Researcher Highlights
Re-energising maths education

There has been a massive drop in the number of advanced mathematics students in the last decade, accompanied by poor results across all school years.

Dr Elena Prieto-Rodriguez believes this has significant implications for Australia's ability to produce the next generation of engineers, physicists, chemists and software engineers – the innovators we need to skill Australia into the future.

An expert in theoretical computer science and mathematics education from the University of Newcastle's School of Education, Prieto-Rodriguez is on a mission to shape the next generation of mathematics teachers so they can re-energise Australia's mathematics education.

"Mathematics is essential in engineering and science degrees, and we know there is a shortage of students taking these subjects in Australia," said Prieto-Rodriguez.

"Somehow we have to convey the relevance of maths to students, to show them how important this is if you want to be an innovator."

She is currently engaged in the Inspiring Mathematics and Science in Teacher Education (IMSITE) project. This cross-institutional study involves six Australian universities that are looking at the training of pre-service maths teachers in a bid to engage more students to continue in their mathematics education.

The hope is that these teachers will be able to convey to students not only the beauty of mathematics, but its relevance to other subjects and future career paths.

"The other issue is that maths is very difficult, so we need teachers who are really proficient, not just at a secondary level but also in primary," said Prieto-Rodriguez.

Having recently developed a suite of online courses for maths teachers, which enable better interaction with online instructors, her research has found that blended teaching is more successful if it offers discussion forums.

Prieto-Rodriguez's interest in maths education started during her undergraduate years, and she spent 18 months training maths teachers in a bullet-marked university in El Salvador before moving to Canada to commence a postgraduate degree in computer science.

Being an expert in theoretical computer science as well as mathematics education has huge advantages. She is able to understand and impart the value of computational thinking in modern teaching. Prieto-Rodriguez believes computer science is about much more than programming – it's about imagination and innovation.

"Every time you google or use your smartphone, you run algorithms that were designed using computational thinking, which is a particular way of thinking about how to implement ideas with hardware or software," said Prieto-Rodriguez.

"Many people don't understand the work behind the internet, and we're trying to introduce this into the curriculum at a primary and secondary level all over the world."

Her expertise in computational thinking has led to several projects, which are partly funded by Google, to engage school teachers and students and fill gaps in Australia's skill base.

For example, she ran a series of professional development workshops for teachers that aimed to promote computer science and provide the skills and resources necessary to teach it. A major sticking point, she found, was that most teachers did not fully understand what computational thinking was – believing it to be solely about programming.She has also worked with two local schools in Newcastle to take part in Code.org, an international not-for-profit initiative involving 45 million students worldwide that aims to introduce computer science into schools.

Women in STEM

Elena is a co-founder of HunterWiSE, a group dedicated to promoting and supporting girls and women in STEM.

HunterWiSE features two interlinked actions aimed at increasing the number of girls and women participating in STEM through a school program and a series of networking events across the Hunter for women STEM professionals.

This approach is designed to steer women toward STEM, and encourage their retention in the STEM pipeline.

PhD and Research Masters expressions of interest

If you are a prospective PhD or Research Masters student and are interested in STEM Education, please email Elena Prieto-Rodriguez.