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Lecture
1: Statistical
Literacy at School: Growth and Goals
Time:
8:30-10:30, August 4
This lecture will present the outcomes of research that describes
the development of understanding of statistical literacy over the
school years. The research was based on school students in
Australia
. The purpose, foundations, and theoretical
framework for the research will be summarized. The connections
among the topics in the statistics and probability curriculum will
be discussed and problems used to illustrate the stages of
development observed for students. The topics covered will include
Sampling, Data Representation, Average, Chance, Beginning
Inference, and Variation. Finally, a six-level hierarchy of
development will be presented, summarizing the changes occurring
across the topics.
[A book with this title will be published by Lawrence Erlbaum in
the
US
at the end of the year.]
Lecture
2:
Research in Mathematics Education in the Australian Region
Time:
14:30-16:30, August 4
This lecture will present
a review of the research in the field of mathematics education
that has taken place since 2000 in
Australia
,
New Zealand
, and the region nearby. The perspectives from
which the research was carried out will be considered including
the mathematical content, the educational issues involved, the
context within which the research took place, the focus group for
the research, and the style of research that took place. There are
connections among these perspectives as any one research study may
include several (or all) of them. The lecture will provide some
background on the research taking place in the region and discuss
some outcomes in relation to problem solving (content), to
affective issues, to the early years of schooling, and to the
education of pre-service teachers. A range of research styles will
be covered and there will be opportunity to talk about the
potential for mathematics education research in
China
.
Lecture
3: Tasmanian Research in Chance and Data
Time:
8:30-10:30, August 5
Preliminary study of
topics in probability and statistics at the school level has been
included in most English-speaking mathematics curriculum documents
since the early 1990s. In
Australia
the topics are termed Chance and Data,
emphasizing experiential, rather than highly theoretical, aspects
of the topics. Research in
Tasmania
began with a study of student understanding
based on surveys and interviews in 1993. Longitudinal data were
collected over a 10-year period to confirm cohort differences
observed at different grade levels. A teacher profiling instrument
was also developed. Outcomes observed when students were working
in groups of three and when they were presented with cognitive
conflict will be discussed, as will outcomes of a study based on a
teaching intervention in Grades 3, 5, 7, and 9. Finally a
hierarchical model for development of statistical literacy will be
presented.
Lecture
4:
Mathematics in the
Australian
School
Curriculum
Time:
14:30-16:30, August 5
This lecture will present
an overview of the mathematics curriculum at the school level in
Australia
. Although each state and territory has its own
curriculum, there is a National Statement that encompasses what is
covered in most of the country. The five content areas of Space,
Number, Measurement, Chance and Data, and Algebra will be
discussed and examples given of work by students at various grade
levels and of examination questions from the senior years of
schooling. Two over-riding concepts of Mathematical Inquiry and
Choosing and Using Mathematics will also be discussed. Chinese
teachers may be interested in comparing their curriculum with that
in
Australia
for various topics.
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Shanghai 
Nanjing 
Hangzhou