Mr Will Morony is Chair of the Local Organising Committee of ICME-15. Mr Morony has an extensive record of success in providing professional leadership of projects and initiatives in school mathematics education in Australia over many years.
Mr Morony has worked in mathematics education for over 40 years, initially as a secondary teacher. He then spent ten years as a mathematics curriculum specialist in the education department of South Australia. In 1997 he moved to a role leading the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers Inc. (AAMT), in a position titled Chief Executive Officer from 2008 until his retirement in mid-2018. AAMT is one of the professional societies that will collaborate to conduct ICME-15. Under Mr Morony’s leadership AAMT established a significant role in Australian mathematics education through the programs and projects it delivers, its extensive networks in the profession and its connections with government and business.
Following his retirement from his AAMT position in July 2018, Mr Morony works part-time as a consultant in mathematics education. His expertise has been recognised through being appointed a member of the Australian Research Council’s process for reviewing applications for research funding as an International Expert.
Mr Morony has attended seven ICMEs since 1984, missing only those in 1988 (Budapest) and 2000 (Tokyo). He was co-Convenor of the Discussion Group on the Role of Professional Associations in Mathematics Education in 2008 and has presented papers and contributed to the programs of Topic Study Groups in 1996 and 2004. Since 1996 he has been instrumental in ensuring that there has been an Australian ‘presence’ in the not-for-profit exhibition space at each ICME. Mr Morony has other international connections. He is a member of the International Programme Committee for ICMI Study 24 “School Mathematics Curriculum Reforms: Challenges, Changes and Opportunities”. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the International Society for Design and Development in Education (ISDDE) and has attended ISDDE conferences since 2008. In addition, he has been involved with UNESCO initiatives (1999), a project of the South-East Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO; 2003) and an AusAid funded project to reform teacher education in the Republic of Vietnam (2005).
Professor Kim Beswick is the Convenor of ICME15. She has a strong understanding of the ICMI and its members, as well as the aims of the congress and its scientific program.
Professor Beswick has participated in all but one ICME since 2004 and was a member of a Survey Team in 2016. She organised Discussion groups in 2008 and 2012 and contributed to Topic Study Groups at each ICME she has attended. She will deliver an invited lecture at ICME14 in 2020. She is thus familiar with the scientific program of ICME, and with the goals and activities of ICMI through her membership of the International Committee of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME) (an ICMI-affiliated organisation).
Professor Beswick has an international profile as a mathematics education researcher. She presented a keynote address in Taipei at PME in 2018 and has given invited/keynote addresses for teachers of mathematics in Australia and Singapore. She has extensive experience of national and international conference organisation, and of editing conference proceedings. She has chaired conferences of the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers (2008), Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (2008) and PME (2015).
She is currently an Associate Editor of the Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education (JMTE), the most prestigious international journal in mathematics teacher education, and on the editorial board of the International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. She was guest editor of the most recent special issue of JMTE, is editor of Volume 4 of the forthcoming revised edition of the International Handbook on Mathematics Teacher Education, and co-editor of a Springer book on mathematics teacher educators. Professor Beswick has served as President of the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers, and been extensively involved with national agendas in mathematics education including the development of the decadal plan for mathematics, and contributing to the national curriculum for mathematics, a national review of teacher education, and quality graduate teacher quality initiatives.
Through these roles she has forged strong links with mathematicians, teachers, curriculum developers, and policy makers, as well with fellow mathematics education researchers.
Margaret has a long and varied career in mathematics education. She has had leadership roles at both a state and national level to develop Mathematics curriculums from Kindergarten to Year 12.
She was a teacher for many years in a variety of schools in NSW including comprehensive, selective and independent schools. She has been actively involved in teacher professional associations and professional development of teachers which enabled her to serve on advisory groups for curriculum development and professional teaching standards. Margaret has worked with States and Territories to support the implementation of the Australian Curriculum from Foundation to Year 12. She led the development of the National Numeracy Learning Progressions that are now used in schools across Australia.
Margaret has worked at an international level in the Middle East and Asia to support capacity development for curriculum authorities. She has travelled to these countries to deliver professional learning for both academics and curriculum officers.
Dr Mary Coupland is an Associate Professor at the University of Technology Sydney where she teaches mathematics.
A recent project was “Maths Inside”, a partnership with CSIRO and AAMT which created teaching materials highlighting the role of mathematics in science. Accompanying research demonstrated success in raising student interest in mathematics and improving awareness of the importance of mathematics in addressing current real-world issues.
Dr Coupland is passionate about encouraging teachers to contribute to their profession and she is an honorary life member of MANSW, the state professional association for teachers of mathematics. She was awarded the Outstanding Professional Service Award by the Professional Teachers Council, NSW, in 2012 and the Exceptional Service Award in 2020.
Professor Janette Bobis is a mathematics educator and researcher in the Sydney School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney. She teaches in the areas of primary and early childhood mathematics education and curriculum studies at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Her teaching, research and publications focus on two interrelated areas: (a)teacher learning in mathematics education, particularly knowledge, beliefs and practices of primary and middle years teachers; and (b)student learning, predominantly concerned with their motivation and engagement in mathematics and their understanding of estimation and mental computation strategies.
Catherine Attard is Professor in Primary Mathematics Education and Deputy Director of the Centre for Educational Research at Western Sydney University. She is a multiple award-winning educator who has transformed teaching and learning in primary mathematics at Western Sydney University for over 15 years. Her philosophy, while straightforward, is transformative: Catherine combines great dedication for teaching engaging mathematics with her own experiences as a primary classroom teacher to motivate and inspire pre-service and qualified teachers. Catherine’s research is focused on student engagement with mathematics and issues surrounding the pedagogical practices that influence students’ engagement. Catherine also researchers contemporary teaching practices through the use of digital technologies, and the practices of middle leaders in Australian schools. Catherine has won several teaching awards, including a 2016 Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT) Teaching Excellence Award, an Office of Learning and Teaching citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning and the Western Sydney University Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence in Teaching Award. She regularly presents workshops and keynotes nationally and internationally and is the current President of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA) (2019–2022) a past president of the Mathematical Association of New South Wales (MANSW) (2014-2015), and past editor of the professional journal, Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom. Catherine is also the author of the leading mathematics education blog, engagingmaths.com, as well as the author of several popular mathematics teacher resource books.
Dr Judy Anderson worked at the University of Sydney for more than 18 years and was Associate Professor in Mathematics Education for much of that time. She was the Director of the STEM Teacher Enrichment Academy from 2015 to July 2020 leading a team of academics from across the University in delivering an innovative professional learning program for primary and secondary STEM teachers in NSW. By 2020, the Academy had supported more than 1250 teachers and implemented programs in 220 schools. She also held the position of Associate Dean Learning and Teaching with responsibility for supporting teaching staff in the Sydney School of Education and Social Work by developing a range of professional learning opportunities to meet staff needs, ensuring the implementation of University policies, representing the Faculty on University committees, and leading and directing learning and teaching innovations. Prior to her role at the University, Judy worked at the Board of Studies NSW (now NESA) as a Senior Curriculum Officer, Mathematics K-12, responsible for the development of the mathematics syllabuses for NSW schools.
Judy is an active researcher in STEM education particularly in the field of teachers’ beliefs and practices, as well as in exploring the impact of professional development on classroom practice. She has presented papers at local, national and international research conferences and has published widely in research and teacher education journals. She uses both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to explore teaching practices, particularly in relation to integrated STEM education, problem solving and inquiry-based learning. With other University of Sydney academics, she has won two large competitive ARC Linkage grants to explore middle year’s students’ motivation and engagement in mathematics. With colleagues from five other Australian eastern seaboard universities, she won a tender from the Office of the Chief Scientist to conduct an extensive investigation into schools which had demonstrated substantial growth and success in the Australian national numeracy tests (NAPLAN) to identify exemplary policies, programs and practices. Funded by the Office of the Chief Scientist, and with colleagues from several other universities, she won a large grant and led a team from the University of Sydney investigating strategies to improve pre-service mathematics and science teacher education through collaboration between Science and Education faculty members.
Community engagement and leadership are evident in Judy’s commitment to serve in a range of capacities to support education research and schooling communities. She is an Associate Editor of the new Springer journal, Research in Integrated STEM Education, and is on the Editorial Board of the Springer journal Mathematics Teacher Education and Development. She is a member of the Education Council for the Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta, the Immediate Past President of the Australian Curriculum Studies Association (ACSA), a past President of the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers (AAMT) and of the Mathematical Association of New South Wales (MANSW).