Teaching Mathematics

As I drive to the roundtable breakfast, I think about the workshop I ran yesterday for the Newcastle Mathematics Association. The enthusiasm and professionalism of the 50 mathematics teachers who attended the workshop is fresh in my mind. I am welcomed to the roundtable discussion by Professor Gavin Brown and Professor David Day. The topics under discussion include the shortage of secondary mathematics teachers and changes in enrolment patterns in mathematics courses in New South Wales (NSW). One of the questions that people want to know the answer to is, do we have a shortage of secondary mathematics teachers in NSW and if so, how large is the shortfall? I have discussed this question with colleagues from the area of workforce planning within the NSW Department of Education and Training, and now at least I understand the nature of the question. One of the advantages of having a background in mathematics is that it gives you an appreciation of just how difficult it can be to answer apparently easy questions….