This is our final post on the Australian Curriculum.* We’ll try to keep it short. We shall make the simple point that it does not matter what the curriculum purports to cover since there is not also included a clear indication of the extent and depth of what the teacher is expected to teach and, thus, what the student is expected to learn. Continue reading “New Cur 31: The Poverty of No Expectations”
Category: New Cur
New Cur 30: The Complete Pain Words
WRITING STYLE
I am not a good writer. Primarily, I use the monkey-typewriter method: if you rewrite a sentence sufficiently many times then you’ll eventually wind up with something at least serviceable. Then, if you rewrite a paragraph sufficiently many times … And so on. It is not a very efficient method. Continue reading “New Cur 30: The Complete Pain Words”
New Cur 29: Negative Definite
We’ve already written about the lack of proof in the Australian curriculum. The problem is much more fundamental than that, however: there is a lack of clear mathematical constructs to even prove things about.
Continue reading “New Cur 29: Negative Definite”
New Cur 28: Digital Tools
Some titles write themselves.
It’s been a while, but we haven’t forgotten about ACARA and their appalling curriculum. We’ve whacked the curriculum plenty, but there are still a few whacks left on our to-do list.
New Cur 27: The Proof Is in the Plodding
A month or so ago, we posted on Euclid et al, asking about the proper role of proof in a mathematics curriculum. The question and subsequent discussion was purely theoretical of course, since proof barely exists in the Australian Curriculum. Here’s the proof. Continue reading “New Cur 27: The Proof Is in the Plodding”
New Cur 26: Algorithmic Sinking
One of the shiny new expressions of mathematics education is algorithmic thinking or, if one prefers, computational thinking. It is 10% shrewd rebranding and 90% poisonous snake oil. The new Australian Curriculum is full of it. Continue reading “New Cur 26: Algorithmic Sinking”
New Cur 25: Some Cultures Are More Equal Than Others
It’s a mathematics curriculum: one does not expect much history or many references to other cultures. Typically there are a few Roman numerals, a quick hello to Pythagoras and Archimedes, and that’s about it. More would be good, but it is not to be expected.
Continue reading “New Cur 25: Some Cultures Are More Equal Than Others”
New Cur 24: ATSI Elaborations and the Games People Play
Last year, after the appearance of ACARA’s appalling draft curriculum, we ran a competition: find the best Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elaboration. No one took our competition seriously. This was perhaps unsurprising, since most readers of this blog would have been sceptical already, and then our introduction to the competition hammered the ATSI cross-curriculum priority as enacted in the draft mathematics curriculum. We were serious, but no matter. There is a new mathematics curriculum, with revised ATSI elaborations, and we move on.
Continue reading “New Cur 24: ATSI Elaborations and the Games People Play”
New Cur 23: False Equivalence
INTRODUCTION
The word “equivalent” is one of the most useful in mathematics and one of the most abused in mathematics education. The implication is that this one is not all ACARA’s fault. Nonetheless, the fact that it was predictable that ACARA would make a mess of it doesn’t alter the fact that ACARA made a mess of it. So, here we are. And a warning: this is a long post; there seemed no way around it.
New Cur 22: Stupor Model
When attacking ACARA’s draft mathematics curriculum, we noted the frequency with which certain words and phrases appeared. Below is the revised count for some of these, for the new curriculum. Not that ACARA is mandating how teachers should teach, or anything like that. It’s obviously the furthest thing from ACARA’s innocent little mind.