This paper is from Session 10C: Collaboration among countries

which comes under Topic 10: Innovative collaboration in statistics education

How the curriculum shapes teachers’ thinking: a comparison of New Zealand and Australian teachers’ thinking about statistics

Presenter

• Rosemary Callingham (University of Tasmania, Australia)

Co-author

• Tim Burgess (Massey University, New Zealand)

Abstract

As part of a larger project considering teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching, focus groups of teachers in Australia and New Zealand were asked to respond to stimulus material including student responses to test items. Statistics questions were included. The New Zealand curriculum, which includes statistics in its title, has a stronger focus on statistics than does the Australian Curriculum – Mathematics. It was notable that New Zealand teachers placed more emphasis on statistical understanding, especially at the higher levels of schooling. In contrast, Australian teachers focussed on algebraic reasoning and functions, and did not engage with statistical questions as enthusiastically as their peers in the different country. Although Australia and New Zealand are often considered to be very similar, it is evident that the curriculum context elicited different responses. The implications of this finding will be discussed.