Unit rationale, description and aim
This unit is designed to provide an introduction to early childhood (prior to school) and primary school mathematics education by investigating current directions in research and state and national documents. Emphasis will be placed on an approach to learning and teaching mathematics that is respectful of each child’s background and culture. The role of manipulatives, technology, language and mental processes in children’s developing concepts, understandings and skills will also be a focus, alongside the role of assessment interviews in identifying children’s current mathematical understanding. The use of this information to inform teaching, and develop positive attitudes to mathematics will be studied.
The unit aims to provide pre-service teachers with an understanding of theories of learning mathematics and effective teaching and learning in the contexts of Whole Number, Measurement and Geometry, specifically in early childhood (prior to school) and primary school mathematics education.
Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unitLearning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Explain why concerns for justice and for the digni...
Learning Outcome 01
Demonstrate an ability to critically reflect on th...
Learning Outcome 02
Demonstrate an ability to critically reflect on th...
Learning Outcome 03
Demonstrate an ability to critically reflect on th...
Learning Outcome 04
Content
Topics will include:
- This unit’s mathematical content will focus on whole number including computational choice (mental, written, calculator, other) with appropriate links to measurement and geometry as detailed in state and national documents as well as the General Capability, Numeracy in the Australian Curriculum and relevant elements of Learning Outcomes in the Early Years Learning Framework.
- The role of the clinical interview is prioritised in this unit where students actively engage with approaches to learning and teaching mathematics that reflect a concern for justice and for the dignity of all human beings that promotes the importance of the affective domain in learning mathematics
- Theories of learning mathematics including relational and instrumental understanding will be linked to typical pathways/trajectories in young children’s mathematical learning, from early childhood (including prior to school) to the later primary years
- This unit will focus on the appropriate use of manipulatives (e.g., mathematical tools, games, materials and children’s literature) as well as the use of technology as a means to promote meaningful mathematical understanding
- Relevant national, state and territory curriculum documents and assessment.
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment tasks and their weightings are designed to allow pre-service teachers to progressively demonstrate achievement against the unit learning outcomes and demonstrate attainment of professional standards.
To enable assessment to best meet the needs of learners, three assessment possibilities are outlined below.
Minimum Achievement Standards
The assessment tasks for this unit are designed to demonstrate achievement of each learning outcome.
The total assessment tasks will amount to the equivalent of 4,000 words. Two major items or two minor and one major item must be selected from the following.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1 A case study of a child’s mat...
Assessment Task 1
A case study of a child’s mathematical knowledge based on the use of a one-to-one interview. Judgments about the child’s mathematical development must be linked to a theoretical framework. The framework must also be used to inform the design of a follow-up activity and teaching strategies which targets students’ further conceptual development in the areas of Whole Number, Measurement and Geometry as addressed in state and/or national curriculum documents relevant to this unit.
50%
Assessment Task 2A Individually write a literatu...
Assessment Task 2A
Individually write a literature review exploring themes, ideas and issues related to the learning and teaching of mathematics in the primary classroom or early learning context pertaining to a particular mathematics topic relevant to this unit and addressing relevant Learning Outcomes
OR
50%
Assessment Task 2B A weekly reflective journal t...
Assessment Task 2B
A weekly reflective journal that draws together understandings from the weekly lecture, tutorial activities and prescribed readings and observations from PCE experiences. These reflections must address each of the learning outcomes.
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
Pre-service teachers will be involved in a variety of teaching-learning strategies to progress and demonstrate their understandings in this unit. Participants will be involved in a variety of teaching-learning strategies to support learning, including: online engagement, lectures, tutorials, seminar presentations and group discussions, both online and face-to-face, self-directed study activities and assessment tasks. Some participation in appropriate educational settings maybe required.
This is a 10-credit point unit and has been designed to ensure that the time needed to complete the required volume of learning to the requisite standard is approximately 150 hours in total with a normal expectation of 36 hours of directed study and the total contact hours should not exceed 36 hours. Directed study might include lectures, tutorials, webinars, podcasts etc. The balance of the hours then become private study.
AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS - GRADUATE LEVEL
On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should be able to:
ACECQA CRITERIA
On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should have developed the following specific knowledge: