The July discussion was held on 18th July, 4.30pm-6pm. The abstracts and presenter bios of the discussions are outlined below.
Discussion 1: Developing teacher knowledge through the supportive actions of primary school mathematics leaders – Kerryn Driscoll
Improving teacher knowledge leads to effective practice. Developing the knowledge for teaching mathematics is an ongoing quest that can be supported in various ways through professional learning, the majority of which occurs in an in-school or classroom-based context. The results described in this paper report on supportive actions, which when used by School Mathematics Leaders have the potential to develop teacher knowledge and change teacher practice. Case study research design and qualitative methods were used to analyse the transcripts of interviews, observations, and written reflections of School Mathematics Leaders. Findings highlighted a range of supportive actions which included developing constructive working relationships with teachers, facilitating collaborative team planning and professional learning team meetings, building professional learning communities and working alongside teachers in classrooms.
Dr Kerryn Driscoll is a mathematics lecturer and early career researcher in the School of Education at Deakin University. Her research examined how School Mathematics Leaders’ support primary teachers professional learning and continues to evolve through various projects and opportunities to work with these leaders. Kerryn has presented and published research papers at conferences including MERGA and ICME that examined aspects of mathematics leadership. She has worked extensively in primary schools as a classroom teacher, School Mathematics Leader and STEM specialist. Kerryn was recently part of the team that implemented Leading Improvement in Mathematics’ Teaching, a course that was available through the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership.
Discussion 2: Metacognition in curriculum and practice: A case study of curriculum enactment in Indonesia – Dian Angrianni
This presentation reports an analysis from a PhD project that focuses on the representation and translation of metacognition in the curriculum, with Indonesia being the context of the study. A recent trend in curriculum reform has seen the integration of generic skills, including metacognition, in addition to disciplinary content, into the curriculum. However, teachers often face challenges in incorporating metacognition within the classroom settings. Using thematic analysis, this study highlights the complex relationship between curriculum framing, teachers’ understanding of metacognition, and teaching practices that support its development. As an instance, this study reveals that teachers collectively recognised broad elements of metacognition, yet they struggled to identify those explicitly outlined within the curriculum. Further, while teachers enacted various metacognitive teaching strategies, their actual implementation in the classroom was often superficial. These strategies were not deliberately designed with metacognition in mind and their utilisation was not deep enough to effectively promote metacognitive skills among students. These insights raise questions on critical elements of curriculum framing around metacognition and the importance of system-wide support to assist teachers in promoting metacognition.
Dian Angrianni was a biology teacher in secondary school prior to her journey as a PhD student at the Faculty of Arts and Education at Deakin University. She works under the supervision of renowned researchers: Associate Professor Wanty Widjaja and Professor Russell Tytler. Her PhD project centre on the curriculum interpretation and metacognitive teaching practices.
Posted Aug 10, 2026
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