1. science
2. mathematics

THE MATHEMATICAL
ASSOCIATION OF VICTORIA
Monday, 13 April 2015
Jo Patterson
Group Manager Registration & Accreditation | Registration & Accreditation
Victorian Institute of Teaching
Level 9
628 Bourke Street
Melbourne Victoria 3000
Sent by digital transmission only to: [email protected]
Dear Ms Patterson,
PERMISSION TO TEACH POLICY REVIEW DISCUSSION PAPER
Please find attached a submission to the Victorian Institute of Teaching by the
Mathematical Association of Victoria.
This submission draws on contributions from MAV Council members and the advice of
staff of the MAV.
I trust that it will be of some assistance to the Institute.
Yours sincerely,
SIMON PRYOR
Chief Executive Officer
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THE MATHEMATICAL
ASSOCIATION OF VICTORIA
Submission
To the Victorian Institute of Teaching
Subject:
Permission To Teach Policy Review Discussion Paper
Date:
Monday, 13 April 2015
Background
The Mathematical Association of Victoria will be focussing its submission on the
relationship between an effective Permission to Teach policy and practice and
mathematics education.
Generally the MAV believes that permission to teach under a number of controls and with
the intention to proceed through further appropriate training is necessary, particularly in
areas of shortage. However there should be a clear requirement of the candidate having
some pedagogical understanding of 21st century requirements and certainly in the case of
mathematics, mathematical knowledge and some pedagogical content knowledge
relevant to the teaching levels, along with the opportunity for further appropriate training.
The Association will be proposing that the Victorian Institute of Teaching revise the
Permission to Teach policy and develop guidelines to facilitate the development of
qualified and capable mathematics teachers for Victorian schools. It does so because
regular Staff in Australia's Schools (SiAS) surveys commissioned by the Australian
Government Department of Education (DoE) demonstrate an ongoing concern about the
availability of qualified mathematics teachers to many schools. Further, the Australian
Mathematical Sciences Institute (http://amsi.org.au/publications/policy-measures-reversemathematical-deficit/) ties the Australia's failure to engage sufficient numbers of
secondary school and university students in the study of the ‘STEM’ subjects (science,
technology, engineering and mathematics) to a current and growing shortage of qualified
mathematics teachers. This commentary certainly resonates with the consistent message
MAV Councillors and staff hear from school leaders across Victoria; there are simply not
enough mathematics teachers to go around.
Permission to teach types
The MAV believes that a revised Permission to Teach policy should recognise that
schools may wish to recruit qualified and experienced mathematicians from other
professions such as engineering, research science and industries such as finance and
healthcare as ‘career changers’ in order to develop them as qualified and capable
mathematics teachers.
In addition, schools may wish recruit teachers from other fields in order to support their
acquisition of the mathematics and pedagogical content knowledge necessary for them to
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Permission To Teach Policy Review Discussion Paper
qualify to teach mathematics with the same degree of proficiency they displayed for the
teaching methods they were initially qualified to teach.
Skills and experience
The MAV sees this area of the inquiry as more of a process question than anything else.
The MAV is putting the proposition that Permission to Teach should be given to someone
with a blend of sufficient skills, experience, content and pedagogical knowledge that
would make them more effective for student and schools than there to be no mathematics
educator at all.
Someone with all the requisite skills, experience and qualifications for mathematics
education would be a registered mathematics teacher. By necessity, then, a Permission to
Teach policy must acknowledge that someone not qualified to teach cannot be expected,
yet, to demonstrate the full capacities of a mathematics teacher. However, the MAV holds
that anyone given Permission to Teach mathematics should be embarking on a journey to
qualify as a registered mathematics teacher by the time the term granted for a Permission
to Teach has expired.
There are certainly necessary skills and experience – and the Victorian Institute of
Teaching has access to excellent maths educators at universities across Victoria to help
describe this for mathematics education should it decide to explore the MAV proposition
further.
Evidence is emerging to show that (Profiles of Teachers in Selected Curriculum Areas:
Further Analysis of the Staff in Australia's Schools 2013 Survey, ACER, May 2014) a
significant proportion (40%?) of teachers recruited in the future to teach maths in Victorian
schools will have qualifications and experience from elsewhere. In the instance where
those qualifications and experience are not sufficient to warrant immediate registration as
a teacher in Victoria, with a wide diversity of local and international qualifications it is not
feasible to specify in detail what is ‘in’ or ‘out’. The main requirement is to have evidence
of a capacity to perform the role. This includes both a knowledge of the mathematics and
the relevant mathematical pedagogy. There are not many candidates for Permission to
Teach in mathematics so it would be feasible to interview the candidates. The MAV
proposes a partnership with the professional association for mathematics education
where candidates for a grant of Permission to Teach attend a structured interview with a
representative from the Victorian Institute of Teaching, the Mathematical Association of
Victoria (ensuring appropriate mathematical representation) and a practising teacher of
the relevant levels, where the interviewee would be presented with two or three scenarios
in response to which they would explain what they would do and why, with questioning
about the pedagogical thinking behind the response. A rubric set against a set of agreed
criteria would be applied. Unsuccessful candidates would be counselled about areas that
need improvement.
Pathways to recognition
The MAV holds that because a grant of Permission to Teach can be a pathway to full
registration as a teacher it ought be actively used in that fashion. A grant of Permission to
Teach can help career change mathematicians, ‘out of field’ teachers now seeking to
teach mathematics and international recruits wishing to complete the Victorian teacher
registration process work towards full registration as mathematics teachers. A grant of
Permission to Teach accompanied by a program of professional support and development
can enable individuals to overcome the financial impediment so often described as the
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Permission To Teach Policy Review Discussion Paper
principal reason people opt to continue in or start a career in another profession rather
than that of mathematics teaching.
Workforce shortages
The Victorian Auditor-General’s Report Science and Mathematics Participation Rates and
Initiatives (June 2012) finds that, despite a 2006 Parliamentary enquiry, the subsequent
Energising Science and Mathematics Education in Victoria strategy and a variety of
associated initiatives, the Department of Education “ has not succeeded in raising
achievement in science and mathematics”. This report shows that:
! Students from schools in low socio-economic status and non-metropolitan areas
“fare much worse in science and mathematics”.
! Despite the marked influence teaching quality has on student interest and
achievement, DET “lacks essential data, has failed to develop a robust workforce
strategy, and its teacher recruitment and professional learning initiatives have had
little, if any, impact on the quality of science and mathematics teaching and
learning.”
! It is notably more difficult for regional schools and those in disadvantaged
metropolitan areas to employ “suitably qualified science and mathematics
teachers.”
! The quality of the mathematics and science classroom shapes student interest and
teaching strategies – and varies “within and across schools.”
The section on teacher supply and demand is especially pertinent. The Auditor General
finds that the Education Department does not know the number of mathematics teachers
“needed or currently employed”, nor the qualifications and experience of current
mathematics teachers and not even about the availability and distribution of mathematics
teachers with schools in rural, regional and low SES areas experiencing the gravest
difficulties in recruiting qualified and capable mathematics teachers.
Workforce shortage relates to both the subject area and the location. There is a shortage
of qualified teachers of mathematics in all regions but particularly country regions. At the
moment there are many teachers teaching out of field, that is, teaching mathematics
without ever having studied how best to teach mathematics. The matter will not resolve
itself without active response based on such approaches as subsidised re-training, golden
handshakes to sign on in rural or difficult areas, and HECS fees foregone in exchange for
a set number of years of service.
The MAV's members have raised serious concerns about the problems of teachers
teaching out of field who do not have the appropriate mathematical content or
mathematical pedagogical content knowledge. There is a concern about the lowering of
standards. In the MAV's 2014 survey of all members this was highlighted as the most
significant issue of concern to mathematics teachers across the State.
Generally the Permission to Teach policy should be in response to needs.
Teacher exchange programs
Judging by the information provided, only a small number of teacher exchanges occur
through the current Permission to Teach policy. The MAV believes that the notion of
teacher exchange is for quite different purposes to those generally provided for through a
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Permission To Teach Policy Review Discussion Paper
Permission to Teach policy. Therefore, the Institute should develop a separate Teacher
Exchanges Program policy.
Second and subsequent applications
The essence of the MAV proposition is that a program of professional support and
learning should be at the core of any Permission to Teach for mathematics education with
a clear pathway to qualification as a mathematics teacher. This does need to be flexible.
First time applicants who should be allowed to have time in the Permission to Teach role
to determine whether they think it suits them. Accommodation needs to be made for the
three types of recruits to a Permission to Teach development process (career change
mathematicians, ‘out of field’ teachers now seeking to teach mathematics and
international recruits wishing to complete the Victorian teacher registration process). For
mathematics this acceptance should be after an interview to determine suitability. So a
first grant of Permission to Teach may involve the design of a program of support and
development by the Institute in consultation with the MAV and the recruiting school.
Second time applicants who have not yet achieved full registration should be required to
present their plan for attaining registration for approval by the Institute.
Subject areas
There are only 37 Permission to Teach teachers in mathematics as at the start of the
school year 2015. Yet mathematics is commonly taught at the critical junior secondary
level by out of field teachers who are formally qualified to teach but have little to no
preparation as teachers of mathematics. Often their only knowledge of how to teach
mathematics is their memory of the way they were taught.
There should not be limits; rather it is a matter of being able to respond to needs.
Mathematics teaching is one area of need at present and seems likely to become more so
with its ageing workforce. Data presented to the MAV suggests that the mathematics
teaching workforce will increasingly comprise people with a variety of international
backgrounds and qualifications; these may need to be accommodated initially under
Permission to Teach.
Vocational education and training
Certificate IV is acceptable for a first appointment with Permission to Teach but the
candidate will need to be counselled about how to upgrade the qualification.
Special conditions
The Permission to Teach policy is sufficiently restrictive in its present form. The MAV
believes, however that the requirement for some mathematical pedagogical content
knowledge and a clear policy for ongoing learning built in to the permission to teach
mathematics should be strengthened.
There is one special situation, though, that the MAV would see as appropriate for
Permission to Teach. That is candidates in mathematics who are undertaking teacher
training at a secondary school level. These candidates should be able to be given
Permission to Teach concurrently with their course if they have a good mentor in the
school and meet other requirements for Permission to Teach. They would be required to
complete their course within a set time period of perhaps 3 years.
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Appendix – About the MAV
MAV Core Statement
Valuing mathematics in society
MAV Mission
The Mathematical Association of Victoria (MAV) is a membership driven not-for-profit
association, which provides a voice, leadership and professional support for mathematical
education. Its mission is to advocate for the continual review and improvement of
mathematics education and the profession of mathematics teaching.
The MAV will achieve this by:
•
Being a leading voice in mathematics education,
•
Supporting mathematics teachers and educators,
•
Listening and responding to members and the broader mathematics community about
their professional needs,
•
Celebrating excellence in mathematics education,
•
Defining the profession of the mathematics educator,
•
Promoting best practice in mathematics education,
•
Influencing policy and practice in mathematics education, and
•
Promoting the importance of mathematics in careers and daily life.
Background
The Mathematical Association of Victoria (MAV) first met in July 1906.
The Association has since developed over time into a large professional teacher
association with over 10,500 teachers in schools from all systems across Victoria entitled
to membership benefits. 63% of members are based in Greater Melbourne, 37% in
regional Victoria. 68% of members are based at State schools, 19% in the Catholic
system and 13% from independent schools. 52% of members work at the primary school
level, 46% at the secondary level with the remainder at TAFE and universities.
A Council of elected members governs the MAV. Councillors take responsibility for
particular portfolio areas such as professional development, student activities, journals,
publications and membership services.
The staff work together to plan and deliver specific services to members, such as:
! Professional learning programs
! Curriculum implementation support
! Publications
! Public lectures
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! Student enrichment activities like VCE revision days, family maths nights, games days
and project based quests
! An annual metropolitan conference attended by 2,000 teachers
! Regional conferences attended by over 300 teachers
! Policy development and advice to members, Government and the Victorian Curriculum
and Assessment Authority
! Advocacy and information services.
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