Mathematicians in Training Initiative (MITI)

The MITI project aims to develop the capacity of secondary schools to build strong high-level mathematics classes, providing university opportunities for their students and building mathematicians for the future of Australia. The project involves developing, trialling, evaluating and refining a process that enables secondary schools with low mathematics uptake to improve their post-compulsory mathematics classes and develop potential mathematicians.

MITI has been trialled in large Brisbane secondary schools since 2013. The resources include a collection of 45 enrichment and extension tasks for Years 7–9 that cover the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics for these year levels. The tasks have been trialled in a variety of classes and found to be of benefit to all students. Schools have used them with lower performing students to provide enrichment as well as with special high-performing classes.

The MITI project is delivered in two stages (see YDM enrichment and extension projects). Each stage can be completed in one year (6 x 1 days of PD per year/stage) and is designed to be sufficient in itself as a complete PD program. Stage 1 focuses on investigations, problems and seamless sequencing of teaching from junior to senior years. Stage 2 focuses on deep applications in futures contexts.

Please contact us if you are interested in joining a MITI project.

2018 MITI project

A new MITI project started in 2018, with six PD workshops held either at QUT Kelvin Grove campus or at Harristown State High School in Toowoomba across the year:

• Workshop 1: Monday 5 March
• Workshop 2: Friday 11 May
• Workshop 3: Tuesday 12 June
• Workshop 4: Thursday 19 July
• Workshop 5: Friday 31 August
• Workshop 6: Monday 26 November

2015 MITI Metropolitan project

Five large Brisbane secondary schools participated in the MITI Metropolitan project during 2015, with a one-day PL workshop held each term. The schools received a collection of 45 Enrichment and Extension tasks for Years 7–9 enabling schools to design a course covering the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics for these year levels using only the 45 tasks.

Comments from participants in the project included:

“We got great resources and great ideas of how to implement fun and challenging maths problems into our lessons, which cater for all levels of students.”

“Students really enjoyed to have an open-ended task where they could approach problems in different ways and to step out of the normal class routine.”

“It has provided us with resources to use for extending the thinking of our top students. It has also provided stimulation to modify what we already do.”

“The process has given me new skills and ideas to use this approach to teaching in the maths classroom.”

“Ideas, strategies, and tasks that I can adopt into my planning and implement straight away in the classroom are of great value.”

“It has shown me a new way to ‘get maths across’ to students.”

“Watching students try, fail, and try again, in order to succeed, has been a wonderful experience.”