MSCW’s Vision for Mathematics

Current research into girls’ education indicates that the issues of mathematics avoidance and mathematics anxiety (referring to the fear, worry, or nervousness that students experience when confronted with mathematical problems or situations) disproportionately affect girls. This unease can have significant implications after school for girls’ participation and aspirations in courses and careers within mathematics. It also significantly impacts their time at school through the subject selection process, namely in enrolments and retention of students in courses in Years 11 and 12.

According to a recent report by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), girls tend to experience higher levels of maths anxiety compared to boys, which undoubtedly impacts their achievement in mathematics negatively. This trend is likely to be caused by societal stereotypes and biases that perpetuate a belief that boys have more natural ability in the field of mathematics than girls, which in turn may create self-doubt and undermine girls’ confidence in their mathematical abilities. Evidence suggests that this poses a threat to young women’s development of aspirations for further education or careers in mathematics, and it is particularly influenced by the presence and prevalence (or lack thereof) of female role models in these fields.

Girls must be empowered to take risks in and explore the field of mathematics. The ubiquity of mathematics anxiety in girls can be managed and reduced by: promoting a growth mindset about their abilities; increasing opportunities for real-world applications of numeracy and mathematical concepts; nurturing positive conversations and using positive language around mathematics; and providing opportunities for mentorship and new role models.

With a growth mindset, students can be aware that intelligence and skills can be consciously and meaningfully developed through effort and practice. This mindset fosters resilience, perseverance, and a willingness to embrace challenges, thus enabling students to overcome mathematics anxiety.

MSCW’s Aspirations for Girls in Mathematics:

• Students should build a growth mindset towards their mathematical ability
• Students should see the real-world significance of Mathematics and numeracy
• Students should enjoy experiences of mathematics
• Students should feel supported to take risks and not be discouraged by failure
• Students should have active learning opportunities
• Parents and community members should be involved in the conversations and learning process
• There will be role models and representation of different types of success in Mathematics.

What is MSCW doing to cultivate a growth mindset in mathematics?

We have a number of new and ongoing initiatives to nurture these aspirations, including the following:

• Maths Club (pictured): Our weekly sessions are a chance for collaboration, extension and consolidation. The social elements and connection to other students and teachers help to build a support network that promotes resilience in the face of a challenge. Students can be mentored by older peers, seeing exemplary models within our student population of talented mathematicians. The weekly challenges and riddles on the Google Classroom are also fun and exciting ways to earn merits and prizes.
• Arithmetic Olympics: A competition between and within classes beginning next term for students to test their mental arithmetic skills and compete to win prizes. 
• Acceleration opportunities: Students in Years 9 and 10 are given the opportunity to be accelerated in their Mathematics courses to boost their mathematical skills and opportunities. The classes met in Week 9 and shared ideas and strategies over breakfast.
• Fractions Games for Year 7: In the coming weeks and term ahead, Year 7 will each be supplied with games and toolkits to improve their numeracy skills, particularly in the areas of fractions, decimals and percentages. Parents and families are encouraged to participate in playing with the students’ card sets for games such as SNAP, memory and Go Fish! There will also be similar opportunities and resources for students in other grades.
• Years 10-12 Careers Expo: A chance to discuss opportunities with tertiary institutions and companies in a range of fields.

By opening conversations about girls’ feelings about mathematics and challenging the deeper reasons behind them, we can begin to change the shape of not only our college community but greater society.

Students are encouraged to join the MSCW Maths Club Google Classroom at any time using the following code: m7qqyoe