Recognition & Awards
2 July, 2010
Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence Recipient 2010
15 October, 2008
ARC grants recognise QUT researchers
Two QUT academics on a mission to upskill Indigenous Australians by developing culturally relevant teaching methods in maths have received $837,000 in the latest round of ARC Linkage grants.
They, and 21 other research groups from QUT, have received a total of $6.22 million in the latest round of the Federal Government's ARC Discovery and Linkage grants.
The project aims to develop a theory about numeracy instruction, providing strategies for Vocational Education and Training (VET) teachers to assist Indigenous student's mathematics learning in a manner that is culturally empowering, builds pride and sustains community linkages.
Dr Baturo and Professor Cooper have extensive experience in teaching numeracy to Indigenous communities, and are also the founders of the Deadly Maths program which sees them travel to remote Indigenous communities throughout the State.
Dr Baturo said she found working with Indigenous communities a rewarding experience.
"At the start, we had had little experience with Indigenous communities, but we know about mathematics education and hoped that would be enough to be able to help," she said.
"We have had to get out of the way of thinking that we were teaching maths to these kids so they could get a good job, or things like that, and realise that these kids were more interested in learning for the pleasure of gaining knowledge.
"To create effective learning environments, there are many cultural factors which need to be taken into consideration."
The title of Dr Baturo and Professor Cooper's project is Skilling Indigenous Australia: Effective numeracy learning for employment by regional and remote Indigenous students in vocational education and training courses. More
1 September 2008
National Literacy and Numeracy Week 2008
Deadly Maths' Tom Cooper is a National Literacy and Numeracy Week (NLNW) Ambassador again in 2008.
The theme for NLNW 2008 is Partnerships in Learning. Across Australia, parents, teachers and communities are working together to develop the literacy and numeracy skills of Australia's young people. Literacy and numeracy are fundamental skills that are critically important to Australia's future prosperity and position in the world. The promotion of strong literacy and numeracy skills amongst young people assists in countering educational and social disadvantage.
To read more about NLNW, click here.
This year's ambassadors are:
- Christopher Cheng, NSW
- Beth Powell, WA
- Judith Rivalland, WA
- Tom Cooper, QLD
- Beryl Exley, QLD
- Damian Callinan, VIC
- Jane Watson, TAS
- Steve Thornton, ACT
- Phil Cummings, SA
- Charlie King, NT
To view each ambassador's profile, click here.