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Findings and implications

Findings

The major findings of the Train a Maths Tutor project are as follows.

The IEWs needed training. They did not have the affects, beliefs, knowledge and skills to effectively tutor at-risk students in early number and numeration.
The IEWs were fully amenable to training. Although nervous initially, they responded positively to all components of the Program to develop the affects, beliefs, knowledge and skills required to be an effective tutor of at-risk Indigenous students in early number and numeration and to develop virtual activities to support this tutoring.
The Program enhanced IEWs’ tutoring skill and student’s learning outcomes. A delayed finding was the improvement in Year 2 students to the extent that six Indigenous students “got through” the Year 2 Diagnostic Net. At Woorabinda, no Year 2 student had ever achieved this.
The Program was efficient in enhancing the IEWs’ tutoring skill. A four-week short course enabled the IEWs to become proficient in mathematics pedagogy and tutoring skill.
The principles underlying the Program were essential. Whilst enhanced mathematics knowledge and pedagogy knowledge were the major contributors to enhanced tutoring skill, without the social and professional development principles, it is doubtful whether the Program would have been as effective, efficient and fulfilling for all concerned as it was.

Implications for mathematics training programs

Numeracy training should be made available to all Indigenous communities and to all schools with Indigenous students and IEWs. It should be part of all IEWs’ preparation for their school positions.
Such training provides Indigenous communities with a long term resource for improving students’ mathematics outcomes.
To maximise the effectiveness of the IEWs’ tutoring skill, training needs to:
- be face-to-face to provide kinaesthetic teaching and learning activities and provide just-in-time support
- be based on strong personal relationships between trainers and IEWs
- have strong support from key community stakeholders
- build a strong sense of group pride to overcome possible feelings of shame, and
- be of sufficient duration to enhance tutoring skill and at the same time balance depth of training with interference with normal duties.
To maximise Community recognition, training should involve the use of independent community-based learning spaces that provoke positive emotions for the IEWs and, conversely, restrict the use of spaces with negative histories, particularly if they are where IEWs have experienced racism or failure.
To maximise continued attendance and further training, programs should be organised so that they:
- contain training-trialling cycles in which IEWs can apply their mathematics and pedagogy to students
- provide just-in-time support, and
- facilitate reflection on experiences
The training activities (including accompanying social activities) should be designed so that they:
- emphasise success
- build group cohesion, and
- facilitate the IEWs’ identity as successful tutors.

Implications for maximising tutoring skill

Training should focus on developing structural knowledge (see Section 1.4) of mathematics.
Training should be designed to:
- develop mathematics understanding to the abstract level
- use kinaesthetic and visual pedagogical techniques, and
- emphasise informal and formal language.
Training should give particular attention to knowing when to use materials and questions as well as knowing how to use them.
Training should include a focus on virtual materials using computers and PowerPoint and Excel.