Understanding identity as a teacher of numeracy in history: a sociocultural approach

Teachers of all school subjects have an important role to play in developing the numeracy capabilities of students. In Australia, this role and the importance of an approach to numeracy that encompasses learning across the curriculum are now explicit in the Australian Curriculum and Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. However, to be able to fully exploit the numeracy learning opportunities that exist in the subjects they teach, teachers need to see themselves not only as teachers of their own discipline, but also as teachers of numeracy; in other words, have an identity as a teacher of numeracy. An understanding of how teachers develop such an identity has the potential to assist in designing professional development to support teachers from all disciplines to enhance numeracy learning through the subjects they teach. In this paper some initial findings are presented from the first year of a two-year study designed to investigate how teachers develop an identity as a teacher of numeracy. The study used a conceptual framework for identity as a teacher of numeracy that was developed deductively to inform data collection. An adaptation of Valsiner’s zone theory was employed as the theoretical framework to describe and analyse each participating teacher’s identity as a teacher of numeracy. The specific purpose of this paper is to present a preliminary case study of one of the teachers in order to illustrate how empirical data can be mapped onto a teacher’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), Zone of Free Movement (ZFM), and Zone of Promoted Action (ZPA) to gain an understanding of this teacher’s identity as a teacher of numeracy. Drawing on a scoping interview, lesson observations, and post-lesson interviews, a preliminary case study of a secondary school history teacher is presented. The case study includes information about the teacher, his professional context, and a classroom vignette to illustrate practice. Data are mapped onto the teacher’s ZPD, ZFM, and ZPA and the teacher’s identity as a teacher of numeracy is described and analysed in these terms. The analysis suggests that there are several ways that this teacher could be supported to develop his capacity to embed numeracy into the history curriculum. Once case studies for the other participating teachers have been developed, cross case analysis will enable similarities and differences between the teachers to be identified

Identity as an embedder-of-numeracy: a cross case analysis of four teachers

Numeracy needs to be developed across the curriculum. However, if teachers are to effectively embed numeracy into the subjects they teach, they need to be supported to develop this capacity. Using an adaption of Valsiner’s zone theory, a cross case analysis of four teachers is presented. The findings suggest that assisting teachers to broaden their personal conception of numeracy and providing opportunities for them to develop appropriate pedagogical content knowledge may enhance their capacity to exploit numeracy learning opportunities across the curriculum

Mathematics education in the margins: Proceedings of the 38th Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia

Proceedings of the 38th annual conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA) held on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland in 2015

Conceptualising and enacting numeracy across the curriculum

Numeracy refers to the use of mathematics in non-mathematical contexts. In this paper two approaches to conceptualising numeracy across the whole school curriculum are identified: one based on interdisciplinary inquiry and the other on embedding numeracy into each school subject. The latter approach informed a systematic audit of resources available to Australian teachers for understanding and enacting numeracy across the curriculum. It was found that few resources addressed the need for teachers to recognise and take advantage of the numeracy learning demands and opportunities within the subjects they teach

Developing an analytic lens for investigating identity as an embedder-of-numeracy

One of the capabilities needed for effective participation in modern society is numeracy, which is the ability to cope effectively with the mathematical demands of life. While the development of numeracy continues beyond the school years, schools nevertheless have a responsibility to provide opportunities for students to expand their numeracy expertise. In Australian schools, there is a renewed emphasis on numeracy brought about by the introduction of a new curriculum, teacher professional standards and measures of accountability. The first two of these developments provide an opportunity for teachers of all disciplines to increase their capacity to promote growth in the numeracy capabilities of their students. However, they will be unable to do this unless they see themselves as teachers of numeracy and have the capacity to embed numeracy into the subjects they teach. This theoretical paper extends existing knowledge on teacher identity by developing a conceptual framework for identity as an embedder-of-numeracy that recognises the complexity of teacher identity while at the same time is amenable to empirical studies. The framework is organised around five domains of influence (knowledge, affective, social, life history and context) and includes characteristics that evidence from the literature suggests greatly impact on this particular situated identity. Studies using this framework could inform the design of professional development to support teachers to develop an identity as an embedder-of-numeracy. The mechanism for developing the framework described in this paper could also be used to create frameworks to investigate teachers’ other situated identities

Perceptions of Feedback among Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students of Four Health Science Disciplines

Feedback is an important support for student learning. Yet data suggests that some students are often under-whelmed with the feedback they receive. Two factors potentially influencing this perception are entry level and type of health science program. To investigate this further, 492 undergraduate and postgraduate students from four health science disciplines (occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech pathology and audiology) at a large Australian university were asked to complete a survey on the feedback that they had received during their studies. Students reported that they valued feedback with 93% seriously engaging with their feedback and 88% considering that feedback assisted their learning. However, different perceptions on some areas of feedback were reported by different groups. Postgraduate students had significantly (p\u3c 0.01 to 0.0005) higher satisfaction with several aspects of feedback than undergraduate students, while audiology students reported significantly (p\u3c 0.05 to 0.0001) higher satisfaction levels than the other disciplinary groups. Fifty-eight percent of the students felt that feedback would be improved if it was more timely and if there was more of it, particularly in practical classes (55%). Methods of improving the feedback provided to these students are discussed

Perceptions of Assessment Among Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students of Four Health Science Disciplines

The use of different types of assessment to improve student learning needs to be balanced with reports that student perception, rather than the objective features of the task, significantly influences how students approach learning. The present study surveyed 492 undergraduate and postgraduate students from four health science disciplines (occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech pathology, and audiology) at a large Australian university on how helpful different types of assessment had been in assisting their learning. Between 73.4% and 90.4% of the students valued practical exams, individual tasks, written assignments, and written exams requiring application of knowledge. Between 29.1% and 59.7% of the students valued oral presentations, group tasks, portfolios, online assessment, and multiple choice exams. Entry level and type of program were found to influence perceptions. Postgraduate students valued tutorial participation more than undergraduate students (

The Grizzly, April 25, 1995

Coming Soon: The New Wismer • Two Suspects Apprehended for Oklahoma City Bombing • Mathematics Awareness Week • Clare Zeberkiewicz Awarded UPS Scholarship • Spring Fling • A Midnight Jog • Dr. Clark Responds to Core Concerns • Recycling at Ursinus • Travel Opportunities Offer Escape from Ursinus Campus • New House to Focus on Unity and Diversity • Rape Aggression Defense Teaches Valuable Self-Defense Techniques • Alpha Kappa Delta to Form • The Costa Rica Experience • Don\u27t miss the Concert Band and Jazz Ensemble • Comedian Rich Ramirez Delivers • Politics Comes to Ursinus • Sammartino Named Player of the Week • Baseball Team Ties Record for Wins • Lacrosse Team Stays Alive for Playoff Bid • Men\u27s Tennis Team on a Roll • Track Teams Gear Up for Conference Meet • All-Sports Reception Set for May 1 • Volleyball Team Seeks Players • Cosgrove Named First Team All-American • Women\u27s Tennis • Champions! Softball Team Shares Centennial Title • Softball Team Plays HR Derbyhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1360/thumbnail.jp

Identity as an embedder-of-numeracy: identifying ways to support teachers to embed numeracy across the curriculum

The context in which mathematics is used is an important aspect of numeracy. Therefore, students’ numeracy capabilities need to be developed in subjects across the curriculum. The case study of a secondary school history teacher is presented to demonstrate how a framework for identity as an embedder-of-numeracy can be used to identify ways that this teacher might be supported to embed numeracy into the history curriculum. While the framework was generally effective for this purpose, a potential limitation was identified