Reflections from SA Museum workshop

A group of enthusiastic educators joined us last month at the South Australian Museum for a full day workshop 'Culturally Responsive Mathematics: FIrst Nations Histories and Cultures in the Maths Curriculum' 

Dr Caty Morris, ATSIMA and CSER Maths in Schools Team led participants through an exploration of the First Nations histories and cultures content in the latest version of the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics. Aimed at current educators and pre-service teachers of years Foundation – Year 10, it was an engaging event.

Participants were fortunate to have a private tour of the Australian Aboriginal Cultures Galleries with Dr Jared Thomas from the Museum. Important connections were made with relevant items in the Museum such as projectile technologies (e.g. spear throwers), instructional games, and fishing nets and traps.

Following the tour, participants attended the workshop facilitated by Dr Caty Morris, where educators received access to lesson plan examples and teacher background information to support curriculum planning. Local contexts were explored with the opportunity for some collaborative planning at the end of the day. 

Through the workshop educators were able to:

• gain a deeper understanding of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority in the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics and how to respectfully and appropriately deliver this in the maths classroom  
• learn about ways to connect mathematics with First Nations cultures including through material culture items such as projectile technologies
• learn about The Goompi Model that provides a framework to develop lesson strategies, plans and ideas that can be adapted to your school's context

Feedback from participants included:

"Wonderful. Great introduction. Extensive research based examples and ideas. Hands on learning. Knowledgeable presenters, Happy to answer questions."

"Inspiring. Taught us to identify relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and maths."

"The workshop was jam packed full of knowledge and sharing"

A second session has been scheduled for Friday 13th September 8:30am - 4:00pm at the South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA. This session has also booked out, however there is a waitlist to potentially set up a third workshop, please join the list if you would like to participate. To register for free please follow this link . 

Maths in Schools: Teaching and Learning Resources to Support Mathematics is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education