Mathematics

‘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. 

Joy Russell, a teacher at Scotch Oakburn College in Tasmania, organised a professional learning event all about financial literacy earlier this year. In today’s Q&A, she explains how it helped participants to build a strong support network, share practical ideas through connections with local business leaders, and take valuable lessons back to their own classrooms.

Maths anxiety and negative attitudes towards the subject impact student engagement, learning and achievement. St Raphael’s School in Adelaide has just hosted a week-long celebration designed to tackle maths anxiety and bust myths. In our latest leadership Q&A, Principal Emma Fowler shares more.

How are you engaging students in STEM subjects and empowering them to choose a career in STEM? These are the aims of the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge, and the 2025 winners have been announced today. Find out more in today’s article. 

Each cycle of the global Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) includes a student questionnaire. One questionnaire topic – effort and persistence in mathematics – is essential for students’ success and skill development. The data provide useful prompts for teachers when considering their own students.

‘… research published in recent months has shown how students’ dispositions to learning are shaped by us, and how these dispositions in turn influence achievement.’ In his latest Teacher column, Professor Martin Westwell – Chief Executive of the South Australian Department for Education – discusses the maths gender gap.

This term, thousands of 15-year-olds around Australia are sitting PISA – showing how they can apply their knowledge and skills to real-life problems and situations. Here, we look at what’s new for the 2025 cycle of this global assessment, and how teachers and leaders can use PISA insights to inform their own practice and drive school improvement.

In this episode of Teacher Staffroom, we share some of the highlights from the past month on Teacher, including an article on the International Mathematical Modeling Challenge and a contribution from Rachael Lehr on how to start the term off strongly.