ETL203 week 5 Indigenous learners and mathematics Come…meet us half way

Mathematics in Indigenous Communities The findings: – Before Yolŋu children can benefit from schooling they need to have a strong sense of their own Yolŋu identity. – The sorts of investments (balyunmirr) and connections (djalkiri, gurrutu) which constitute Yolŋu identity are often understood as a form of logical reasoning, or mathematics. This is what is meant when Yolŋu people refer to ‘Yolngu maths’. – There is a fundamental dislocation between the way Balanda and Yolŋu understand the world. The two systems ‘do not recognise each other’. Yolŋu and balanda have been working together for many years, but Yolŋu teachers still don’t understand balanda maths very well, and most Balanda don’t understand the workings of Yolŋu maths. – It is very difficult to make theoretical connections or explain links between Yolŋu and Balanda maths.

– Balanda maths has a meaningful place in Yolŋu everyday life which is easier for children to understand than maths in the classroom. – The Balanda maths education of Yolŋu kids generally gets stuck at a relatively simple level. There is plenty of evidence that Yolŋu kids are very bright. They learn well and quickly in the right context. The problem is with the school maths program, not with the kids. – At the practical level, one way to begin to get past this blockage is to systematically locate Balanda maths education for Yolngu kids in those aspects of contemporary Yolngu life which are already ordered through balanda maths. – Schooling is a lot harder now than it was when the consultants were young – there is a high turnover of balanda staff, balanda are no longer learning to speak Yolngu languages and participate in the culture, there are many distractions in the community which lead children away from both school and traditional culture, and there is a general disinvestment in bilingual education, and the presence of traditional languages, cultures and elders in schools. – The Yolŋu consultants, and many other Yolŋu parents are always keen to be more involved in helping the school develop good mathematics curriculum and teaching practices.

Mathematics in Indigenous Contexts For students – Teaching and learning is more relevant to them – Students’ confidence in mathematics is greatly improved – Students are able to contribute to the development of learning activities – Students are supported by parents and community members at school and at home. For parents and community – Development of collaborative partnership with teachers to develop appropriate curriculum – Increased awareness of the importance of the role of the Aboriginal Education Assistant in the school

– Opportunities to work in classrooms with students and teachers to improve learning – Increased confidence about school mathematics and how children learn – Increased confidence in their own knowledge about mathematics. For teachers – Collaborative and cooperative planning with colleagues – Collaborative and cooperative planning with the Aboriginal Education Assistant – Development of partnerships with parents and community to develop contextually appropriate Mathematics units of work – Action learning processes can be utilised to improve teaching and learning practices that improve learning outcomes for Indigenous students – Increased understanding of the local community – Increased expectations for students in their class.

QuickSmart QuickSmart mathematics intervention strategies include a variety of short, focused activities that aim to increase students' strategy use and improve their automatic recall of basic number facts across all four operations. Mathematics intervention sessions include: – timed recall of basic number facts from a targeted set of focus number facts; – speed sheets that also relate to the same set of focus facts and include extension number facts; – opportunities to consolidate the use of strategies for calculating number facts; – the use of a prompt scaffold to solve mathematical problems and establish knowledge of problem-solving routines; and – regular testing on tasks from the CAAS bank of mathematical tasks.

Leading Aligned Numeracy Development NPID=30&SID=WlrbMMzxbtPquvxS&st=1&rel=y NPID=30&SID=WlrbMMzxbtPquvxS&st=1&rel=y – Identify effective practices in teaching numeracy in low socio-economic status schools; – Analyse the characteristics of effective teaching in numeracy in terms of the leadership and organisational factors of the Tri-Level System which support them; – Trial programs to develop the professional capability of teachers, school leaders, and CEO staff, and the organisational capacity of schools and our offices to support effective practices in the teaching of numeracy; – Discover the key points of alignment between the purposes, organisational arrangements and community relationships and expectations at school and system levels with effective numeracy teaching practices in classrooms; – Assess student learning achievement in numeracy in ways that inform the realisation of the Pilot objectives; and – Inform other Education Authorities(DEEWR) about key teaching and learning characteristics, system design principles and leadership factors necessary to effect transformation in student achievement in numeracy.

Maths no fear – High achievement – High expectations – Oral culture – appropriate communicative practices – Quality use of technologies – digital and other – Engagement – Explicit criteria – students need to know what is expected of them – Connected learning – connections with the culture of the students – Integration of culture of students in a genuine partnership – Recognition of cultural diversity

What Works Building awareness Forming partnerships Working systematically

Make it Count Fostering and growing strong partnerships between schools, their communities and experts in mathematics and Indigenous education in universities and elsewhere. Development of sustainable, whole-school practices in: – community engagement – curriculum – pedagogy and – educators’ professional learning