The learning and support don’t end at UNE with completion of your degree.
Freshly minted primary school teachers can now enjoy professional development via a new online community and monthly workshops that enhance their maths teaching skills.
“Early-career teachers can experience high levels of anxiety teaching maths,” said ex-Deputy Principal and mathematics teacher of 30 years’ experience Seonia Wark. “Many haven’t necessarily had positive maths experiences themselves at school and there’s only so much you can learn at university or during placements.
“Teaching maths consistently in a classroom requires confidence, mastery of the content and pedagogical knowledge. New teachers have few experiences and resources to draw on and can feel reluctant to approach colleagues for help.”
The newly launched UNE Teach Maths Facebook community is a platform for UNE alumni and students who have conditional accreditation to teach prior to graduation to share ideas and strategies, and to seek expert advice and inspiration to grow professionally.
“As well as joining a supportive community, where they can discuss their challenges, our students and graduates will also soon be able to participate in online and face-to-face workshops run by expert facilitators,” said Seonia. “These will break down complex concepts in the NSW Mathematics syllabus, provide practical suggestions for teaching them and tailoring the curriculum to their students, and give updates on the latest educational practices.
“Our program recognises that we don’t need to know everything all at once and can keep learning. We hope it will maintain the link with their university lecturers – people they know and trust and can provide ongoing guidance. We hope it builds the quality of teaching skills and the learning outcomes for students.”
UNE Bachelor of Special and Inclusive and Education (Primary) student Hannah Blundy will be teaching full-time in north-western Sydney in 2026 as she completes her degree. She is “very excited” about joining the online group and, as a PASS (Peer Assisted Study Sessions) leader of maths units at UNE, believes she won’t be alone.
“Many people are nervous about teaching maths; it can cause them to freeze or bring them to tears,” Hannah said. “We can’t possibly cover everything in the school maths curriculum at university, so having that community around us and being able to exchange ideas will be so helpful.
“It will be great to draw on the practical wisdom and knowledge of UNE’s educators and there is nothing more comforting than another teacher saying: ‘I’m really struggling to teach this concept – am I on the right track?’
“The education system is constantly changing. As teachers, we need to keep learning and accessing quality information. I’m already coming up with ideas for the kinds of workshops and sessions I would like to see, especially around assessments. This is a great initiative for teachers who want to do the very best for their students.”
The UNE Teach Maths Facebook group is now live and the group – which is open to UNE alumni and those who have completed 75% of their degree – will meet online for its first drop-in session on 3 November at 8pm. “An instructional segment will be followed by a Q&A to allow participants to ask questions, share resources and discuss classroom strategies,” Seonia said.
Subsequent workshops on topics of their choice will begin in early 2026 online and in the future face-to-face on weekends, to accommodate teacher workloads.
