JULY 2009

AMSI received a grant of Two Million dollars from the Australian Government, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) to extend our work in four key areas:

1 Outreach

Schools in the Illawarra had been working with AMSI with support from BlueScope Steel Ltd. and the University of Wollongong since 2007.  Over a three-year period the schools were provided with mathematics textbooks and related teaching materials for students from Upper Primary to Year 10, a program of teacher professional development and on-going support for all aspects of the program. The new funding allowed AMSI to extend this program into five new regions across the country as identified in conjunction with DEEWR, and to expand our coverage in Wollongong.
We worked with schools, our member universities and corporate partners in these areas and clusters of secondary schools and partner primary schools were formed for the 2010 school year.

2 Modules

- teaching and learning resources to support the implementation of the national mathematics curriculum.

Modules were written to support teachers in their teaching of mathematics. Teachers in Outreach clusters worked with us to develop the materials. These will provide teachers with a valuable mathematical resource. Towards the end of 2010, the modules were made available to all teachers across the country electronically via the AMSI website.

3 Careers materials

Innovative careers materials were developed to raise awareness among students, parents, school career advisers and others about the mathematics requirements for different careers. An initial research and review process established key directions with a broad range of employer groups and key stakeholders involved in the process. Careers posters, booklets and DVD were distributed to every primary and secondary school across Australia.

4 CSIRO collaboration

Maths and Stats by Email
CSIRO and AMSI  jointly developed and operate a regular enewsletter, Mathematics by Email (MbE). MbE is based on the highly successful Science by Email model currently operated by CSIRO. Maths and Stats by Email is aimed at primary and secondary school teachers, students of age 10+ and families.

Mathematicians in Schools
AMSI will participate in a joint collaboration to support the Mathematicians in Schools program run by CSIRO. AMSI will advertise, through all its current means of communication, to schools and to mathematicians, the benefits of participating in the Mathematicians in Schools program.