2024 Virtual Maths Conference
The Mathematical Association of Western Australia hosted the 2024 Virtual Maths Conference on Friday 3 May.
The conference aimed to assist teachers from early childhood education, primary, secondary, and post-secondary with their professional knowledge, practice, and engagement in mathematics education.
The theme for the conference was “small steps, big impact”. We believe that as teachers, we have the power to create significant change in our students’ lives through small but meaningful steps in our teaching practices. Throughout the conference, we explored the various ways in which educators can make a profound impact on their students’ mathematical journey by implementing small, targeted strategies. From incorporating hands-on activities to fostering a growth mindset, we uncovered the transformative potential of these seemingly small steps.
We were delighted to have Pam Harris join us as the keynote speaker.
Pam Harris
Pam Harris is a mom, a former high school math teacher, a university lecturer, an author, and she wants to change the way we view and teach mathematics. While Pam was teaching high school math, her four children grew and mathematized their world in a way she had never imagined. “I had always bought into the myth that math is a disconnected set of facts to memorize, with rules and procedures to mimic. I now call that fake math.” Pam’s own kids, research, and experiences teaching real math have shown her what it means to mathematize and to support learners in their own journeys. Real math is thinking mathematically, not just mimicking what a teacher does on the board. You can shift your brain from using rote memory to mathematizing. Pam helps teachers make this shift for themselves, and helps teachers teach in a way that supports students to learn real math.
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IXL is a highly personalised, comprehensive online learning platform, aligned to the Australian
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