After the triumph of Path19 the team at Maths Pathway were ready to hit the ground running and expand the event  in a big way for 2020. But as we all know, that’s when lockdowns started to hit. Fast forward two unexpected years and we finally found ourselves in full swing planning for Path22, which to our delight went ahead with all the success we had expected. 

We know schools were still facing ongoing challenges which restricted the number of teachers who could join us this year but we were so pleased to share the experience with over 100 teachers from around Australia. Path22 was extra special as it was the first time we held three teachers conferences across three states. Our aim was to make Path22 as accessible as possible which is why we hosted the Maths Pathway community in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales. It was amazing to see our community making the journey whether it was a car ride away or an adventure interstate to be with us. 

One of the main highlights from the all three events was the networking and relationships that were built between our teacher community. Hearing the conversations amongst our community where challenges, successes and strategies were shared really dialled in on why we hold events like Path as often as possible. Creating these invaluable moments where educators can share their experiences and connect with like-minded people is such an important part of any professional development opportunity. 

Providing a range of truly impactful sessions is a primary focus of every Maths Pathway event. We want our teachers to walk away with new insights, strategies, and ideas that they can implement confidently in their classrooms. So we had this at the front of mind when constructing each presentation for Path22. 

At Path22, teachers enjoyed building their own workshops schedules to ensure their PD experience was personalised to their needs. And with over 10 sessions to choose from, some found it hard to just pick one session as two run consecutively during the day. To make sure no one missed out on the value of each session, all the workshop’s resources were made available to everyone who attended Path22. 

We were thrilled to have Dr Caty Morris, who is a Project Manager at ATSIMA and former Curriculum Specialist, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education at ACARA join us as our Keynote Speaker this year.

In her presentation, Caty covered: What is culturally responsive mathematics education (CRME) for First Nations Australian students? 

• What are the classroom resources, the teaching learning processes, and the mathematics curriculum content that contribute to CRME in Australia? 
• Interactive Numeracies: Maths situations in everyday Indigenous Community and Family Life.

Her presentation gave our community a wonderful insight in the important work ATSIMA does for schools and the community. Whilst shedding light on how to incorporate culture and history into the classroom to educate students and help close the gap between First Nations Australians who on average sit two years behind the non-Indigenous students in mathematics learning outcomes. 

Here’s what our community thought of Path22

From all the feedback we have received the biggest take away for the Maths Pathway team was how well all of the workshops and networking opportunities were received. On average teachers scored their overall experience 4.65 out 5 and have said how excited they are for all the new ideas, resources and connections they are able to take back to the classroom. So we can’t wait to do it all again next year! 

Thanks again to everyone who joined us at Path22, it was a pleasure hosting you! We can’t wait to see you all back again next year and hopefully see some new faces who weren’t able to attend this year!