriculum? How could it be used to improve mathematical understanding? This session is aimed at 7-10 Mathematics teachers who are unfamiliar with CAS. Explore how the new Australian Curriculum Pearson Mathematics series has integrated CAS technology and discover that CAS is an exciting teaching tool - oranges dipped in chocolate. Both TI-Nspire and Casio ClassPad calculators will be available, however you are welcome to bring your own.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as D31 & G32

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MATHSPACE- Never Mark Homework Again. Seriously (Presenter: Mohamad Jebara)

Imagine if you didn’t have to worry about tediously marking homework - if marking could be done automatically, so you could focus on teaching. Imagine being able to snapshot each of your students’ strengths and weaknesses in a few seconds. Imagine an online maths tool that taught students how to set out their working. Mathspace is a structured and thorough math teaching and learning tool suite, not a simple multiple choice game. It allows students to input FULL working for algebra, geometric proofs and reasoning, and even allows students to easily draw probability trees and their own graphs, all on the one page.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as D35 & E40

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Efofex on the Mac (Presenter: Paul Hooper)

Efofex is releasing its products on the Mac platform. This session will show participants how to use the products in a Mac environment and a dual platform (Mac & Win) school.
(Commercial Presentation)
Not repeated

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Creating Quizzes and Tests Using Mathematica (Presenter: Craig Bauling)

As instructors we continually strive to create student assessments that are relevant to curriculum standards, consistent with the uses of technology in our schools, easy to grade and fair to all levels of students. These and other requirements make the creation of assessment tools like quizzes and tests challenging. Join Craig Bauling from Wolfram Research as he presents a variety of assessment formats developed using Mathematica. Many of these have been used by teachers in their assessment activities. Attendees with be given access to presented resources so they can adopt them to their personal classroom setting.
Not repeated

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Lucky Colours of Sunshine: Teaching the Mathematics of Gambling Loss (Presenters: Donald Smith, Joe Wilson)

Lucky Colours of Sunshine is a simple gambling game, which is thoroughly analysed by collection and display of in class participant data, and comparison with expectation over time. New this year are interactive displays in Mathematica, freely available, which help to ram home the reasons why you can’t win in the long run on commercial chance gambling like poker machines. Participants will be provided with classroom teaching support materials ready to use in both paper and electronic form.
Not repeated

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Mobile Phone Plans: Which Offer Do You Choose? (Presenter: Kevin McMenamin)

The multitude of mobile phone plans out there provides a wonderful opportunity to create a mathematical investigation for middle school students using CAS technology. The task you will work through in this session gets you to simulate, model and investigate a selection of plans using the CAS technology with the aim of deciding on the ‘best plan’. The focus of the task is using the random number, spreadsheets and graphing functionality of the technology to quickly and efficiently model the use of a mobile phone. The investigation also aims to give students a good understanding of how mobile plans work. The featured calculator will be the Casio ClassPad but the task is applicable to any CAS.
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Unwrapping the Circle (Presenter: Susie Groves)

While an understanding of trigonometry and trigonometric functions is an important part of secondary school mathematics, the ‘triangle approach’ emphasises computation and procedural skills and makes it difficult for students to move to a deep understanding of sine and cosine as functions defined on a unit circle. This workshop will explore ways of enhancing students’ understandings of circular functions and angular measurement in radians through a model of motion on a ferris wheel using the MATHOMAT in its concrete and online (virtual) versions as a powerful tool to integrate graphical and algebraic aspects of trigonometric functions.
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Graphics Hand-Held Computers: Exploring New Possibilities (Presenters: Daniel Milutinovic, Christopher Longhurst)

Using hand-held technology in the classroom has been both a breakthrough in making mathematics real for students and a new pressure on the teacher. Using technology should be an easy, seamless process for both teacher and student. In this workshop we will demonstrate that simple programs written for the hand-held device can be an advantage not only for the explanation of difficult concepts but allow the student to visualise the mathematical concepts fully. A library of applications, created specifically to address the needs of students studying mathematics in Victorian secondary schools, comprises a set of powerful programs that employ intuitive, easy to use interfaces grouped according to subject. Students can, for example, run a program in the Specialist Mathematics folder to study motion on an inclined plane, a program in the Mathematical Methods folder to study the unit circle or estimate the gradient of a curve at a point, or a program in the Further Mathematics folder to automatically smooth data or find the maximum flow in a network. This allows lessons to be easily planned, taught and understood by the students.
Repeated as D43 & H36

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Colourful Conics on the TI-Nspire CAS (Presenters: Raymond Rozen, Shirly Griffith)

In this hands-on session participants will have the opportunity to engage with a number of mathematical activities which use the TI-Nspire CAS calculator with Operating System v3.2. Investigations include some of the new features of Version 3.2 and other activities, including creating a locus of points for ellipses and hyperbolae. These activities are suitable for the TI-Nspire CAS ClickPad and TouchPad and Teacher Software. Previous experience with using the TI-Nspire is not essential.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as D45 & F41

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Hands-On in the Upper School with ClassPad eActivities (Presenter: Charlie Watson)

The incredible flexibility and diverse applications of eActivities is often overlooked by many ClassPad users. This workshop is a hands-on session for upper school teachers to see what’s possible and then develop their skills in using and creating eActivities to pass on to their students. Participants are assumed to have a reasonable working knowledge of ClassPad to keep up with the hands-on activities, but if you don’t, just come along, sit back and let the ideas fire up your enthusiasm. Bring your own Classpad where possible to load free copies of example eActivities onto it.
Repeated as D46 & G43

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Travel to the 7 Wonders of the Natural World (Presenter: Brett Stephenson)

The Travelling Salesman Problem has been a classical mathematics and computer science problem that was first posed in 1930 but has remained ‘unsolved’. Despite this, the problem can be presented to students and considered when looking at an activity to find the shortest possible distance travelled to get to a number of cities (or wonders). This session will look at travelling to the 7 wonders of the world and how we can utilise technology as the Casio ClassPad to assist us.
Not repeated

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The Shoemaker’s Knife (Presenter: Hussein Tahir)

The Shoemaker’s Knife (Arbelos) is the region enclosed by three semicircles on the same diameter. This geometric characteristic has amazing properties, some of which were first pointed out by Archimedes. Over the years, more mathematicians have investigated the Arbelos and added to its many interesting features. Do yourself a favour - find out about the mysterious properties of the Shoemaker’s Knife and take it into your classroom and fascinate your students!
Repeated as D48 & G44

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Give Me One Good Reason (Presenter: Leicha Bragg)

KEYNOTE - Give me one good reason why we should be focusing on mathematical reasoning in the primary classroom. What is our argument for its inclusion? How can we justify it? Wait a minute, isn’t answering these questions reasoning? Reasoning is one of the proficiency strands in the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics. The proficiency strands engage our students in thinking and doing mathematics and are the glue that ties together the content strands. In this presentation I will give you more than one good reason for the inclusion of reasoning in your daily practice. An array of stimulating tasks, strategies and question prompts developed over time through my classroom practice and research, and informed also by the resources from the AAMT / MAV In Teacher’s Hands Project and findings from the Deakin University Mathematical Reasoning Research Group (MaRRG) will be presented to encourage primary students to analyse, justify, and explain their thinking.

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Maths and Games (Presenter: Dain Hedgpeth)

KEYNOTE - A childhood lover of physics and math, Dain almost strayed from the path when due to what he saw as a lack of practical application or realistic career opportunity, he entered the corporate sector. He later re-engaged with his old passion for science and set up his own business making video games, 3D graphics and interactive technology. Years later and he has had the chance to build a surfing video game, design a car racing simulation to run on the world’s largest iMax screen and work on a project to carry the highest hot-air balloon mounted camera into space. This talk shares with educators some of the cool life opportunities science and math can provide in a time when technology is one of the most exciting fields to be in, opportunities which might be obscured from the average classroom student struggling to get the hang of basic vector algebra and seemingly pointless Greek symbols.

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Early Years Concept Map (Presenter: Rob Proffitt-White)

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Children’s Literature in the Primary Mathematics Classroom (Presenter: Julie Clark)

This workshop will explore a range of children’s literature to support teaching mathematics in the Australian Curriculum (F-6). Participants will explore books such as The Greedy Triangle, Sir Cumference and the Knights of the Round Table and the Warlords series. Teachers will engage in some activities connected to the stories and discuss strategies to connect the books across the three mathematics content strands.
Repeated as E4 & F7

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Differentiating Instruction: Place Value Concepts, P-6 (Presenter: Anita Chin)

Children’s images of numbers and the development of place value understanding begins in the early years with counting and part-part-whole ideas and progresses to partitioning numbers in standard and non-standard forms. However, many students use inefficient strategies or rote-learnt procedures for computation and struggle with the concept of ten-ness. This hands-on workshop will provide practical ideas for differentiating both the concept being taught as well as the concrete materials being used. Participants will experience parallel tasks to meet the full range of all students’ needs and abilities at different developmental levels whilst addressing the same big idea. Black line masters provided.
Repeated as E5 & F11

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There’s More Than One Way to Flip a Shape (Presenter: Dan Jazby)

When conducting a lesson study into students’ development of spatial-visual reasoning, I uncovered a commonly held teacher belief which negatively impacts on student learning; the belief that spatial-visual reasoning has to be spatial-visual. Using a comprehensive review of the research literature on the development of spatial-visual reasoning, results from the lesson study and two case studies of exceptional students, this presentation argues that logical deduction is an overlooked yet essential element of spatial-visual reasoning. The presentation also provides a summary of the key concepts students need to develop in geometry in primary school.
Repeated as E6 & H2

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Lesson Study at Parkwood Green Primary School (Presenters: Brian Doig, Brooke McKerracher, Louise Spalliera, Tim Jenkins)

There is growing worldwide interest in Japanese Lesson Study as a form of professional development, with large scale adaptations of Lesson Study taking place in many countries around the world. This presentation will describe a Lesson Study project being carried out in three Victorian schools in 2012. It will illustrate the typical Japanese structured-problem-solving research lessons that form the basis for Lesson Study, and discuss how such research lessons are planned, the role of the teacher, as well as identify issues relating to the adaptation in Australia of Lesson Study as a means of professional development.
Not repeated

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Interactive Diagrams for Understanding Maths on a Computer - Primary (Presenter: Ian Lowe)

Ian has become a master in the use for interactive diagrams, created in Excel, to help students develop their understanding of mathematical ideas. These are available from MAV on the CD “Interactive Learning”. Ian will demonstrate many of these in all curriculum areas, and show how they fit into the “Teach Maths for Understanding” Differentiated Unit Plans.
(Commercial Presentation)
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Probability and Statistics in The Australian Curriculum (Presenter: Laurel Smith)

This session has a focus on the implementation of the Probability and Statistics strand of the Australian Curriculum. It will look at a range of tasks that can be fun and engaging for students while also being able to be used as assessment tasks.
Repeated as E9 & F10

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Nelson Maths - 100% Coverage of the APPROVED Australian Curriculum (Presenter: Pauline Rogers)

Join our author team as they explain the series written specifically to assist teachers in the implementation of the APPROVED Australian Curriculum, and showcase the components and features of Nelson Maths: Australian Curriculum. The session will cover how we explicitly link the components to the F-10 Mathematics Curriculum Strands, Content Descriptions and Codes; the importance of basing Nelson Maths on the final and approved F-10 Mathematics Curriculum; the detailed assessment component within the Student Book and how it specifically links to the Australian Curriculum; how the series caters for a range of learning styles and the mixed ability class; how the Teacher Resources will continue to support the whole class-small group-whole class approach and provide teachers with an array of hands-on and investigative tasks; how the assessment components (including mid- and end-of-year tests) which align with the Achievement Standards from the Australian Curriculum; explain the new bridging book: Nelson Maths 6+ Extension Tasks; new ICT/IWB resources. All schools represented at the workshop will be given a complimentary Nelson Maths: Australian Curriculum Student Book, sample units from the teacher resources and handouts.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as E10 & G9

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CANCELLED - Grading and Assessment (Presenter: Tierney Kennedy)

What does it look like for students to get an A for maths now and how do we gather good evidence? How do we help students to improve? In this workshop we will discuss a simple assessment method and teachers will have a chance to grade actual student sample work!
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Mathematics Education - Military or Democratic? You Can’t Have Both (Presenter: Jude Ocean)

In this session I argue that traditional Australian mathematics education is military in style. I describe ‘military’ aspects such as silence, competitiveness, obedience, acceptance of hierarchy, the ‘drill and practice’ routine of many textbooks, and the use of language and teaching strategies that reflect a military agenda. Military systems are, by definition, not democratic systems; in fact they are the antithesis. This raises a perhaps unrecognised problem for teachers, who may inadvertently be working against democratic values when they teach mathematics in a traditional way. Examples will also be given of mathematics education initiatives that promote a democratic agenda.
Repeated as E13 & F15

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Menu Maths and Other Models for Making Mathematicians (Presenter: Douglas Williams)

Café Conundrum offers curious questions, tantalising tasks, remarkable riddles, perplexing puzzles and enticing enigmas, but most of all it offers choice. An opportunity for students to choose - and own - their mathematics learning. It is one model teachers have developed to build classrooms in which students are learning to work like a mathematician. Explore this model through Menu Maths Packs from Mathematics Centre, be introduced to other models and follow up web support. This session will be particularly interesting to schools which already own Poly Plug.
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Exploring Games In Mathematics (Presenter: Oon Hua Wong)

Children are naturally interested in games as they depict a sense of fun while they are immersed in them. The experience of incorporating games in a school will be shared and how some of these selected games can be linked to mathematics will be discussed. Literature review on the impact of playing games and mathematics will also be shared.
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High Mathematical Performance on Class Tests is Not a Predictor of Problem-Solving Ability. Why? (Presenter: Gaye Williams)

This session is designed to raise questions about why some students are willing to explore unfamiliar mathematical ideas and some are not. It provides opportunities to consider real life student cases, and make predictions about whether each student is likely to explore the unfamiliar challenging problems. Gaye then presents data on how each student responded during problem solving activity, and differences in responses are discussed. Participants identify what surprised them, and what happened as expected. The session culminates in a discussion about what we can do as teachers to increase the correlation between high test scores and problem solving capacity.
Repeated as E19 & G20

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15 Top Tips to Re-Energise Your Teaching of Mathematics (Presenter: Greg Warmbrunn)

In the cut and thrust of crowded timetables, extra-curricular activities, rambunctious students, demanding parents and the feeling you’re on your own in the teaching of mathematics, we all need to be re-encouraged, at times, with a tool set of skills and ideas that will assist in our daily teaching practice. This seminar is designed to equip, empower, energise, and re-inspire you to take on the challenges of each class so both you and your students look forward positively to the shared learning time together. All teachers are welcome, but particularly teachers starting out in their career are encouraged to attend.
Repeated as E20 & H15

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Enhancing Spatial Visualisation in the Primary Classroom with Google SketchUp (Presenters: Esther Yook-Kin Loong, Sandra Herbert)

Google SketchUp is a free downloadable software from the Internet. It is easy to learn and is available for both PC and Mac platforms. In this hands-on workshop participants will learn how to use Google SketchUp to enhance spatial thinking and visualisation in primary school children. Relevant topics such as area, perimeter and surface area will be covered.
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Teaching Through Tessellations (Presenter: Heather McMaster)

If you like to use a hands-on, investigative approach to teaching mathematics, students can do all the geometric reasoning required in the Australian Curriculum for Years 5-8 by making and investigating tessellations. Tessellations are polygons organised on a surface in a symmetrical way without leaving any gaps or overlaps. Tessellations can be created and analysed by students either digitally or through arranging cut-out shapes. They also provide a wonderful opportunity to link mathematics with art and enable creativity. In this hands-on workshop participants will be making and investigating tessellations as a small group activity.
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Using the Australasian Problem Solving Mathematical Olympiads to Enhance the Proficiency Strands (Presenters: Anne Prescott, Jon Phegan)

This workshop introduces the APSMO Maths Olympiads Program and its benefits in terms of the proficiency strands of the Australian Curriculum. The Olympiads consist of a series of five contests aimed at increasing mathematical problem solving and reasoning skills and thereby enhances enjoyment and enthusiasm for mathematics. (APSMO Inc is a not-for-profit organisation.)
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as E23 & F23

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RANTS (and Raves!): Rich Algebra and Number Tasks (Presenter: Lorraine Day)

Rich tasks, incorporating open-ended questions and investigations, can be used to expose students to alternative representations, reasoning and approaches to problem solving leading to deeper understanding. Students who are encouraged to look for patterns in their answers will discover rules and make meaning of them rather than trying to memorise rules that have no meaning for them. The Number and Algebra Strand of the Australian Mathematics Curriculum provides an opportunity for the development of rich tasks to link algebraic reasoning and arithmetical thinking to develop them simultaneously. The process of personalising, contextualising and adapting existing tasks to ensure they are rich, relevant and have the Mathematical Proficiencies embedded provides further opportunities. There are some great tasks and puzzles available that can be used as the catalyst for developing tasks that reflect your personality and interests and those of your students.
Repeated as E24 & H18

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Engaging Students in Learning Mathematics by Asking More Challenging Questions (Presenters: Peter Sullivan, Alan Stubbs, Alli Lehman, Owen Shepherd, Brendan Hislop)

We have been working on a project in which we trial an approach to teaching based on asking more challenging mathematics questions. The idea is that more challenging questions not only motivate students to persist but also encourage them to connect ideas together, to consolidate prior learning, and to use prior knowledge to solve new problems. In this session we present examples of the types of tasks we have used, and describe both the difficulties and the successes of this approach.
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What is the Best Way to Teach Mathematics? (Presenters: Leigh Thompson, Luke Blythman)

If there were a definitive answer to this question then possibly there would be no need for this conference! In teaching, what works for one teacher does not necessarily work for another, and, similarly with student learning. As it is not feasible to provide every student with an individualised program to match their learning styles with particular teaching styles, an overall varied approach may be best. Student interest in Mathematics can be gained, and furthermore sustained, by utilising this approach. The presenters believe their youth and maturity enable them to utilise their enthusiasm and experience to provide this variety.
Repeated as E27 & F28

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Slater Bugs, Carrots and My Two Daughters (Presenter: Anthony Harradine)

Data can help us to make decisions about situations that involve chance. It turns out that for many of us this is a difficult thing to do and intuitions often leads us to wrong conclusions. Come and see how slater bugs and carrots can help us to understand how to check our intuitions. The activities you will see are suitable for students across a wide range of years and help student to develop a deep understand of how probability and statistics connect.
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Ratio: New Ideas for an Old Topic (Presenter: Robert Money)

Understanding of ratio is central to ‘numeracy across the curriculum’. Mathematics teachers can lead the way in promoting approaches and applications that are both accessible and attention-grabbing - to students and to teachers in other curriculum areas. In this session we will look at the use of ratio tables as an approach to fixed-ratio problems and will discuss the potential for use of ratio tables more widely across the curriculum. Then we will compare algebraic and geometric modelling approaches to the solution of problems involving changing ratios. We will discuss the potential of categorization of problem types as a learning strategy.
Repeated as E30 & F30

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Solving Linear Equations (Presenter: Stephen Swift)

The balance model of equation solution is brought to life to provide a powerful concrete model of equation solution. Students colour and cut up some paper to represent numbers and variables to develop facility in solving equations including those with variables and constants on both sides. Participants will use pre-made materials to allow time for their use. The model naturally links physical manipulation to mental processes and leads simply to the formal solution of linear equations. The system used in this workshop can also be used to model integer operations, expansion and factorisation.
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MathsWorld for the Australian Curriculum: Print and Digital Solutions for the Classroom (Presenter: Peter Saffin)

When teaching maths outside of my area of expertise the book I was using had theory and exercises that got too hard, too quickly. I had too many students who needed help, and I had to reteach the theory or struggle on while students waited. This wasted time and was hard work! When developing MathsWorld, I made sure the books work in the classroom. Exercises are structured to allow students to achieve success, so that you have time to help those who really need it! Moving from understanding, to fluency, problem solving and reasoning. The essential package for non-maths specialists, new and experienced teachers. Participants receive two free MathsWorld texts.
(Commercial Presentation)
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The Future is Here, It’s Just Not Widely Publicised (Presenter: Peter Fox)

New technologies provide amazing opportunities, but how many of these save time, make teaching easier or have a significant impact on student learning? TI-Nspire software provides a Question Application that makes writing digital questions easy and reduces marking time to seconds. With marking out of the way, teachers can use the diagnostic tools provided in the software to gain a greater insight to student understanding. Participants in this session will create and use digital assessment items using TI-Nspire.
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Effective Mathematics Learning and Technology: Both Sides of the Möbius Strip (Presenter: Marcel van Otterdyk)

The balanced and appropriate use of technology can stimulate interest, increase proficiency and support differentiated learning pathways for our students. This session will provide an introduction to how student notebooks and a range of applications and web based resources can be used to improve understanding and aid in the development of critical thinking skills. The web based resources to be covered will include Wikispaces and Google Apps. During the session, ways in which technology can be used to facilitate formative and summative assessments will also be considered.
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Maths Meets Art - Projects Kids Will Want to Put on the Fridge (Presenter: Jennifer Palisse)

Need some colourful tasks that really engage your students no matter what their ability? Then come along and explore activities that will have your students creating drawings they can use to discover mathematical concepts. Activities include exploring sequences and series and their limiting value through Pythagorean trees; practicing index notation and pattern recognition by generating the Sierpinski triangle; and discovering the effect of transformations through the use of technology and sunsets. Each activity is intended to be visually appealing so that students will want to learn more about the maths involved and can be easily modified to suit any Middle and Senior School class.
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Reasoning - A Dog’s Tale (Presenters: Derek Holton, Kaye Stacey)

We will consider the fundamentals of reasoning from a dog’s perspective. The basics established here will be made relevant to the Australian Curriculum and show by examples how reasoning develops in students.
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An Online Numeracy Assessment Tool for Youth and Adults (Presenters: Dave Tout, Jim Spithill)

The Core Skills Profile for Adults (CSPA) is a new ACER online assessment tool that is matched to the five levels of the latest Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF). It targets young school leavers through to adults who are studying, working or returning to training and study, in the key skill areas of Reading, Writing and Numeracy. This presentation will look at the background to the development of the tool and specifically at the numeracy items and test systems that have been developed by ACER. The numeracy questions are set in a range of authentic contexts or domains relevant to adult learners with a focus on workplace and employment, education and training, and also personal and community contexts and applications. CSPA Numeracy reports provide diagnostic feedback on the learner’s performance in the focus areas of Problem solving, Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability.
(Commercial Presentation - although ACER is a not for profit company)
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Using Mathematica to Tackle Mathematical Methods (CAS) Examination 2 Multiple Choice Questions (Presenters: David Leigh-Lancaster, Brian Hodgson)

Mathematica will be used as the enabling technology to tackle various multiple-choice questions from 2006-2011 Mathematical Methods (CAS) Examination 2 papers. A collection of summary Mathematica notebooks for revision purposes based on classification of question by area of study and topic will be presented and made available. The potential for use of similar notebooks for implementation of item response analysis will also be considered briefly. Previous use of Mathematica is not assumed, however participants should be familiar with using software in a Windows environment.
Repeated as E45 & F42

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ClassPad Use, By an Experienced and a New Teacher, in the VCE (Presenters: Sue Garner, FIONA GREENWAY)

This session will look at how useful the Casio ClassPad is in the VCE. Examples and trends of typical use of the ClassPad will be given by an experienced VCE ClassPad user in Maths Methods (CAS) and Specialist Maths, but also by a teacher new to using the ClassPad in Maths Methods (CAS) and Further Maths. This session will suit those who have been using the ClassPad for a while, listening to the fine tuning of good techniques in VCE Maths. Newcomers to this particular technology will also find this session useful hearing a new teacher talk about learning to use the ClassPad and helping students gain confidence with the technology in her first two years of teaching in Victoria.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as E46 & F43

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CANCELLED - TI-Nspire and Statistics (Presenter: Ming-Gong Lee)

A TI-Nspire calculator is used to develop tools to be used in fundamental statistics in high school or college. The instruction content includes many types of plot in descriptive statistics; the Bayes’ theorem in posterior probability; interval estimates; and hypothesis testing, etc. Many examples with large data are usually implemented by computer software, but by using a handheld calculator instead, resources are saved for advanced study without waste. A study of using handheld calculator in a university of Taiwan will be given to demonstrate its effectiveness and usefulness for students in a fundamental statistics course.
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Further Maths Examinations This Year: Where Was the CAS Calculator Useful? (Presenter: Kevin McMenamin)

This session will look specifically at questions from this year’s papers that were conducive to CAS calculator use. How much content should be pre-programmed into the calculator, what hints should be recorded in the bound reference and what calculator functionality should be memorised? Each of these questions will be explored and your hands-on experience will give you the opportunity to use the calculator just like the students. Time will also be given to identifying the questions that are time consuming in calculator use and would be better done ‘by hand’. The featured calculator will be the Casio ClassPad.
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Developing Problem Solving: Moving From Conceptual Understanding and Fluency to Solve Mathematical Problems (Presenter: George Booker)

KEYNOTE - This presentation will provide an overview to the thinking that is needed to build an ability to formulate, represent and solve mathematical problems. While conceptual understanding and fluency are necessary conditions for solving problems, they are not sufficient. An analysis of what the problem is asking, determining the information and mathematical processes that need to brought to bear on the problem and adapting this understanding to form a means to a solution are also essential. Of particular importance is a connected view of mathematics as a whole so that ideas and techniques from across all mathematical domains can be brought to bear on the complex problems that will be met in everyday situations, as well as in further mathematics, and so enable students to become competent and confident users of mathematics.

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Virtual Reality Excursions - Exploring the Altona Water Treatment Facility (Presenter: David Shallcross)

KEYNOTE - In this Session we will explore the use of interactive and immersive learning environments to allow students to travel in the virtual world locations that they might never be able to otherwise. As an example we will use a virtual reality learning environment based around the City West Water Altona Water Treatment Facility built in 2010 and 2011. This facility processes sewage recycling the water for irrigation and industrial use. As well as exploring the site in the virtual environment we will also look at the design of the facility and the mathematics and engineering behind its design and operation.

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Fluency Activities for Prep to Grade 6 (Presenters: Lisa Stanford, Renee Italia, Melissa Brown)

This will be a fun, hands-on session giving you lots of practical ideas to take back to your classroom. We will provide a hard copy of all ideas shared. Learning intention:
* Share and experience fluency activities and their purpose.
* To increase your bank of fluency ideas (all dimensions of numeracy).
* Explore ways to differentiate fluency.
* Explore ways to use fluency for assessment.
Success Criteria:
* I will have completed activities and have a clear understanding of their purpose.
* I will have added to my bank of fluency ideas.
* I will differentiate fluency activities in my classroom.
* I will use fluency activities to assess in my classroom.
Repeated as F6 & H3

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Professional Development of Teachers Using Lesson Study: A Shared Journey (Presenters: Wanty Widjaja, Colleen Vale)

There is growing worldwide interest in Japanese Lesson Study as a form of professional development, with large scale adaptations of Lesson Study taking place in many countries around the world. We recently had the opportunity to visit four primary and three secondary schools in Japan to observe Japanese Lesson Study and will share with you what we learned about Japanese Lesson Study and discuss the potential of adapting Japanese Lesson Study for professional learning and school improvement in Australian primary and secondary schools. We will describe the shared journey of professional learning of teachers in these Japanese schools and share the mathematics problems used in the research lessons observed and the ‘ objectives for students learning. We will relate these objectives and teaching practices observed to the mathematical proficiencies in the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics.
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Teach Australian Curriculum Maths for Understanding - Primary (Presenter: Ian Lowe)

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Place Value and Estimation (Presenter: Rob Proffitt-White)

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What’s NEW @ Cambridge HOTmaths (Presenters: Sharon London, Victoria Cook)

Are you looking for online and print resources for your F to 10 and 10A programs? Or text and online resources for lower ability students in Years 7-10? Would you like curriculum-specific IWB resources to support your classroom teaching? At this workshop you will be discover all the new things happening at Cambridge HOTmaths: the new F-2 content, the Games Library, the new Test Generator, the Task Manager for class and homework use, the new online Professional Learning program.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as F13 & G12

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Superannuation - Ignorance May Be Bliss, But Also Expensive (Presenter: Rob Vermay)

Financial literacy is a mandatory component in the national curriculum but this topic is likely to be directly relevant to your own personal circumstances. This session attempts to demystify superannuation and help you to understand how it involves you, why you need it and the fundamentals of how it all works. We will discuss choices, access to superannuation funds, taxation, pre- and after-tax contributions and limits, opportunities and potentially expensive traps - all governed by some important and relevant regulations. This is a repeat of a popular option in 2011 with attention to new regulations effective from 1 July 2012 and may also provide substantial background for your teaching. The presenter is a mathematics teacher and not a licensed financial advisor. The only advice offered is that your best investment is likely to be in educating yourself.
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Using Maths Tasks and Mixed Groups to Improve Mathematical Proficiency in the Primary Years (Presenters: Sue O'Connell, Sue Wilson)

Linking the proficiencies of the Australian Curriculum to a range of mathematical tasks, we demonstrate how we promote engagement, enjoyment and understanding for both primary students and teachers.
Repeated as F18 & G17

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Engineering ‘aha’ Moments in Number (Presenter: Douglas Williams)

Calculating changes across the school when you stop thinking of something like 8 + 7 as an instruction to calculate and start thinking of it as an opportunity to investigate. Then the answer isn’t 15; it’s the variety of ways we can convince someone the answer is 15. This workshop offers an opportunity to experience such activities, consider the teaching craft involved and learn about web support from Calculating Changes. It will focus on Years 3-7 and is partner to the session Working Mathematically with Infants which focuses on Years K-2. You are welcome to either or both.
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The MoneySmart Project. Financial Numeracy: The Australian Curriculum Approach (Presenter: Shane O'Connor)

Implementing the Australian Curriculum is currently a major priority for all schools. At the same time, in this period of post-global financial crisis uncertainty, consumer and financial numeracy has also been identified as a major priority for all students. The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and the VCAA are leading the MoneySmart Schools Project to support schools address these two priorities. Numeracy units of work covering Years 4-10 have been developed with a financial numeracy focus. They are all aligned to the Australian Curriculum. This session will present these units of work for discussion and demonstration.
Repeated as F21 & G23

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Measurement and Technology - Using Data Loggers (Presenters: Bronwyn Quint, Daniel Avano)

Data loggers have been used in science classrooms for some time now, but can they be used in the maths classroom as well? Using data loggers, ‘real’ data can easily be collected by students using sensors. Graphs and tables can be shown to have relevance to ‘real’ events, not just numbers copied out of a book. Using data loggers to collect the data used for analysis, changes in variables can be tracked showing the resulting changes in graph shapes and data trends. Combining collected data with a program such as Excel students can easily produce tables and graphs for analysis. This presentation will include a brief overview of other Museum Victoria Maths resources.
Repeated as F24 & G24

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Bringing Maths Problems to Life on the Computer Screen (Presenters: Steven Francis, Ziad Mitiri Baroudi)

BYOB (Build Your Own Blocks) is a computer program designed to empower high school students to solve interesting problems through computer programming. This hands-on workshop, run by two teachers together with Year 7 students, will show you how it can be used to solve Maths problems like testing large numbers for primality, generating Fibonacci numbers and finding the Highest Common Factor of two numbers using Euclid’s algorithm. You will leave this session with new skills and a set of problems to use in class. BYOB was developed as an extension to Scratch at the University of California, Berkely, with high school students in mind. It is free to download and works on Windows, Mac and Linux platforms.
Repeated as F25 & G25

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Strategies for Problem Solving (Presenter: Susie Groves)

While Problem Solving is identified as one of the four Proficiency strands in the Australian Curriculum, there is little evidence of the type of problem solving included in the Working Mathematically dimension of VELS. This workshop focuses on ways in which teachers can develop their students’ sense of mathematical inquiry through mathematical activities that focus on problem solving skills and strategies.
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Encouraging Disengaged Learners to Re-engage with Maths: Investigations with the EMPower Series (Presenters: John Lawton, Richard Korbosky)

In this workshop participants will engage with some of the hands-on investigations into mathematics from the EMPower metric series published by Objective Learning Materials. Adapted to the Australian context from the original US series, the EMPower metric program focuses on building understanding through contextualised lessons that engage all students in a classroom. Performance understanding is required of students as they work collaboratively to draw important foundation concepts in numeracy out of real world settings. This new series provides teachers of non traditional numeracy and mathematics courses with a comprehensive set of well produced student investigations, supported with extensive teacher guidance.
(Commercial Presentation)
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Operations with Integers (Presenter: Stephen Swift)

The traditional method of teaching integer operations using number lines does not lead to rapid internalization and mental strategies. The system used in this workshop gives students a concrete model of integer operations that leads on naturally to concrete models of basic algebra. Students colour and cut up some paper to represent integers to develop facility in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division operations. Participants will use pre-made materials to allow time for their use. The models naturally link physical manipulation to mental processes. This is part of a general method for modelling operations with integers and performing basic algebra operations.
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GeoGebra Resources for the Australian Curriculum (Presenter: Tobias Cooper)

In this workshop I will showcase a selection of 40 GeoGebra files designed for the new Australian Curriculum. These Year 7-10 resources will be in the Nelson Think Maths series of textbooks. The Geogebra files are designed to be simple and effective teaching tools and are high quality resources-some of which took me hours to make.
(Commercial Presentation)
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Creating Interactive Learning Documents (Presenter: Peter Fox)

“The brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text.” * Static diagrams drawn on a white board are not as effective as dynamic, interactive documents that help generate understanding through powerful visuals. Participants in this workshop will see how to create interactive documents using TI-Nspire. Examples include dynamic domain restriction of functions and their corresponding inverse (Methods/Specialist), simulating loans (General/Further) and angle properties in cyclic quadrilaterals (General).
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eduSTAR (Presenters: Leanne Compton, Russell Blackie)

This session will provide an overview of the software that is available to secondary government school teachers that could be used in the mathematics classroom. In particular, the session will provide an overview of Microsoft Math, Geogebra, Yenka, InspireData and Mathematica.
Repeated as F36 & G34

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You Sunk My Space Ship! (Presenters: Hayden McQueenie, Chris Ly)

Battleship is an engaging and fun way for students to learn Directed Number concepts and skills, but is restrictive in the sense that only single co-ordinates are dealt with at any one time. In this workshop, we will use Geometer’s Sketchpad to play an extended version of Battleship, which involves controlling the trajectories of powerful lasers, and discuss how through playing this game, students can gain an understanding of Linear graphs. We will also discuss how to extend the game further to cover more advanced concepts. Prior knowledge of Geometer’s Sketchpad will not be necessary.
Repeated as F37 & H29

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Creating an Online Moodle Course for Your Mathematics Class (Presenter: Mehmet Akif Altundal)

This session is for teachers who are thinking of creating an online course for their maths classes. In this hands-on computer workshop we will create a free course for each participant with moodle at www.vcemaths.com. Participants will have the opportunity to explore the features of their brand new online course.
* How to enrol your students to the course.
* How to share documents with your students.
* How to announce marks.
* How to create and manage assignments for your students.
* How to create a homework forum.
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Mathematica™: Pandora’s Box or Classroom Empowerment II? Curriculum Development with Mathematica™ (Presenter: Brenton Groves)

Wolfram offers economic ways for teachers and students to acquire a copy. Details in the presentation. Learning to program Mathematica™ is identical to becoming fluent in a foreign language; one must learn the vocabulary and grammar. Mathematica™ has an advantage in that each ‘word’ has one meaning and the grammar is extremely flexible. Wolfram/Alpha produces Mathematica™ syntax from ordinary English requests. This presentation will contain a number of simple interactive demonstrations of programming, the Modify process, and slide show generation. It will be available on the web so teachers can investigate the material at their own pace afterwards.
Repeated as F39 & H34

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An Ocean of Opportunity: Exposing Students to Real Applications of Mathematics (Presenter: Vikram Garanlya)

What is the point of doing this? With a major reduction in the number of students studying pre-tertiary maths, we attempt to motivate and inspire students to continue with their maths studies. We apply the mathematics which students are currently learning in Australian Years 10, 11 and 12 to real-life engineering applications, with examples of integral calculus, differential equations, trigonometry and data analysis.
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Further Mathematics and the National Curriculum (Presenter: Peter Jones)

By December 2012, the content of the Australian Senior Mathematics Curriculum will be finalised. The new curriculum will comprise four subjects, one of which, General Mathematics, will replace the current VCE subject Further Mathematics. This presentation will examine the content and the achievement standards of this new subject with the aim of helping teachers prepare for teaching General Mathematics when the National Curriculum is implemented at the VCE level.
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Lua for Everyone: Getting Started with TI-Nspire Scripting (Presenter: Stephen Arnold)

TI-Nspire now supports Lua, a full scripting language that makes possible almost anything you can imagine. Many of the wonderful interactive documents and simulations for mathematics and science are now being created in Lua. Come along to this hands-on workshop and see what all the fuss is about. By the end of the session you will be creating your own simple documents in Lua, and have all the tools to go further if you choose. Lua is not just for programmers and some wonderful things are possible if you have the time and inclination! Bring a laptop or handheld with the latest version of TI-Nspire, or use a supplied handheld.
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Just Mathematics (Presenter: Anthony Harradine)

Why are you a mathematics teacher? Because you love mathematics? How much time do you currently spend ‘really’ doing mathematics? As much as you would like? Spend this session really doing mathematics. No knowledge of content outside the school curriculum required. The aim? To enjoy yourself and not think about your students. However, I promise what you learn is useable with your students if you wish. [Content is based on work done by the “Mathematics Research Group” (MRG) at Prince Alfred College during 2012. The MRG consists of teachers, mathematicians and statisticians really doing mathematics.]
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Teaching Statistics to Connect (Presenter: Helen MacGillivray)

KEYNOTE - Because Statistics is about problem-solving in contexts involving uncertainty and variation, it requires conceptual understanding, with interpretations dependent on assumptions and context, but always striving for objectivity, justification and evidence-based analysis, avoiding susceptibility to context ‘intuitions’. As variation and uncertainty are omnipresent in life and all disciplines, it is particularly important that the development of the statistical ‘story’ is coherent and purposeful, connected with everyday experiences and real data, linking with other disciplines and students’ futures, and with Data and Chance in partnership and harmony with each other. The past two decades have seen considerable discussion, research and developments across all levels of education to meet the challenges of facilitating the learning of statistical thinking and reasoning. As well as incorporating advances and providing coherent progress that meets the needs of all students, capturing the essentials
of Statistics (both Chance and Data) in curricula writings and in support materials has its own difficulties. This presentation discusses ways of facilitating connected learning in data investigation, and in real-context probability that brings together data and modelling. It refers to experiences over many years at the local, national and international levels to help you make the Australian curriculum work for you and your students.

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MathCityMap - The Outdoor Math Project (Presenter: Matthias Ludwig)

KEYNOTE - In public generally, but also in schools more and more projects which use GPS-based technology have set up during the last years. In the MathCityMap-project in Frankfurt/Germany students experience mathematics at real places and in real situations within out-of-school activities, with the help of GPS-enabled smartphones and special math problems. In this presentation I will explain the MathCityMap-project and its technical implementation as well as various opportunities to work with the project in terms of learning mathematics with the help of the latest technology. I also hope to show you first empirical results how students from middle school dealt with these out-door math problems.

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Engaging Young Children in the ‘BIG IDEAS’ in Mathematics (Presenters: Eva DeVries, Elizabeth Warren)

This hands-on session shares proven research based learning activities that assist young children from low SES and Indigenous backgrounds to effectively engage in the ‘big ideas’ in mathematics. The activities are very visual, and incorporate different modes of learning and the various mathematical representations. During this presentation we will also model how to differentiate these activities so as to cater for a diverse range of students (both in terms of their abilities and learning styles). The activities are clearly linked to the Australian mathematical curriculum and attend to ‘good’ mathematical pedagogies. These ‘take away’ activities are ready for classroom implementation.
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Lesson Study at Creekside P-9 College (Presenters: Susie Groves, David Garner, Chris Karageorge, Caraline Stone)

There is growing worldwide interest in Japanese Lesson Study as a form of professional development, with large scale adaptations of Lesson Study taking place in many countries around the world. This presentation will describe a Lesson Study project being carried out in three Victorian schools in 2012. It will illustrate the typical Japanese structured-problem-solving research lessons that form the basis for Lesson Study, and discuss how such research lessons are planned, the role of the teacher, as well as identify issues relating to the adaptation in Australia of Lesson Study as a means of professional development.
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Speaking the Maths Language! (Presenter: Greg Thomas)

Using a scaffold approach to learning, participants will explore the language within a unit of work from enVisionMATHS and explore how language becomes a vital tool in a teacher’s bag of tricks. Through this workshop, participants will be taught how to audit language and develop a whole school shared language approach to mathematics.
* To workshop the language demands in a unit of work from topic planner to single lesson plan.
* To unpack the key language required to assist children at difficult stages of mathematical growth.
* To identify elements of language within problem solving tasks.
* To explore and develop templates for mathematical planning which includes modelled language.
enVisionMATHS is a complete classroom program for teaching Primary Mathematics aligned to the Australian Curriculum.
(Commercial Presentation)
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Not MySchool! Reporting Large-Scale Assessments to Benefit Students (Presenter: Brian Doig)

This session will argue for a better way to report national (and international) assessment results in order to assist teachers in planning effective educational experiences for their students. This is achievable at little extra cost to the Education systems, so why are we not doing it? An example using TIMSS results will be used to demonstrate what is possible with some ingenuity but not much cost.
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Consolidating Basic Number Facts Through the Use of Card Games (Presenter: Linda Baron)

How often do you find children struggle to learn basic number facts or lack fluency and speed in their application because they are disengaged, ‘embarrassed’ to use concrete materials or find it boring? In this session come prepared to have some fun! Together we will explore some simple card games to promote fluency, speed and interest in learning basic number facts. We will also discuss how teacher observations and classroom conversations can assist children to reflect on their learning.
Repeated as G15 & H11

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CANCELLED - Struggles with Regrouping (Presenter: Tierney Kennedy)

Many students really struggle with the concept of regrouping in both addition and subtraction. This workshop explores simple activities for building deep understanding of regrouping and relative size.
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Fractions in a Fraction of the Time (Presenter: Douglas Williams)

Fractions seem to be one of the major points at which students ‘fall over’ in their mathematics learning. If you have the feeling that what has been done in the past... and usually done again the next year... and the next... simply hasn’t worked for many students in this topic, this workshop will help you discover alternatives. Explore different ideas, activities and structures which have helped other teachers make learning fractions a successful experience. Fractions, decimals and percentages will all be involved in this practical, hands-on, problem solving session that is supported by software.
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Using Excel to Create Statistical Displays (Presenter: Jean Arnott)

The ability to create statistical displays with and without digital technologies is expected in the Australian curriculum from Year 3 upwards. Students who efficiently use technology to create graphs are equipped to undertake rich statistical investigations. In this hands-on session participants will learn how to construct frequency tables using the countif function and then use these to construct bar charts and histograms, pie graphs, picture graphs and dot plots. A tool for drawing box plots will also be shown. Authentic data will from the CensusAtSchool questionnaire be used. The session is suitable for teachers with beginner level Excel skills.
Repeated as G19 & H14

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The Joy of Informatics (Presenter: Jan Honnens)

Informatics is the mathematics related to computer programming and includes popular topics such as networks, logic and algorithms. In this session we will go through some of the past questions from the Australian Informatics Competition and appreciate the relevance and elegance of this kind of mathematics.
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Developing Students’ Relational Understandings of Mathematics (Presenter: Heather McMaster)

The questions that students find most difficult are those that don’t quite fit any of the formulae or procedures they have practised and memorised. Students who have a relational understanding of the mathematics involved can successfully answer these questions. These students don’t just know the rules. They also understand how the rules came about and they can connect them to other understandings. In this presentation you will learn about and discuss some teaching approaches that promote the development of relational understandings in the early years of high school.
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The Evolution of the Turtle from LOGO to Lego Mindstorms Robots (Presenter: Nathaniel Bradshaw)

This presentation will explore the history of the LOGO programming language and its uses in the maths classroom then look at practical activities involving Lego Mindstorms Robots for students in Middle Secondary.
Repeated as G29 & H25

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assessON - Assign, Monitor and Track Student Progress with ease (Presenters: Shirley Sharpley, Emmanuel Azali)

Are your students doing their Maths homework? Are they getting it right? Exactly what do they understand and where do they need more help? This session will unveil assessON, a powerful, effective online tool for Mathematics that answers all these questions. It assesses students’ readiness FOR learning, their progress AS they learn and their levels OF learning. Facts are that teachers armed with this information are much better placed to undertake targeted intervention with their students. Learn how this tool can be seamlessly integrated into your classroom and how it dovetails into the new Jacaranda Maths Quest 7-10A Australian Curriculum series.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as G31 & H28

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From Paper to Screen: Computer-Based Assessment of Mathematics - Lessons from PISA (Presenters: Dave Tout, Jim Spithill)

Computer-based assessment of mathematics (CBAM) items were used for the first time in PISA 2012. They provided the potential to expand the capacities for mathematical literacy assessment, relative to paper-based items. This presentation will describe the benefits, and challenges, of developing computer-based assessment of mathematics for PISA, and describe the framework that the presenters developed for categorising the different types of computer interactivity used. Examples of the capacity and spread of the type of items will be presented and discussed, based both on the publicly-released PISA CBAM items and the knowledge about all the items that were used in the 2011 field trial and then in the final main study across the world in 2012. It is interesting to note that some critics asserted that there is ‘no maths’ in some items, but we argue that the relegation of computational matters to automatic calculation allows us to get at the higher-order thinking that is the key to effective mathematical literacy assessments.
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What’s an English Teacher Doing in a Mathematics Classroom? (Presenter: Ray Williams)

This session will outline the exciting consequences of seriously integrating Mathematics and English by a teacher from each discipline as part of bigger pedagogical project. Key areas of the English Curriculum of Picture Books, Poetry Analysis and Satirical Story were explored in the mathematics classroom providing unexpected and eye-opening results for both teachers involved.
Repeated as G35 & H30

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An Overview of Mathematica for the 7-12 Classroom (Presenter: Craig Bauling)

This overview session will guide us through the capabilities of Mathematica and how it can be directly applied in teaching AusVELS curriculum in Years 7-12. Topics of this talk include:
* Using Natural English Language to quickly engage students without learning long keystroke sequences. (http://www.wolfram.com/broadcast/screencasts/free-form-input/)
* Creating interactive models that encourage student participation.
* On-demand Chemical, Biological, Economic, Finance and Social data that brings real world data into your classroom.
* 2D and 3D information visualization for visual learners.
* Practical examples within AusVELS curriculum.
This is a great opportunity for those not experienced with Mathematica to get informed and excited.
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Nspired Parabolas (Presenter: Rama Ramakrishnan)

The New National Curriculum requires conceptual conics teaching with more rigour and this session provides the tools for teaching parabolas for understanding. In the process the Texas Instrument’s “Navigator system” is used along with the TI-Nspire machine. ClassPad users will also benefit from the process presented but will have no demonstration. Nspire machines will be provided.
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Cubics and Tangents (Presenters: Shane Dempsey, Peta Taylor)

This hands-on session will use the TI-Nspire CAS handheld to investigate tangents to a cubic function and their relationship with the roots of the function. This is a task that many senior maths teachers will be familiar with and the TI-Nspire CAS allows investigation of the general case to be explored thoroughly.
Repeated as G45 & H41

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Graphs and Functions Transformations - Where Students Get Confused (Presenter: Yuriy Verkhatsky)

Graphs and functions transformation is one of the most confusing topics for the students. Usually students do not have problems with the single transformation, except dilation from y-axis (especially for circular functions) and applying of modulus. But when it comes to the combinations of the transformations it becomes different story, especially if changing of the order of transformations change the final result (like reflection in x-axis and vertical translation or dilation from y-axis and horizontal translation). Also students are often confused with application of the matrices to transformations. This presentation aims to underline common student’s mistakes in this area and how to avoid them.
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SACs for Years 11 and 12 (Presenter: Steven Morris)

Do you want to get a head start on preparation for next year’s VCE classes? Do you want fully editable School Assessed Coursework tasks that come with fully worked solutions? Do you want Application tasks that have depth as well as breath and Analysis tasks that are comprehensive? In this session, you will be provided with some samples of Jacaranda’s new SACs for VCE Mathematics. You will have the chance to go through some SACs with an experienced and practising teacher who can provide lots of useful hints and tips.
(Commercial Presentation)
Repeated as G47 & H43

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Warm Up and Share Time - How To Make These Productive Learning Events (Presenter: Colleen Vale)

KEYNOTE - For some time now teachers have been encouraged to follow the whole-small-whole or whole-individual-whole structure for lessons. Typically in the first whole class segment of the lesson teachers model mathematics and launch the task(s) for the middle segment of the lesson. In some schools teachers also include ‘warm up’ activities in this whole class focus of the lesson. The final segment of the lesson is for whole-class sharing. In this keynote I will suggest how these whole class segments can be productive for learning by enabling students to learn from each other, as they express their ideas and explain and justify solutions to problems. I will illustrate ‘number talks’ and ‘orchestrated discussions’ drawing on my experiences of these practices observed in schools in USA, Japan and Australia where I’ve been involved in two projects, one on reasoning and the other on problem solving.

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Differentiation Can Make a Difference! (Presenter: Greg Thomas)

Participants will unpack assessment samples for best practice in maths and explore the mathematical demands within tasks. Teachers will workshop using the planning tables contained in enVisionMATHS:
* To unpack the mathematical demands required to complete an assessment task.
* To investigate and implement rich assessment tasks for differentiation.
* To explore the use of rubrics in moderating tasks.
* To develop a lesson using differentiation from data collected.
enVisionMATHS is a complete classroom program for teaching Primary Mathematics aligned to the Australian Curriculum.
(Commercial Presentation)
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Helping Kids to Actually Get Place Value (Presenter: Tierney Kennedy)

A range of activities for building deep understanding of place-value and trusting the count in R-7 classrooms using problem-based teaching.
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Structuring Lessons to Maximise Student Engagement in Learning (Presenters: Peter Sullivan, Sarah Stewart)

The session will describe a lesson structure that was developed to maximise student engagement and to cater for the needs of all learners. A lesson following this structure was professionally videotaped, and the session will describe the lesson structure and present what the lesson looked like in the classroom. The structure is applicable for many mathematics lessons.
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Multiplication, Meaning & Times Tables (Presenter: Douglas Williams)

This workshop is a multiplication journey that begins with children first arranging objects in equal rows - an array model - and takes us through to the visualisation of abstract algebraic formulas. It explores activities which use concrete objects, semi-concrete representation such as graph paper and virtual representation through software, to simultaneously develop meaning in multiplication and facility with times tables. Although there will be activities for you to ‘use tomorrow’, the session will also stimulate thought about planning the multiplication journey through the school so that more students are more successful at multiplication matters.
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An Introduction to Programming in Scratch (Presenter: Jan Honnens)

Scratch is a free graphical programming language where students can seamlessly create programs by snapping graphical blocks together into stacks. It is available from http://scratch.mit.edu/. In this session we will construct some simple Scratch programs dealing with polygons, coordinates, transformations, fractals and probability that feature in our Scratch Programming Projects for Years 7-8.
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Differentiating Maths Teaching at Secondary Level (Presenter: Ian Lowe)

The wide range of levels of student achievement in all classes creates a challenge for any teacher. It is impossible to adequately meet the learning needs of this range of students through textbook use. Ian has spent a long career developing alternatives to help students understand and enjoy learning mathematics. The main elements are hands-on activities, group work and differentiation within the classroom. This workshop will also explain the use of “Teach Maths for Understanding”, free to MAV members on <www.mav.vic.edu.au>.
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Maths Magic and Puzzles Worked Into a Year 9 Program (Presenter: Brian Lannen)

The presenter will report on how he incorporated puzzles, jokes and the ‘mathemagic’ idea into his Year 9 program and how students have responded to it. The core of the workshop, however, will be an opportunity for participants to learn the mathematics behind the magic and practise these tricks for themselves. Participants will also be invited to share any other maths magic that they know.
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Mathematical Pedagogy - Traditions, Technology and Nspired Lumeracy (Presenter: Rama Ramakrishnan)

Teachers around Australia have made significant progress in recent years towards achieving effective integration of technology in their classrooms, in the senior and junior secondary years, to enhance and engage students’ learning of mathematics. Texas Instrument’s TI-Nspire machines and the Texas “Navigator” wireless communication systems enhance the pedagogy and ‘risk taking’ by the learners. This combined with the use of Lumeracy resources will engages and inspire the students. * The word Lumeracy was coined by Kuppuswamy Ramakrishnan (known as Rama), Teacher and Educationalist in 2011 who defined it as a word to represent being educated with knowledge to read, write and use numeracy, manage information, express ideas and opinions, communicate in an ethical manner, make decisions and solve problems. Numeracy, the portmanteau of “numerical literacy” was coined in 1959 by the UK Committee on Education, presided over by Sir Geoffrey Crowther.
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Expansion and Factorisation (Presenter: Stephen Swift)

A concrete model is used for expansion of brackets and factorisation of expressions including quadratics. Students colour and cut up some paper to represent numbers and variables and manipulate these to expand brackets and to factorise expressions. Participants will use pre-made materials to allow time for their use. The model naturally links physical manipulation to mental processes and allows all students access to factorisation of quadratics. The system used in this workshop can also be used to model integer operations and solution of linear equations.
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High-Speed Beanie Kids and Quadratic Functions (Presenter: Anthony Harradine)

With the help of two Beanie Kids, high-speed video footage and of course mathematics, Anthony will share a wonderfully engaging and mathematically rich activity that your students (across the ability spectrum) will never forget. You will develop an authentic mathematical model, consider its limitations, use it to predict the outcome of a very funny event and perhaps best of all, you will be able to ‘see’ how accurate your prediction was. You will leave with everything you need to use the activity in class, just print and enjoy the experience.
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TI-Nspire CAS Notes Application - A Hidden Treasure (Presenter: Neale Woods)

As one of the seven TI-Nspire CAS applications, the Notes application is much more than a simple text window used to complement the other applications. It is often overlooked by teachers who are unaware of the powerful tools and dynamic linking available in this application. In this session, participants will have a hands-on opportunity to learn how to use many of the exciting features of the Notes application.
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Java Applets in Teaching Calculus (Presenter: Yuriy Verkhatsky)

Interactive Java applets for teaching and learning single variable calculus use graphs and tables to illustrate concepts in calculus and allow the user to dynamically change the functions involved or the point on the graph that is of interest. These applets can be explored by students learning calculus, or used by teachers while teaching calculus. Visualising is always a good way to enhance understanding of any math concept and it is especially important in teaching calculus as calculus is the mathematics of change. All basic concepts (limit, derivative, integral) are dynamic. So if we really want to understand concepts of calculus, we need to see them.
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