The Broad Intentions of MLATS

The Broad Intentions of MLATS are for participants to:

• Increase their conceptual and procedural knowledge of mathematics
• Increase their understandings about the ways students construct mathematical knowledge
• Develop their understandings about numeracy
• Identify their role in the development of their students' numeracy
• Develop strategies for identifying students who are at risk of not making satisfactory progress towards the national numeracy goals
• Develop a range of intervention strategies to support those students seen to be at risk
• Develop a repertoire of classroom strategies for assessing students' mathematical development

Outcomes

Participants in this program will:

• Reflect on themselves as learners of mathematics
• Reflect on themselves as teachers of mathematics
• Engage with a range of ideas related to the theories of constructivism
• Develop their theories about how mathematics is learned
• Describe the importance of pattern to an understanding of mathematics
• Refine their data handling skills to collect, organise, represent, and analyse data through the search for patterns and relationships
• Consider the benefits and features of collaborative classrooms and plan to establish a collaborative classroom in their own school setting
• Identify the complexities in planning units of work and work through these to plan units of work in pattern, number and space and measurement, transformation and symmetry, fractions/decimals, location and arrangement, and chance
• Plan, conduct and analyse a student survey, and use these findings to inform future action
• Participate in mathematics activities and develop their conceptual and procedural knowledge in pattern, data handling, place value, mental computation, space and measurement, transformation and symmetry, fractions/decimals, location and arrangement, and chance
• Evaluate the planned and implemented units of work
• Discuss the importance of visualisation in the study of mathematics, reflect on their own visualisation skills and trial a number of strategies to help student's develop their visualisation
• Focus on the role of assessment (purposes, strategies, outcomes, values) in the mathematics classroom
• Develop their skills in analysing student work samples to make informed judgments about their learning
• Use writing in mathematics and whole class sharing as strategies for developing mathematical thinking

Course Content

	Teaching and Learning Mathematics (Constructivism):
		A reflection on how we best learn and a consideration of how our ideas about learning fit with a range of current literature related to this topic
	Pattern & Algebra:
		The foundation of mathematics; an exploration of pattern through participation in a range of activities designed to enable participants to identify, create, record, describe, and use patterns to make predictions and generalisations
	Planning a Unit of Work:
		Planning to establish a collaborative classroom, to find out what students already know about pattern, and planning learning activities to move students from current constructs to more sophisticated ones
	Numeracy & Data Handling:
		An exploration of Numeracy and its relationship to mathematics. Continuing pattern investigations for purposeful data handling. Planning to take advantage of school and classroom situations that will engage students in collecting, organising, representing and analysing data in meaningful ways
	Number Sense:
		An exploration of place value, base ten, mental computation, and the use of calculators; planning a unit of work
	The Measurement of Space:
		Concept mapping to explore the links between space and measurement; participation in a number of activities to explore relationships between measurable attributes of figures and objects; planning a unit of work
	Whole Class Sharing:
		Setting students up for success by having access to the ideas of other people through whole class sharing
	Visualisation:
		Exploring and trialing strategies for developing the ability to manipulate mental images in the mind
	Transformation and Symmetry:
		Participation in a range of activities related to Transformation and Symmetry; planning a unit of work

	Assessment:
		Identifying the purposes of assessment, considering what we value about learning mathematics, selecting a range of strategies for gathering assessment data, using this data to make judgments about students' mathematical thinking
	Chance:
		Participation in a range of activities to related to Chance; planning a unit of work
	Writing in Mathematics:
		Exploring how engaging students in writing about their mathematical thinking and their strategies can be used as a tool for gathering data about students' development
	Fractions & Decimals:
		Exploring a range of activities related to fractions and seeing how these can be used to develop students' ideas about proportion and parts of a whole; planning a unit of work
	Location & Arrangement:
		Participation in a range of activities to related to Chance; planning a unit of work
	Collaborative Learning:
		Engaging with a number of relevant readings on collaborative learning to develop understandings, to reflect and to make plans for future professional learning directions

The Process of MLATS

Workshops involve:

• Small group discussions
• Mathematics activities
• Time for reflection
• Collaborative planning of units of work
• Sharing classroom practice with other participants
• In between workshops participants are expected to:
• Read a range of relevant articles
• Trial activities in their classrooms
• Formally document their plans

Resource Materials Provided

Participants receive a booklet at every MLATS workshop. These contain focus questions for sharing and for discussion, workshop activities, mathematics activities, journal questions, and details about what they need to do to prepare for the next workshop.

A wide range of unit plans have been collected over the years and these are made available to participants to use as resources when planning.

Readings are also provided for participants.