School teachers actively involved in short course

On Tuesday 27th Nov 2007 the Faculty of Science hosted a Professional Development Short Course for Mathematics Teachers which was conducted by the School of Mathematics and Statistics at UNSW.

This was the third such Short Course that the School has run and there were 54 school teachers present on the day.

The course consisted of two one hour talks.

The first was given by Peter Brown entitled Trigonometry: From the Greeks to Year 12, which looked at a little of the historical development of trigonometry and presented a number of interesting, but elementary, examples from trigonometry which teachers could use in both their Year 9 and 10 classes as well as their senior classes up to Extension 2.

The second talk was given by Milan Pahor entitled HSC Marking: Tales from the Crypt. Milan spoke about his extensive experience as a Senior HSC marker and shared a number of insights into the marking and setting of HSC material. He also suggested some important facets for teachers to keep in mind when setting high school examinations. There was a lot of lively discussion in this session.

The feedback from the teachers was very positive and the School intends to continue offering these valuable short courses to assist practising teachers in their professional development. The next one will probably be held towards the end of November 2008. Invitations to participate are sent out to nearby high schools, but all are welcome. For further details, contact: Peter Brown at peter followed by @unsw.edu.au

The School thanks Rachelle Carritt of Faculty marketing for her organisational work.

See further our pages on resources for teachers and on the schools mathematics magazine Parabola.