Home Program Background

How the program was developed

The program was created by some of Australia's most respected teachers and authors. In developing the program, ICE-EM staff reviewed mathematics curricula in each state, evaluated international mathematics teaching resources and consulted with leading Australian teachers, university lecturers and mathematicians.

Stage 1 of ICE-EM Mathematics in 2006 was a comprehensive pilot program for the first two years of secondary school. It involved approximately 30,000 students in 125 schools across the country. Teachers used the materials and provided valuable feedback; as a result, several changes were incorporated into the final versions of the materials.

Stage 2 in 2007 involved some 140 schools and consisted of pilot programs for the upper primary and middle secondary school years.

 Implementation Timetable

  2005  2006  2007  2008
Selection of Stage 1 pilot schools
  √
      
Program trialled in pilot schools with feedback to ICE-EM
    √    
Selection of Stage 2 pilot schools
    √    
Program trialled in pilot schools with feedback to ICE-EM
      √  
Full implementation of ICE-EM Mathematics program for lower secondary level
      √  
Full implementation of ICE-EM Mathematics program for upper primary and middle secondary levels
        √

Who is behind the program?

The International Centre of Excellence for Education in Mathematics (ICE-EM) is the not-for-profit arm of the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI), a joint venture among eight leading Australian universities and with additional membership consisting of a further 19 universities, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, CSIRO and the Australian Mathematics Trust.

Profiles of the major contributors to the development of the ICE-EM Mathematics program can be viewed at About Us.