Menu
My Account
Toggle Nav
0
Toggle Search
Search La Trobe Short Courses

Science of Mathematics Education (SOME) Lab

Out of stock

SKU
SC-199
La Trobe's new Science of Mathematics Education Lab is launched

Our introductory short course will be available in the second half of 2025. 

 

If you'd like to be notified when the course is ready for registrations, includng content and pricing details, please click in 'Enquire Now' so we can capture your contact information. 

 

$0.00

Why learn about the Science of Mathematics Education?

The Science of Mathematics Education (SOME) Lab is the University’s latest step in evidence-based learning, following on the success of the acclaimed Science of Language and Reading (SOLAR) Lab that has been influential in a shift in government policy towards explicit teaching.


Evidence-based or explicit teaching allows students to understand the foundations of a subject in a structured way, with teachers breaking down new concepts, modelling steps and ensuring comprehension before progression.
It is a departure from inquiry-led instruction, which asks students to solve problems often without the required base knowledge.


Education experts have repeatedly called for a more structured approach to education to halt Australia’s spiralling literacy and numeracy results.  Almost half of Australia’s 15-year-olds failed to achieve national standards in maths in the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results, and the nation is more than four years behind the world’s top-performing jurisdiction of Singapore.  Meanwhile, about one in three students were below expectations in 2024 NAPLAN testing and the latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) showed Australia's education gender gap was among the worst of the 58 countries tested.  In all testing, the trends are even more stark for disadvantaged and Aboriginal students.

Professor Joanna Barbousas,

Pro Vice-Chancellor, Education, Impact and Innovation;

Dean, School of Education

Addressing Australia's continuing crisis in student numeracy

Professor Joanna Barbousas, Dean of Education and Pro-Vice Chancellor of Education, Impact and Innovation, said the SOME Lab will play a critical role in addressing Australia’s continuing crisis in student numeracy, collaborating with policymakers, educational organisations, teachers, students and communities to translate research into practical solutions to transform mathematics outcomes.  She says: 


“Australia faces a pressing crisis. Many children finish school without meeting basic literacy and numeracy standards, with serious implications for social equity and the economy.  The lifetime impact for students who fall behind on these core skills is substantial, affecting long-term employment, health and social outcomes and perpetuating cycles of disadvantage.  Teachers are telling us they feel unprepared for the classroom. When half of our 15-year-olds fail to achieve national standards in maths, it’s not the students who are failing, it’s our approach to education.  SOME Lab will empower educators to understand how people learn mathematics, promoting low-variance, highly systematised instructional approaches to ensure all children develop sound and robust numeracy skills.”

 

La Trobe has led the tertiary sector in innovations in teacher education, pioneering the implementation of evidence-informed approaches such as explicit instruction and the science of learning.  Its transformation of teacher-education programs in line with evidence of what works best in the classroom has resulted in a 40 per cent increase in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) enrolment from 2022 to 2024.


The Lab will address existing gaps in teacher education, and will offer short online courses to retrain educators in explicit teaching, similar to the popular SOLAR Lab model. The Lab will also research numeracy education, aiming to end the culture war between evidence and inquiry that has hampered Australia’s progress.  Teachers can't teach what they don't understand, and there is a need to go back a few steps to address the long-term gaps in teacher education. There is a widespread misunderstanding of what maths actually is, a lack of knowledge on how concepts are connected and a general confusion about the way reasoning and problem-solving are taught.

 

Maths, being a universal language, needs to be taught like any language in the beginning: directly.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Proin eleifend arcu eros, id porta libero imperdiet quis. Nam sed orci sit amet quam faucibus vestibulum. In luctus metus enim.

Find out more about further education at La Trobe  View all FAQ

I would like information about a short course. Who can assist me?  

Email: LaTrobeProfessional@latrobe.edu.au 

Phone: 1300 135 045

I have paid the fee for a short course. When will I be able to access it?  

On completion of your registration, you'll be provided with an account on our Learning Management System (LMS) and the course material will be made available at the advertised date, or as outlined on your registration confirmation email.  For our on-demand courses, access will be immediate.

What payment options are there?

  • You may arrange to pay by BPAY or EFT
  • For group bookings, we encourage purchase orders.  Contact us for a quote, and upon receipt of your purchase order we can make the course available to you.
  • Unfortunately, we are not able to arrange instalment payments.

Contact us on LaTrobeProfessional@latrobe.edu.au for assistance. 

Can I arrange payment with a Purchase Order?

Yes, we accept Purchase Orders. Please email to LaTrobeProfessional@latrobe.edu.au and our La Trobe Professional team will provide you with payment details and access to your course. 

I am getting an error when I try to log into my LMS account. Can you help? 

  • The first thing to check is your order confirmation email - it will contain your Learning Management System (LMS) account and password.  Note that this account may not be the same as your staff, student or previous short course participant account. 
  • The second thing to check is that you're logging on as a short course participant and not as a student - choose 'Other Users' - select Short Course as your institution and use your account and password as provided.

If you need any assistance, contact us on LaTrobeProfessional@latrobe.edu.au. 

I want to enrol multiple staff in a short course. How do I go about this? 

Contact LaTrobeProfessional@latrobe.edu.au so that we can discuss options with you.  

What certification will I receive?

The type of certification depends on the assessment involved in the course. For example:

  • Microcredentials:  You will receive a digital credential that confirms the skills you’ve acquired, any assessments you’ve completed and potential pathways for credit or advanced standing towards a degree. 
  • Other assessed short courses:  This may include bridging programs or courses that prepare you for external certification from a professional body.  You might receive a certificate of achievement or a digital badge (a digital version of a certificate of achievement).
  • Non-assessed courses:  If a course doesn’t involve formal assessment, you’ll receive a certificate of attendance.
  • Single-subject enrolment: If you enrol in a single subject, you will receive an official transcript for that subject.

Please note that short courses or microcredentials are not formal qualifications under the Australian Qualifications Framework but may be eligible for consideration as advanced standing (credit) towards a degree.

What is a microcredential? 

Microcredentials are short courses that are assessed, carry academic credit, and to deliver specific skills or knowledge.  While they can be taken as standalone courses, many are designed to be combined or ‘stacked’ with other microcredentials to form the equivalent of a subject within a degree program.  Upon successful completion, you’ll earn a digital credential that outlines the skills and credit obtained, and any opportunities for stacking.

For La Trobe microcredentials, any advanced standing or stacking pathways are clearly expressed on the course page.   

What is advanced standing?

Advanced standing refers to credit for prior study or formal learning that can be credited towards a qualification, thereby reducing the number of subjects required to complete a course. For short courses or microcredentials (if these have been completed through recognised institutions or platforms and are deemed equivalent to La Trobe University subjects), credit may be granted either for specific La Trobe subjects or as unspecified credit towards elective requirements of a La Trobe course.

For La Trobe microcredentials, any advanced standing or stacking pathways are clearly expressed on the course page.   Upon successful completion of the course, you’ll receive a digital credential, which may be used when applying for credit for the relevant degree at La Trobe.

For more details, visit the University’s advanced standing web page.