Mathematics

Buy-now pay-later services, pocket money apps, online scams, gambling advertising and cryptocurrency are part of some students’ everyday lives. In today’s article, 2 mathematics teachers from Marryatville High School in South Australia share how they’ve applied some of their learning from a professional development partnership into their financial literacy electives for year 9 and 10. 

Media and Artificial Intelligence Literacy (MAIL) has been announced as the innovative domain for PISA 2029. The OECD has already released the first draft framework, offering an early understanding of how media literacy and AI literacy intersect and link to other curriculum areas, the key concepts and big ideas, and how to nurture the related competences.

In our latest reader submission, Dr Aylie Davidson, Lecturer in Mathematics Education at Deakin University, explains that planning for learning necessitates intellectual and collaborative effort, and outlines what an effective planning meeting for maths looks like in practice.

Recent data show that improving students’ critical thinking and problem‑solving skills is the most desired professional learning topic for both year 4 and year 8 teachers in Australia. In today’s expert Q&A we speak to Renee Ladner, Education Consultant at the Mathematical Association of Victoria about the PD needs of maths teachers.

In today’s episode Dominique Russell speaks with the 2 recipients of the 2025 Prime Minister’s Prizes for Excellence in Science Teaching – Paula Taylor from the ACT and Matt Dodds from NSW. They share the lesson activities that are a hit in their science classrooms, the teachers that had an impact on them, and how they’re sharing their knowledge with other educators. 

Do your students count on their fingers for mathematics tasks? Do you encourage them to count on their fingers, or do you focus on supporting them to make calculations mentally? New research from Switzerland suggests finger counting has a positive impact on student outcomes, but only when it’s used at a specific age. 

The IEA’s Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is a global assessment measuring student achievement in years 4 and 8. Teachers from participating schools also complete a questionnaire. Today’s infographic looks at the topics that mathematics teachers reported needing professional development on in the future.

‘I wanted to make a meaningful change in how our kids see themselves as mathematicians.’ Mathematics teacher Holly Wedd has been making a significant difference to the way students at her school succeed in maths by boosting their confidence and reducing mathematics anxiety. 

Each cycle of the global Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) includes a teacher questionnaire. One questionnaire topic – encouraging mathematical thinking – can help foster critical thinking, enhance problem-solving skills and allow students to see the relevance and connectedness of mathematics in their lives.

The winners of the 2025 Prime Minister’s Prizes for Excellence in Science Teaching have just been announced. The national award includes prize money of $250,000 and is presented to one primary and one secondary teacher in Australia. Find out more about the 2025 winners in this article.