Reflections : May, 1999

 Editorial

Professor Frederick Chong

In celebration of Professor Chong's Eightieth Birthday 

Letters to the editor 

Points of view

Course performance descriptors, Jack Mock 

Desert f(x): The 'war' to control the mathematics curriculum (in the new millennium), Bob Dengate 

Reflections on mathematics and language

• Mathematics and literacy: Are they mutually exclusive? Jim Stamell
• Mathematics, humour and literacy, Brian Lannen
• The language of chance, Jim Green 

Reflections on attitudes to mathematics 

• Boys' attitudes to mathematics, Emily Parker 

Reflections on motivation 

• Mathemagic: A way of motivating mathematical learning and having, some fun in Mathematics, Paul Swan 
• Motivation in secondary mathematics education, Ray Walker 

Reflections on a maths challenge day 

• Conducting a Mathematics Challenge Day for Junior 
• Secondary students, Mark Burke and Leanne Nimac

Reflections on history 

• Mathematical cuneiform texts, James Taylor 

Reflections on chaos 

      Chaotic dribbles for two million dollars! Richard Taylor 

• Reflections on papers in earlier issuesRefuting a proposed solution to the travelling salesperson's dilemma,
• Jim Farmer
• Further reflections on Pythagorean triads, Yue-yan Chan 
   

The maths exchange 

• Sharing classroom ideas and activities 

Editorial

This issue begins with the sad news of the death of a MANSW Life Member, Professor Frederick Chong. A moving recognition of his life has been written by his colleague, Ron Andrews from Macquarie University. This is accompanied by extracts from a speech given by another colleague, Professor Ross Street at Professor Chong's eightieth birthday celebrations and book launch. I would like to thank John Sattler for his assistance in sending me the photograph of and tributes to Professor Chong. 

Over the last three years, there has been much change in the secondary curriculum, assessment procedures, and reporting practices in New South Wales. In his letter to the editor, Walker expresses concern about the changes in more recent HSC examination papers, particularly in relation to the 2 Unit Course. The rate of change seems to be increasing, a situation that can be both frustrating and challenging for teachers. 

In Years 9-10 there have been new syllabuses, new assessment procedures and a new style of external examination. The new syllabuses emphasize problem solving and investigative approaches to learning. This is particularly evident in the suggested activities and sample questions provided for each of the strands. Course Performance Descriptors have been introduced for the assessment and grading of Year 10 students' achievements. Mock presents his views about the philosophical ideas underpinning this change and raises some unresolved issues for consideration. Do you agree with Mock's point of view? How have your staff managed this change in assessment? 

In November 1998, the first School Certificate External Test in Mathematics was presented to students with a 'calculator free' section. Some Advanced Level students commented that the paper was too long and quite difficult. How did your students react? Do you have a point of view about this paper? Has this style of assessment changed your teaching practices? Readers are encouraged to submit their views for Reflections and to share their experiences with professional colleagues. 

This year will see the release of a new syllabus for some of our senior secondary students, currently named Mathematical Measurement and Modelling. At the time of writing this editorial there was still much discussion and debate about the appropriateness of one curriculum for the bottom half of the mathematics candidates for the HSC. Dengate's point of view challenges curriculum developers to consider a balanced curriculum, one that emphasises both content and problem solving. He argues strongly that the promotion and support of student understanding must be at the heart of all curricula. 

There are other aspects of mathematics teaching and learning that do not seem to have changed. The important roles that language, positive attitudes, and motivation play in learning mathematics continue to impact on teachers' daily classroom experiences. Stamell discusses the need to develop literacy in mathematics classrooms and outlines the complexity of language use in mathematics. Lannen and Green offer practical advice about developing language and mathematics skills simultaneously, and recommend that these activities provide opportunities for teachers and students to have fun at the same time! 

Parker describes a project that examined boys' attitudes to mathematics at her school and recommends a variety of teaching approaches to add motivation and relevance to learning experiences. Swan's paper provides a smorgasbord of motivational activities that will promote active engagement, enjoyment, and mathematical learning. Walker describes the importance of intrinsic motivation in the learning process and discusses the implications of mathematics anxiety on student learning. 

Additional motivational activities can be presented to talented students during a Mathematics Challenge Day. These have been successfully organised by Burke and Nimac in the Riverina area and they present an overview of possible activities. 

Ideas to stimulate our own mathematical knowledge are included in the remaining papers. James Taylor outlines historical aspects of early number notation, Richard Taylor examines the aesthetics of some chaotic creations, Farmer challenges an earlier Reflections solution to the Travelling Salesperson's Dilemma, and Chan adds to previous proofs of the derivation of Pythagorean triads. 

The Maths Exchange provides more photocopiable worksheets for your students. Please consider contributing to this section by sending in your favourite worksheet to Robert Yen at Ambarvale High School, PO Box 90, Campbelltown, 2560. 

The photographs on the cover of this issue include Australia's Wonderland last year during the Mathematics excursion and some that were taken during my first teaching appointment at Engadine High School in the mid seventies. 

It should be noted that the papers by Lannen and Swan have been reprinted with the permission of the Mathematical Association of Victoria. These papers were originally published in the 1998 Conference Proceedings: 

Gough, J. & Mousley, J. (1998). Mathematics: Exploring All Angles, MAV, Brunswick, Vic. 

Judy Anderson