mathematics assignment help in australia

mathematics assignment help in australia

Advancing Mathematics Education: A Comprehensive Guide for Students in Australia

1. Introduction to Mathematics Education in Australia

Statistics suggest that in many countries there is a need to address a number of perceived problems. Some assessment data within Australia suggests we are not immune to such issues. Despite clear evidence of improvements in the attention paid to the quality and equity of mathematics teaching and learning over the past 40 years, there continue to be students who experience poor completion rates and poor outcomes in assessment tasks, particularly in low SES settings. Furthermore, 76 percent of girls expressed an interest in and chose to study science and mathematics. This suggests that the barriers to different groups accessing STEM and teaching are multilayered and as complex, dynamic, and multifaceted as the world in which we live. Headline reports of our children not doing well in international comparisons always result in media coverage directing attention to “reforming the current approaches to Australian mathematics education.” These responses are often underpinned by deficit discourses that permeate policy rhetoric in Australian educational policy debates.

Introduction Mathematics education in Australia has a long, rich history and has responded to external forces, such as technological advancements, dramatic societal change, and subsequent changes in curricular and pedagogical practices. This chapter describes mathematics teaching and learning in the context of contemporary Australia. It outlines some of the historical debates around mathematics education and presents key statistics and snapshots of the current state of play. We present five Australian case studies to illustrate some of the complexity and sociocultural variation in people’s experiences of, and access to, mathematics education in Australia. We give particular attention to some of the Australian government’s ‘big ideas’ in relation to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curricula, and how mathematics is positioned in these initiatives. We differentiate these from some current trends in education that appear to offer a more humane and holistic conception of education that is sensitive to the personhood of learners.

2. Key Concepts and Skills in Australian Mathematics Curriculum

With the exception of the one space topic in the middle years of primary, almost all the content in the Australian Curriculum is central to supporting direct understanding of operations in whole-number computation. The two exceptions are at the secondary level: in Years 7-10 Ratio and Proportion is introduced and in Year 10 ways of handling currency and measurement calculations is explored in the financial mathematics strand of the F-10 Curriculum.

The focus on these concepts shifts in the upper primary years to identifying patterns and on operations with numbers. In lower primary, the focus is on number patterns (algebra) and geometric figures (primarily 2D shapes but some work on 3D geometric objects). In the later years of primary school, the patterns identified by students become number patterns using relationships in times tables (algebra) in order to derive answers. In the F to 6 years students learn about measurement in its most direct form, mainly length, and then the whole number operations with length and area. Collection of data and displaying in tables and graphs is also a major focus in the Australian Curriculum in the upper primary years.

In lower primary, the Australian Curriculum for mathematics asks students to engage with two main ideas about numbers. The central mathematical concept in lower primary is counting, while a significant developmental concept is comparison. Basic understanding of day shapes and time is also linked to the Geographical Knowledge, Skills and Understandings and processes of questioning and research.

3. Effective Study Strategies for Mathematics Assignments

Inevitably, you will find that the biggest challenge to studying mathematics courses is the difficulty in comprehending new concepts. We all know that understanding is important, but how can you develop this? The first step is to realize that understanding comes in small portions and needs to be built upon. Essentially, study and understanding come before knowledge. This is often hard to stomach because knowledge seems like a prerequisite for studying and understanding.

The most common place for students to start is by reading through any notes they may have, followed by a thorough review of the relevant textbooks. However, we encourage you to use other resources such as library reserve collections, relevant websites, discussion forums, and lecture recordings. By doing so, you may come to appreciate strategies that have proven useful for students previously.

Utilization of resources

Recommended Number of Study Hours: A general rule of thumb is that you should work about 2-3 hours outside class for each 1 hour of face-to-face class time. However, as with most things, you need to manage your time in accordance with your personal needs.

Duration: The ideal length of time you should spend studying will depend on the task you are doing and the length of the day, etc. It is for this reason that we recommend that you consider your strengths, your level of understanding of the topic, and manage the length of the study session according to your needs.

A critical key to being well-prepared for mathematics assessment tasks is to manage your time. This means that it is more beneficial to work several hours per day during the whole semester than to engage in all-day study the day before the examination.

Time Management

It is valuable to be aware of effective study strategies tailored to mathematics assessment tasks. Just as it is for any subject, the key to performing well on mathematics assessment tasks is to be well-prepared. Below you will find some useful advice about how to be well-prepared for mathematics assessment tasks.

4. Resources and Support for Mathematics Students in Australia

Another part of learning to be a mathematician is to involve oneself in activities run by the student body which exist both within and beside the mathematics undergraduate curriculum. These include groups for female students, coding workshops, Gender and Sexuality collectives, and mentoring programs. Many of the universities listed in Section 1.6 offer clubs and societies through the student guild or similar structures outside of the curriculum that foster engagement and communication. They offer lecture series, seminars, camps, study groups, competitions, Facebook communities, and sometimes opportunities for conference representation. It is normal to find that you need some help along the way in your study of mathematics. Asking for help and knowing where to look for services and support are important life skills. The more people work through the content here, the more complex feedback can be integrated and the textbook improved. These changes can be implemented almost immediately, as the online version of this textbook will be constantly updated.

Fortunately, there are many resources and supports available to university students studying mathematics. If you are having difficulty keeping up with the pace of the subject, need further clarification or explanations of content from this book, or would just like to talk about studying mathematics, there are many students at universities across Australia who are available to help you. This may range from the university offering academic services or assistance such as tutorials, workshops, and advisory services, or more informal methods such as study sessions or groups within the student community. In addition, there are many technological advancements that aim to assist students in their learning, including computer algebra systems, various applications, and online materials such as forums and discussion boards to allow for the sharing of resources and seek assistance from other mathematicians.

5. Conclusion and Future Directions

Moreover, many students, in career-path decision-making, high school curriculum design, or university policy formation may not be in a position to take a long-term perspective. However, we argue that the readings and arguments put forward in this book are important and necessary in providing stakeholders with various insights into the potential future of mathematics in Australia. Moreover, it is important that students, possibly more than high school teachers, start to appreciate to a deeper extent the complexities, backgrounds, and local-global relations at play in the simple deployment of a particular approach in their mathematics dispensation. In the immediate future, it is important that future programs like Talented Student Program (TSP), for example, utilize a numbers-driven selection scheme, reflecting entry into the courses which mathematics offers should grow in a dual-enlisted plan – one catalyzed by the practical needs of STEM degrees and the centrality of analytical abilities in any part of the new workforce, and the other strengthened by the field’s own sense of shopping and exploration.

In conclusion, it has been highlighted in this booklet that mathematics education in Australia can be significantly improved through more widespread use of different curricula and incentives to attract entry into university courses, such as double degrees. Additionally, this work represents a very small piece among a large body of research dealing with these questions and the considerations discussed above are not comprehensive. There is value in placing emphasis on students taking a more active role in the process of recruitment and policy-setting of a field – students are the field’s constituency and it is in their best interests to ensure its health and growth.