1A NZMS Colloquium – Panel Discussion

• Thomas Lumley – The University of Auckland, Rachelle Binny – Te Pūnaha Matatini,

• Alex James – The University of Canterbury, Mick Roberts – Massey University

Following the completion of the talks given by the four invited speakers in Plenary 2, a chaired discussion will take place through video conferencing. The speakers will be answering questions from the NZMS virtual attendees. This discussion will be cast in this workshop and questions from teachers in this session can be put forward. Note: this session does not have a direct classroom teaching focus, however the real-world context may prove interesting and relevant.

1B Research-informed evidence-based teaching and learning: how to adapt to rapidly accelerating advances of emerging technologies

• Dr Tanya Evans – The University of Auckland – Department of Mathematics

The recent unintentional worldwide shift to online teaching and learning as the emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an unprecedented use of educational technology at scale. For example, it appears that a large majority of tertiary teachers had to develop video resources to replace face-to-face lectures and deliver them online, putting their hesitation and trepidation aside. With the abundance of newly developed video resources, the post-COVID-19 educational landscape is foreshadowed to be vastly different, skipping a natural gradual stage of continuous developmental changes to the sector. This development could be a welcomed break-through but, as never before, it amplifies the big issue: research is lagging the implementation. In this presentation, with a stark sense of urgency, I will, first, report on the most recent research on the impact of the adoption of technology at the tertiary level, synthesising the findings to inform future developments. Secondly, I will highlight seminal research discoveries, bringing to the fore potential pitfalls of innovations that are based on the integration of new technological gadgets with only anecdotal evidence about their merits.

1C Developing student talk to promote mathematical thinking

• Julia Crawford – Cognition Education

Imagine students talking about their thinking: forming and reforming their understanding, arguing and justifying their ideas! How can we provide an environment where we (the teachers) do less talking and the students do more productive talking? It won’t just happen by telling them to. In this workshop we will explore ways to develop talk in your classroom. I have a collection of ideas and examples (and where to find more) that you can implement straight away.

1D Inclusive systems – How can we make Engineering for everyone?

• Lysea Haggie – The University of Auckland – Faculty of Engineering, PhD student

Calculus is the study of continuous change. Originally called infinitesimal calculus and derived from the latin “small pebble”, the subject looks at how we can understand larger systems by breaking things down into smaller pieces. Applying this to building structures, developing products and modelling physiology are just a few ways engineers use calculus to create a better world. However, graduating engineers are not representative of different groups in society, but teachers can help change this. Hear from a student about how a teacher engaged and inspired them to pursue engineering, find out about some of our current and future projects and initiatives within the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Auckland aim to increase participation in engineering. Let's get everyone involved in contributing to the design of new, and more inclusive, systems. ​

1E Incorporating digital innovation into lesson planning

• Anusha Nirene Soupen – Papakura High School

Is your teaching practice challenged by the pressure to incorporate digital technologies? Papakura High is a Decile 1a school with talented and vibrant students who are starting to believe in their potential to succeed in Math. We have started to transform learning for our students by creating innovative learning experiences that ignite their passion for Math and inspire them to engage. For most of our teachers, and for a surprising number of our students, this has been a challenging journey. By digitizing and customizing existing instructional models, we have seen both student engagement and student achievement improve considerably this year.

1F Conceptualising an assortment of Calculus concepts

• Murray Hamilton – Ormiston Senior College

This presentation will look at a number of interesting concepts that students have found interesting and difficult to conceptualise.

· Does actually exist? A divergent number in a different base that when squared = -1 in that base.

· What makes Level 2 calculus difficult for students and a few tips on making it easier for them.

· Synthetic Division – how this works.

1G GeoGebra – Beyond the basics

• Michael Walden – Mt Albert Grammar School

Every year I use GeoGebra in my mathematics classes in a variety of contexts – to solve optimisation problems, to investigate loci and to visualise 3D situations to name just a few. In this workshop we will look at some Level 3 and Scholarship problems in which GeoGebra can be used to help improve the understanding of your students.

Basic GeoGebra skills (or computer savviness) is recommended because of the nature of the problems we will be solving.

2A Successful Senior Pathways to UE Maths

• Asha Kumar & Paula Darragh – Birkenhead College

Birkenhead College is a decile 6 school, with diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. Despite being a small school, around 600 students, we are able as a department to plan and implement several programs each year that allow for students to learn Calculus and Statistics standards throughout years 11-13.

Over the past 8 years we have restructured our Junior and Senior programs to allow 90% of students at Birkenhead College to take an academic pathway through to Level 3 Maths. As a result 90% of our level 3 students gain a UE qualification in Maths. We have consistently achieved these results for over 5 years and Maths at Birkenhead College is a subject students readily take and experience success to an Excellence level.

2B Rethinking the role of emotion when designing mathematics lessons

• Kaitlin Riegel – The University of Auckland – Department of Mathematics PhD student

Emotions are present in mathematical learning and problem-solving across all levels. Even professional mathematicians accept what are traditionally perceived as negative emotions, such as frustration, as an inevitable part of the process. Positive emotions, like enjoyment, are generally understood to be advantageous in learning due to correlations with motivation, performance, attention, and flexible thinking while negative emotions hinder learning as they correlate negatively with the above. This presentation will explore how certain emotions usually appear in students during mathematical problem-solving and the typical patterns of associated emotions, behaviours, and cognitive processes. With the support of research, I will then consider how educators may develop lesson designs to normalise the experience of different emotions during mathematics. Further, I explore how such lessons may provide students with the opportunity to disrupt common transitions from negative emotions into disengagement or anxiety and to experience them instead as stimulating helpful affective and cognitive processes during problem-solving.

2C The Big Ideas of Maths

• Margi Leech – Numicon

We will look at bringing the ability of students up to NZC Level 4 using Numicon, THE CPAL approach in Term One so that they’ll be ready for the rest of the year’s learning.

2D From students' systematic errors to interactive learning materials to change students' thinking

• Dr Igor' Kontorovich & Kim Locke – The University of Auckland – Department of Mathematics

We analyzed thousands of students' responses in final exams in first-year mathematics courses to reveal systematic errors that they make year after year. Many of these errors feature in topics that are also covered in secondary school mathematics. In the workshop, we will invite teachers to discuss possible sources of students' ways of thinking in these topics and engage with interactive materials that were developed to change students' thinking. The materials are developed in STACK (System for Teaching and Assessment using a Computer Algebra Kernel) which provides students with individual feedback based on their response. Please bring your laptop or tablet!

2E Across-curricular, integrated junior programmes

• Dr Pip Arnold – Karekare Education

In this workshop Pip will share both activities and approaches to setting up as the mathematics teacher in an integrated or across curricular learning situation. The ideas Pip will share are based on her work with schools over the last four years working with mathematics and other curriculum area teachers. To get a sense of where Pip is coming from see her recent blog post for the Auckland Mathematical Association at: https://www.aucklandmaths.org.nz/integrating-mathematics-and-statistics-with-other-curriculum-areas/ .

2F Mining for Gold

• Robyn Headifen, Auckland Kaiarahi, Networks of Expertise

Nzmaths is an often underutilised resource for Secondary teachers. In this hands on workshop we will take a tour of nzmaths and find some of the treasures that are buried inside. Bring a device and be ready to dig!

2G Using iQualify to improve student engagement and outcomes

• David Farquhar – Open Polytechnic of NZ

iQualify is provided by the Open Polytechnic of NZ, and provides online learning resources for secondary schools for Yr9-13. We have updated our junior courses and will demonstrate how our blended learning will assist teachers/students improve engagement and results through including AI and personalised learning. The workshop will be fun, engaging and show case how personal learning pathways for students can be incorporated in a cost effective way. FREE access for 2020.

Our current focus is junior maths (year 9 and 10) and Level 1 NCEA, and will extend into levels 2-3 over 2021.

3A Designing mathematics tasks for social justice

• Associate Professor Caroline Yoon & Dr Lisa Darragh – The University of Auckland – Dept. of Mathematics

The so-called ‘real world’ is often used as a backdrop to mathematics tasks, in order to engage students in mathematics. This workshop explores the opposite approach: How can mathematics tasks be used to engage students in social justice issues in the world, and can this lead to actions for social justice? Participants will engage in a mixture of doing, designing, and discussing maths-for-social-justice tasks.

3B Maximising Desmos

• Zachary Forbes & Sunanda Lisboa – Ormiston Senior College

Zach will share how he has been programming using Desmos and Sununda will talk about her experiences and successes of using Desmos in teaching and learning.

3C Computational Thinking in the Mathematics Classroom

• Jared Hockly – Ngā Puna O Waiōrea, Western Springs College

We all found ourselves using a lot more technology this year for teaching and learning. Does that mean we’ve met the goal of implementing the new digital technologies curriculum? In this workshop, we familiarise ourselves with this new digital technologies curriculum focussing on the computation thinking component. We’ll discuss a maths teacher’s role in this area of the curriculum. Is it ours to teach? Can the room in our curriculum be found? We will look at a range of tasks that involve computational thinking and dabble with a little basic coding and algorithm design.

3D Supporting students who have gaps in their learning

• Margi Leech – Numicon

We will look at how to support students who have missed learning at primary level and need a different pace of learning through the Numicon Approach. These students are often part of a school’s Learning Centre.

3E Spicing up Revision – Building Castles, Charades and Story time!

• Judith Bottinga, Jack Su & Michael Walden – Mt Albert Grammar School1

In this workshop we will look at different ways in which you can turn a typical revision lesson into something a bit more interesting!

Jack will detail how he engages his students with Make or Break, a fun and collaborative online game used as a formative assessment or revision tool, Judith will discuss her cross curricular project “Story time” which combines mathematics with fantasy based stories and Michael will share how a lesson starting with charades ended in a brilliant student generated assessment.

Come and join the dramatic mathematics revolution!

3F Hands-on Junior Mathematics!

• Dr Pip Arnold – Karekare Education

In this workshop Pip will share a selection of activities that would be suitable for year 9 and 10 programmes of learning. The selection will include geometry, measurement and algebra. Bring a laptop.

3G Mini Golf in Desmos with Marbleslides

• Subash Chandar K – Ormiston Junior College & infinityplusone

If you have used Teacher Desmos, you have most likely used Mini Golf: Marbleslides. This is a free activity, however Desmos haven't released another course since 2017. My students and I have started the journey in creating our own course. In this session we will create a new 18 hole course that you and your students could use. I will share the triumphs and tribulations of creating your own course with your class.