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Numbers add up at biggest education conference in southern hemisphere

Thursday, 01 December 2011

Education Minister Martin Dixon today reaffirmed the Victorian Coalition Government's commitment to improving maths education as he opened the biggest education conference in the southern hemisphere.

Mr Dixon welcomed more than 2,000 maths teachers from across Victoria, Australia and the world to the 48th Mathematical Association of Victoria's annual conference at La Trobe University, Bundoora.

"It's encouraging to see so many maths teachers here today ready to learn from each other, challenge each other and share their unique ideas about the work they are doing in their classrooms to make maths education meaningful and fun," Mr Dixon said.

"This government knows the greatest influence in getting students interested in and excited by maths is the teacher, which is why we have invested $24.3 million in our new Primary Mathematics and Science Specialists Initiative.

"Just last month the Coalition Government was pleased to announce the first 100 specialists had been selected to work in 55 Victorian primary schools, including 60 maths specialists in 26 schools, from the start of next year.

"Over the next five years 200 specialists will work closely with thousands of classroom teachers to help them make maths lessons as creative and engaging as possible, to keep students learning maths at a senior school level and even propel them towards maths-related careers," Mr Dixon said.

Minister responsible for the Teaching Profession Peter Hall said the size of the conference was testament to the commitment of Victoria's maths teachers who already enjoy an international reputation for professional excellence.

"While we are always looking to improve maths education in Victorian schools, it's also important to acknowledge the amazing work so many teachers are already doing in classrooms right now," Mr Hall said.

"This is why more than 100 participants have flown in from across the globe, from China, New Zealand, the US, Singapore and Malaysia, to join this conference, which is a vote of confidence in the quality of maths teaching in Victoria."

Mr Hall said the Victorian Government also supported maths teachers in Victorian government schools through a range of initiatives, including offering maths teachers a Masters in Numeracy through the Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership.

Mathematical Association of Victoria President Allason McNamara said Mr Dixon was the first education minister to attend the conference in 10 years.

"It is pleasing to see this demonstration of the Government's interest and support for improvements in maths education in Victoria's schools," Ms McNamara said.

The two-day conference for teachers from government, Catholic and independent schools is entitled Mathematics is Multi-dimensional, and offers participants more than 395 different workshops, lectures and sessions to choose from, including:

• What do ski jumps and kangaroo tails have in common?
• Quiz it maths! A trivia show mixing pop culture with maths, and
• Maths in a globalised world

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