Associate Professor Helen Chick
University of Tasmania, Australia

Title: Setting a good example

Abstract

The mathematical problems, tasks, demonstrations, and exercises that teachers and students engage with in classrooms are usually intended to illustrate general principles. So, what makes a good example or sequence of examples, and how do we, as teachers, help learners make the most of them? Setting good examples requires us to think deeply about the mathematical principles we are trying to convey and how to make these apparent to students. In this talk we will look at some examples and how different choices within the example and in the way the example is used can make a difference for learning.

Biodata

Helen began her career as a high school mathematics teacher before returning to university to complete a PhD in mathematics, teaching both mathematics and mathematics education at the tertiary level during that time. She then became a teacher educator and researcher at the University of Melbourne where she worked for 13 years prior to her current appointment at the University of Tasmania. She works with pre-service and in-service primary and secondary mathematics teachers, and helping teachers to appreciate and convey the wonders of mathematics is one of her passions. She regularly writes and reviews papers for research and teaching journals, and is a senior editor of the International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. She is especially interested in the role of examples in teaching and learning.