Thursday 24 November 2022. 9:00am - 10:00am
Karen Skilling
Vignettes representing practice to support mathematics teaching
Contact Author: Karen Skilling (
Department of Education, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6PY, UK
BACKGROUND
The study of mathematics in many countries is positioned as being significant, often associated with individual and societal benefits described in policy documents. As the study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics and STEM ‘climate’ has gained momentum, the central role of mathematics as foundational for establishing mathematical competencies is emphasised. The importance of learning and teaching mathematics is fundamental in initial teacher training as pre-service teachers (PSTs) critically examine subject knowledge and pedagogy. One way to stimulate activities and discussions amongst PSTs is through the use of vignettes, which can be designed as representations of practice and assist in identifying and re-imagining beliefs as professional knowledge is developed. Vignettes (in text, cartoon, video formats) are suitable for succinctly representing fictitious ‘situations’ which are discernible by participants as credible representations of practice and can be purposefully constructed to draw out the beliefs and meanings pre-service teachers ascribe to particular phenomena (Skilling & Stylianides, 2020).
Fred Nsowah, Robyn Reaburn and Greg Oates
Senior high school mathematics teachers’ assessment practices
Contact Author: Fred Adusei Nsowah (
University of Tasmania, Faculty of Education, Launceston, Tas 7248, Australia
BACKGROUND AND AIMS
The African Union, through Agenda 2063, has responded to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by setting out a vision for the continent with the aim of setting up diversified and industrialized economy which is environmentally sustainable with good governance. STEM education plays a role in developing human capital around education, healthcare and artisans which require general education to be provided at secondary level with a firm foundation in STEM education from the basic level to the tertiary level. However, teachers’ assessment practices and factors affecting teachers’ use of assessment practices have been identified to inhibit the teaching of mathematics in STEM education at the senior high schools in Ghana. Also, teachers’ demographic characteristics such as age, gender, teaching experience and academic qualification influence teachers’ use of assessment practices in the teaching of mathematics. This study explores Senior High School (SHS) mathematics teachers’ assessment practices, the factors affecting teachers’ use of assessment practices and the effect of teachers’ demographics on assessment practices in mathematics within the STEM education in Ghana.
