Inspiring mathematics and science in teacher education
Improving the quality of mathematics and science teaching and learning in schools is an issue high on the agendas of governments, universities, and the teaching profession itself. Demand for well-qualified teachers is an area of pressure at a time when teacher education in Australia is coming under increasing scrutiny due to the emergence of a national education policy environment. This new environment features accountability measures such as a national assessment program in literacy and numeracy for school students (with the prospect of similar national testing in science), a national system for accreditation of pre-service teacher education programs, and national professional standards for teachers. Because this project is designed to ensure deliberate and systematic engagement with universities beyond the lead and partner institutions, it will generate outcomes useful to all Australian institutions that offer pre-service teacher education programs. As well as producing resources that other universities can adapt to their own contexts, it seeks to identify models and principles for integrating content and pedagogy and for fostering collaboration that could be taken up by other disciplines involved in the pre-service preparation of teachers.