Personal and Professional Numeracy: A Unit for Pre-Service Teachers at the University of Tasmania

This paper addresses issues associated with the development of a unit preparing pre-service teachers to be quantitatively literate in three respects. These issues surround (i) the need to be aware of numeracy demands across the curriculum, (ii) the need to model numerate behavior in all interactions of teachers, and (iii) the need to be able to interpret and use system data provided from local and national testing programs. The context for the unit described is Australia, where a national testing program for literacy and numeracy requires teachers to analyze extensive data on their students, a national curriculum requires teachers of all subjects and levels to encompass literacy and numeracy in their teaching, and national standards for the teaching profession are being progressively introduced to set and assess teachers’ proficiency across their careers. The unit consists of 12 topics covered in lectures and tutorial material, which was offered to over 800 students in External and On-campus modes in 2010.