Abstract

Australia has a distinct and increasingly urgent need for a formal professional development program for lecturers and tutors teaching in disciplines in the mathematical sciences. Each year in Australia, around 18,000 undergraduate students study a subject in the mathematical sciences (DEEWR, 2008). Mathematics teaching staff receive some training in learning and teaching but many of the courses run at university level are not tailored to the mathematical sciences.

This project aims to explicitly embed the acquisition of teaching skills by developing a discipline-specific program of teacher development and disseminating it through tertiary institutions across Australia.
The impact on the profession and the student experience will be significant. Higher degree by research and honours students will be included in this project as these are our future academics and academic leaders. To ensure that this professional development is sustainable, it will be attached to the Australian Mathematical Society annual conference, building capability as the conference moves around Australia each year.