Maths At Work – Mathematics in a Changing World - ALM

202 Pages·2011·2.4 MB·English

Maths At Work –
Mathematics in a Changing World

Proceedings of the 17 International Conference of
th
Adults Learning Mathematics (ALM)

Hosted by
Vox,
Norwegian Agency for Lifelong Learning
Oslo
Norway

28th – 30th June 2010

Editors:
Hanne Christensen
Javier Diez-Palomar
Joanne Kantner
Christopher M. Klinger
Published by Adults Learning Mathematics (ALM) – A Research Forum

Editors: Hanne Christensen, Javier Diez-Palomar

Associate Editors: Joanne Kantner, Christopher M. Klinger

Copyright © 2010 by Adults Learning Mathematics – A Research Forum.

Permission to make copies of individual articles, in paper or electronic form, including
posting on personal and class web pages, for educational and scientific use is granted without
fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and
that copies bear the following copyright notice: Copyright Adults Learning Mathematics – A
Research Forum 2010. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-82-7724-195-1 Format – Paperback book
ISBN 978-82-7724-196-8 Format – CD-ROM

These proceedings include both refereed and non-refereed papers.

People writing papers for the conference were able to choose whether or not they wanted to
go through the formal, blind, peer refereeing process. Those papers which went through this
refereeing process are marked in the table of contents with an asterisk (*) next to the title.

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Table of Contents
Page

About ALM vi

Preface viii

Plenary Presentations

Eva Jablonka, Luleå University of Technology
Contextualised Mathematics 3

Lene Johansen, Aalborg University
Why teach mathematics to Adults – in a changing world? 4

Lena Lindenskov, Danish School of Education
A door to lifelong learning for all 6

Terry Maguire, Institute of Technology Tallaght
Adults Learning Mathematics – Plotting a New Course 7

Daniel Sellers, Learning and Teaching Scotland
Tearing through the tartan maths ceiling 8

Sue Southwood, NIACE
Maths matters at work 9

Paper Presentations

Våril Bendiksen
Examples of Good Practice (abstr.) 13

Sakorn Boondao
The Relationship between Students‘ Characteristics, Use of Mathematics Media
and Achievement in Distance Education 14

Catherine Byrne
Facilitating Mathematics Teaching and Learning within the Irish Prison
Education Service: A model for future development – Work in Progress (abstr.) 24

Diana Coben
High stakes assessment: Assessing numeracy for Nursing in two recent projects * 25

Laurence Cuffe
Changing classroom culture: If everybody does something different we all
work better together 30

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Javier Diez-Palomar
When parents become learners: a critical approach to family involvement
in mathematics (abstr.) 34

Javier Diez-Palomar, Clive Kanes
New theoretical trends for adults learning mathematics in the context
of family involvement (abstr.) 35

Olivia Gill
Evaluating the Impact of a Refresher Course in Mathematics on Adult Learners * 37

Lynroy Grant
Ethical Issues of Learning Manual Mathematics Computations:
When Pocket Calculators Can Do Better (abstr.) 47

Graham Griffiths, David Kaye
Making a drama out of a crisis. Using theatrical scenes in
an adult numeracy classroom 48

Anestine Hector Mason
The New Adult Education Movement in the United States: Transitioning
English Language Learners. ―What Role does Mathematical Literacy play?‖ (abstr.) 57

Kees Hoogland
Realistic Numeracy Problems (abstr.) 58

David Kaye
Defining Numeracy – the story continues (abstr.) 59

John J. Keogh, Terry Maguire, John O'Donoghue
Looking at the Workplace through Mathematical Eyes – Challenges and Solutions* 60

Hazem Khalfallah
Automated online homework vs traditional paper and pencil (abstr.) 77

Christopher M. Klinger
The adult numeracy conundrum 78

Christopher M. Klinger
The language of mathematics: lessons from English language proficiency * 84

Lionel N. Lacroix
Dynamics of face-to-face mathematics teaching and learning in workplace training * 94

Lionel N. LaCroix
The activity of a pre-apprentice learning to measure (abstr.) 104

Lisbeth Lindberg
What is the role of mathematics in VET programmes in Sweden
and who decides? (abstr.) 105
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Bozena Maj
Developing creative mathematical activities among mathematics teachers * 106

Tibor Marcinek, Ana Dias, Katrina Piatek-Jimenez
Numeracy for all College Graduates? Challenges in Designing
a College Competency Requirement in Quantitative Reasoning * 113

Barbara Miller-Reilly
Enhancing research relationships between New Zealand and Europe: a beginning * 123

Zaeed Mohammed
E-learning to improve numeracy (abstr.) 144

Barbara Poole
Numeracy Requirements for Adult Learners Pursuing a Business Degree (abstr.) 145

Michael Rumbelow
BBC Skillswise: new numeracy resources for the workplace at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/ (abstr.) 146

Katherine Safford-Ramus
Professional Development for Middle-School Teachers:
A Summary of Recent Research in the United States * 147

Valerie Seabright
Attitude, Perception, Reality – Use of Numeracy/Mathematics At Work 152

Ann Sitomer
Exploring the influence of life and school on mathematical problem solving * 160

Jens Storm, Lena Lindenskov
The Development Project Dyscalculia 169

Margrethe Marstrøm Svensrud
The Framework for Basic Skills (abstr.) 177

Jan Sørlie
The Basic Competence in Working Life programme (abstr.) 178

Konstantinos Tatsis
Assessing in-service teachers‘ modelling activities: Issues of content and complexity * 179

Topic Group Paper

Christopher M. Klinger, M. Joanne Kantner
Planning for the Future of ALM 189

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About ALM

Adults Learning Mathematics – A Research Forum (ALM) was formally established in
July 1994 as an international research forum with the following aim:

To promote the learning of mathematics by adults through an international forum,
which brings together those engaged and interested in research and development in the
field of adult mathematics learning and teaching.

Charitable status

ALM is a Registered Charity (1079462) and a Company Limited by Guarantee (Company
Number 3901346). The company address is 26, Tennyson Road, London NW6 7SA.

Objectives of ALM

The Charity‘s objectives are the advancement of education by the establishment of an
international research forum in the lifelong learning of mathematics and numeracy by adults
by:

 Encouraging research into adults learning mathematics at all levels and disseminating
the results of this research for the public benefit;
 Promoting and sharing knowledge, awareness and understanding of adults learning
mathematics at all levels, to encourage the development of the teaching of
mathematics to adults at all levels for the public benefit.

ALM Activities

ALM members work in a variety of educational settings both as practitioners and research,
improving the learning of mathematics at all levels. The ALM annual conference provides an
international network which reflects on practice and research, fosters links between teachers
and encourages good practice in curriculum design and delivery using teaching and learning
strategies from all over the world.

ALM does not foster one particular theoretical framework but encourages discussion on
research methods and findings.

Board of Trustees

ALM is managed by a Board of Trustees elected by the members at the Annual General
Meeting which is held at the annual international conference.

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ALM Officers & Trustees 2010–2011

Chair
Dr. Chris Klinger University of South Australia Adelaide, Australia

Secretary
Graham Griffiths LLU + London South Bank University London, UK

Treasurer
Beth Kelly LLU + London South Bank University London, UK

Membership Secretary
Joanne Kantner Joliet Junior College Illinois, USA

Trustees
Ruth Moulton Freelance London, UK
Catherine Byrne Education Unit, Wheatfield Prison Dublin, Ireland

Honorary Trustees:
Prof. Dr. Diana Coben King's College London London, UK
Dr. Gail FitzSimons Monash University Melbourne, Australia
Dr. Marj Horne Australian Catholic University Melbourne, Australia
David Kaye LLU+ London South Bank University London, UK
Lisbeth Lindberg Göteborg University Göteborg, Sweden
Prof. Dr. Juergen Maasz University of Linz Linz, Austria
Prof. John O'Donoghue University of Limerick Limerick, Ireland
Dr. Katherine Safford-Ramus Saint Peter‘s College Jersey City, NJ, USA
Dr. Alison Tomlin King's College London London, UK
Dr. Mieke van Groenestijn Utrecht University of Professional Utrecht, Netherlands
Education

How to become a member

Anyone who is interested in joining ALM should contact the membership secretary. Contact
details are on the ALM website: www.alm-online.net

Membership fees for 2011

Sterling Euro U.S.Dollar
Individual ₤20 €24 $32
Institution ₤40 €48 $80
Student/unwaged ₤4 €6 $8
Low waged – contribute between full & unwaged

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Preface

The 17th ALM conference was held in Oslo, Norway in 2010. It was attended by 50
researchers, practitioners and policymakers from 16 nations (Australia, Canada, Denmark,
Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Qatar, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America).

This was the first time that the conference met in Norway, and the meeting offered a good
opportunity for national and international participants to come together to share and discuss
issues concerning adults learning mathematics. The conference title Maths at work –
mathematics in a changing world indicated the focus of the discussion; the skills needed for
work and life in a changing world, including mathematics for industry, and with a special
focus on the ―whats, whys and hows‖ of adult numeracy.

This year the ALM conference programme included invited plenary lectures as well as a wide
variety of parallel sessions, all contributing to an enriching dialogue during the days in Oslo.
We are grateful to all participants and presenters who wanted to share ideas and join in
discussions at ALM 17.

The conference was organised and hosted by Vox, Norwegian Agency for Lifelong Learning.
We want to thank Kees Hoogland especially for his helpful and patient assistance in the
process.

All conference presentations that are submitted for publication and meet the editors‘
requirements for style and presentation are published in the conference proceedings.

Presentations for which no paper was submitted are represented by their programme abstract.

Two kinds of contributions to the proceedings of ALM 17 were possible:

1. Refereed Papers
Papers that have been peer reviewed are identified by an asterisk (*) alongside
their title.

2 Non-refereed Contributions
Papers or workshop reports whose authors did not request their contribution to be
refereed have no identification marking.

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Acknowledgement

Javier Palomar-Diez and Christopher M. Klinger have been responsible for the peer review,
and Joanne Kantner has been of invaluable assistance in the technical editing process.

Their work is greatly appreciated and hereby acknowledged.

ALM 17 Programme Committee

Terry Maguire Institute of Technology Tallaght (Chair)
Våril Bendiksen Vox
Catherine Byrne Institute of Technology Tallaght
Kees Hoogland APS International Ltd. (Secretary)
Joanne Kantner Joliet Junior College

ALM 17 Organising Committee

Graciela Sbertoli Vox (Chair)
Våril Bendiksen Vox
Hanne Christensen Vox

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