This document summarizes the activities of a project aimed at building leadership capacity for teaching first year mathematics. It describes interviews conducted with first year coordinators, workshops held with mathematics educators, and a national forum on assumed knowledge in mathematics. The project seeks to establish a network for sharing resources and experiences to support those in first year coordinator roles and address challenges in transition, pedagogy, curriculum and assessment in first year mathematics.

1. First Year in Maths
Building Leadership Capacity in
University First Year Learning and
Teaching in the Mathematical Sciences
Support for this project/activity has been provided by the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching. The views in
this project do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching.

2. The Team
Dr Deborah King
Ms Joann Cattlin
The University of Melbourne
Professor Jo Ward
Curtin University
A/Prof. Leon Poladian
The University of Sydney
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Dr Adrian Koerber
University of Adelaide 2

3. Thank you to our sponsors
• Office for Learning and Teaching
• Australian Council of Deans of Science
• Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute
• Australian Mathematics Society
• The Australian Mathematical Sciences Learning and Teaching
Network (AMSLaTNeT)
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4. This is a project about people
rather than things
People who have responsibility
for first year mathematics
• Define a role (or roles)
• Raise their profile
• Articulate the value of these positions
• Describe a culture
Create a useful and thriving
network
• Dialogical space
• Resource sharing
• Professional development and
mentoring
• Advocacy
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5. What’s in it for each of us?
First year students are our future
• Graduate students
• Professionals with maths qualifications
• Scientists
• Teachers
• Decision makers!
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6. What do first year coordinators do?
• We talked to people who had a defined role as a first
year coordinator or a large responsibility for first
year teaching
• via one-on-one interviews
• via workshops
• We were surprised at how few designated first year
(program) coordinators there are across Australia.
• We found 4 at the start of the project, there are now 6.
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7. Interviews
We conducted 39 interviews across 25 universities.
Responsibilities
•Leadership
•Management
•Administration
•Teaching and Assessment
Student Diversity
•Service teaching
•Preparedness
•Future pathways
•Engagement
Challenges
•Workload
•Effecting change
•Managing expectations
Adaptive responses
• Bridging programs
•Online learning
•Diagnostic Testing
•Maths Support
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8. Responsibilities
• Centralised vs. devolved
• Leadership
• selection and allocation of staff
• tutor training
• monitoring and feedback (QA)
• Management and Administration
• Emails, complaints, etc. too many to list
• Teaching and Assessment
• Curriculum update and reform
• Enrolments, databases, timetables, exam papers
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9. Student Diversity
• Preparedness, ability, needs or interest
• what really happens when you have assumed knowledge rather
than pre-requisites?
• collecting data to establish a baseline.
• Lack of contact with colleagues from other faculties
• maths educators don’t know the context
• other faculty not knowing what’s in the maths course.
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10. Adaptive responses
• Multiplicity of service courses
• First year subjects covering different levels of high school
content
• Mathematics for engineering, biomedical science, life science,
business, education
• Diagnostic testing
• Needs of advanced students
• Bridging support
• Online resources
• Video consultations, recorded lectures, Maple TA, online text
books, discussion boards, course materials.
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11. Challenges
• High workload
• Constant interruptions, emails
• All-consuming administration
• Lack of support or respect
• No validation from colleagues
• Lack of contact with “peers”
• Effecting change
• Lack of positional authority
• Balancing research, teaching, administration and life
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• 40+40+20+X > 100
• Learning on the job 11

12. First Workshop 21 June 2013, Melbourne
• Over 30 academics representing 21 institutions
• Covered every state (except NT) and New Zealand
• Go8, ATN, IRU, RUN
• First year coordinators, lecturers, undergraduate
coordinators and PhD students
• Majority >5 years teaching
experience, some >20
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13. Workshop Outcomes
• Confirmed the need for a network.
• Information sharing was key
• they just needed an opportunity to do it – “off-grid”
• Forum for discussion of concerns that have national
implications
• Chance to determine which issues are local and which are
global
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14. Workshop Outcomes
• Impact of assumed knowledge entry requirements
• Lack of communication with science colleagues
• Decline in basic mathematical skills
• Increasing student diversity
• Innovative approaches to teaching
• Inspiring the disengaged
• Teaching large classes
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15. Second Workshop 23-24 June 2014, Melbourne
• 70 academics representing 24 institutions
• From PhD students, to heads of department, to ADTL’s
• Flipped classrooms
• Lecture recordings
• Student engagement
• Interactive tutorials
• Blended learning
• Online supports
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16. National Forum 13th&14th February 2014
ACSME and Delta talks highlighted that the issue of assumed
knowledge is multifaceted and its consequences are widespread.
It’s not all just about us! Students who are underprepared in
mathematics fail to thrive in a broad range of disciplines from
science to commerce!
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17. National Forum 13th&14th February 2014, Sydney
Assumed knowledge in maths: Its broad impact on tertiary
STEM programs
145 participants including:
• academics from institutions across
the country
• peak bodies
• education specialists
• policy makers
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18. Outcomes
• Connections made with stakeholders
• Office of Chief Scientist
• Australian Council of Deans of Science
• Australian Mathematics Society
• Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute
• Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers
• ACARA and curriculum boards in NSW, ACT and Qld
• Power of a network
• we became a stakeholder
• gave a voice to this group
• Connections made with colleagues from biology, chemistry,
physics, engineering and education
But we needed to more than talk!
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19. Communique
• Minister Pyne
• Universities Australia
• Key stakeholders including
• Office of the Chief Scientist
• ACDS
• ACDE
• http://fyimaths.org.au
How can we address this challenge?
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20. Where to from here?
• Many FYC face serious difficulties in meeting the
expectations of their superiors, colleagues and students.
You're doing the thing that absolutely has to be done today or probably should
have been done yesterday and you just don't have a lot of time to really think about it.
It's very reactionary.’ First Year coordinator
• How can we support these people by raising the profile of their
role?
• Many FYC are isolated due to workload, geography,
departmental/school structures.
• How can a network provide supportive and useful activities and
resources for people in these positions?
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21. On the right track?
• We have started to build a network
• Groups are forming to talk about teaching
• People are starting to write about what they do
• Questions being directed to/through us
• Increased participation at national conferences
• Useful website (7,500 hits in 12 months)
• Inspired at least two groups to apply
for grants
• AAMT conference
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22. Ways forward for our network
• Developing an enduring event
• Format
• Location
• Timing
• Building personal connections based on shared interests
• Discussion and sharing
• Online presence
• What sort of online presence is the most useful to our
target audience?
• Developing a range of resources
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23. Building on our findings
Many issues to consider including:
• Transition
• Pedagogy
• Curriculum
• Assessment
• Service teaching
• Mathematics support
• Supporting our colleagues in their roles and developing their
careers
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24. mathsassess
Developing a shared understanding
of assessment criteria and standards
for undergraduate mathematics
Cristina Varsavsky
Karen Hogeboom
Monash University
Deborah King
The University of Melbourne
Carmel Coady
University of Western Sydney mathsassess.org
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25. mathsassess
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OLT report recommendations
• For OLT and networks: Undergraduate mathematics
assessment needs to remain on the national education
agenda.
• For heads of mathematics departments: Mathematics
departments need to pay more attention to assessment.
• For individual lecturers: Lecturers should not hesitate to use
criteria in the assessment of their units.
There much work to be done in mathematics assessment!

26. Combining forces
• Have had great support and feedback
• There is a need for a network for tertiary mathematics
educators
• Network forming
• FYiMaths
• mathsassess
• AmsLatNet
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27. Not just another diagnostic test
Extension Grant for Get Set
Deborah King
The University of Melbourne
Michael Jennings
The University of Queensland
Adam Bridgeman
University of Sydney
Liz Johnson
Deakin University
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28. Mind the Gap
• Seed grant application – how can we use diagnostic testing as
a vehicle for building a customer/client model with our
colleagues?
• Will this lead to a better understanding of
• what sort of mathematics is needed in chemistry, physics,
biology etc. for both parties
• how that content be should taught
• who should teach it
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29. Thanks!
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