AGM Minutes
Melbourne, Tuesday, 9 July, 2013
1.
Present: Jan Thomas, Janette Bobis, Jodie Hunter, Jill Wells, Katie Makar, Anne
Bennison, Sue Wilson, Helen Chick, Jane Watson, Rosemary Callingham, Lynda Balll,
Megan Anakin, Joanna Higgins, Catherine Attard, Chris Hurst, Tracey Muir, Bobbie
Hunter, Gloria Stillman, Vince Geiger, Trish Morley, Robyn Jorgensen, Linda Galliga,
Brian Doig, Susie Groves, Jill Brown, Gaye Williams, Cheng Lu Pien, Jaguthsing
(Daya) DIndyal, Dorian Stoilescu, Tom Lowrie, Philip Clarkson, Kim Beswick, Robin
Averill, Anne Prescott, Colleen Vale, Gilah Leder, Helen Forgasz, Margaret
Marshman, Peter Grooenboer, Janeen Lamb, Peter Galbraith.
2.
Apologies: Peter Sullivan; Vicki Steinle, Ray Brown, Di Siemon.
3.
Minutes of the AGM in Singapore July, 2012
Motion: That the minutes of the 2012 Annual General Meeting held in Singapore be
accepted.
[Moved:MG, Carried]
4.
Matters Arising from the Previous Minutes
All matters arising dealt with in portfolio reports.
5.
Reports:
President’s Report: Merrilyn Goos
5.1
The President, Merrilyn Goos, delivered an oral report. The Presidents report is
attached to the minutes (Attachment 1).

Merrilyn recorded her thanks to all members of the executive committee,
particularly Vince Geiger, and Catherine Attard for coming on as secretary.
Merrilyn commended the executive for their effort and time. She also thanked
Bobbie Hunter for six years on the executive and her outstanding work on
conferences.
Motion: That the President’s report be accepted.
[Moved from the Chair: Carried]
5.2
Treasurer's Report: Janeen Lamb
The Treasurer presented the financial report for 2012-2013.


Janeen Lamb reported on un-audited figures and explained changes that would
occur.
The change to MYOB from using an Excel spreadsheet is causing changes in
categories




There has been a change to electronic banking to allow immediate payments to
occur
Term deposits are rolling over
The carry over of unexpired subscriptions will not be shown in future reporting
of accounts
‘Other Income’ is derived from AITSL project
Motion: That the Treasurer’s report be accepted.
[Moved Janeen Lamb, Seconded: Vince Geiger: Carried]
5.3
VP (Research) Report: Gloria Stillman
The Vice-President (Research) presented a report on activity during 2012-2013. A copy
of the Vice-President’s (Research) report is attached to the minutes (Attachment 2).
Motion: That the Vice-President’s (Research) report be accepted.
[Moved GS, Seconded: Helen Forgasz : Carried]
5.4
VP (Conferences) Report: Bobbie Hunter
The Vice-President (Conferences) presented an oral report for activity during 20122013. A copy of the Vice-President’s (Conferences) report is attached to the minutes
(Attachment 3).
Motion: That the Vice-President’s (Conferences) report be accepted.
[Moved: Bobbie Hunter, Seconded: Peter Grootenboer: Carried]
5.5
VP (Publications) Report: Joanna Higgins
JH thanked editors of MTED and MERJ and thanked outgoing editors of MTED
(Attachment 4)
Motion: That the Vice-President’s (Publications) report be accepted.
[Moved: Joanna Higgins, Seconded: Janette Bobis: Carried]
5.6
VP (Development) Report: Tracey Muir
The Vice-President (Development) presented an oral report for activity during 20122013. A copy of the Vice-President’s (Development) report is attached to the minutes
(Attachment 5).
Motion: That the Vice-President’s (Development) report be accepted.
[Moved Tracey Muir, Seconded: Gloria Stillman
5.7
: Carried]
VP (Communications) Report: Chris Hurst
The Vice-President (Communications) presented an oral report for activity during
2012-2013. A copy of the Vice-President’s (Communications) report is attached to the
minutes (Attachment 6).
Motion: That the Vice-President’s (Communications) report be accepted.
[Moved Chris Hurst, Seconded: Janette Bobis: Carried]
6.
Election of Officers
6.1
President
Nominee: Merrilyn Goos
[Elected unopposed]
6.2
Secretary
Nominee: Catherine Attard
[Elected unopposed]
6.3
VP (Development)
Nominee: Tracey Muir
[Elected unopposed]
6.4
VP (Publications)
Nominee: Joanna Higgins
[Elected unopposed]
6.5 VP (Conferences)
Nominee: Jodie Hunter
7.
Motion: That MTED transition to an on-line only publication by mid 2014.
[Moved: Joanna Higgins; Seconded: Peter Grootenboer; Carried ]
. MG thanked Joanna for her work in putting together proposal.
8.
Other Business


Helen Forgasz commented on the difficulty finding the link to the conference website
via the MERGA website.
Jan Thomas discussed presentation by Chief Scientist Ian Chubb on Maths and Planet
earth. The discussion included “various problems with TAFE students, teacher
supply, poor number of graduates with maths and stats…” Jan called for MERGA to
take notice and become collaborative over key issues.
There were no other matters of general business.
Meeting closed 5:33pm
ATTACHMENT 1
MERGA President’s Report 2013
After two successive years of “different” MERGA conferences – one a joint conference with AAMT
in Alice Springs, and last year’s conference held in Singapore – this year marks a return to the eastern
states of Australia and the city of Melbourne. However, it is once again an AAMT conference year,
and we’re pleased that both conferences are hosted at the University of Melbourne with an
overlapping day on 10 July so that MERGA and AAMT delegates can enjoy a dual program of
research and practice focused sessions.
The individual Executive portfolio reports provide updates on a range of MERGA activities for the
past year, so in this report I’ll highlight activities that relate specifically to the President’s portfolio in
our 2012-2013 Strategic Plan.
One responsibility of the President is to ensure that MERGA is represented at meetings of
international societies with which we are affiliated or of which we are members. In July 2012,
immediately after our own conference, many MERGA members attended ICME-12 in Seoul, Korea.
MERGA collaborated with AAMT, the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute, and the Australian
Mathematics Trust to mount a non-commercial display during ICME. This provided useful
opportunities to advertise our activities and publications to an international audience, and to facilitate
closer liaison between Australian mathematical societies. I’d like to thank the MERGA members who
volunteered some of their time to represent Australia on this display. As an ICMI-affiliated
organisation, MERGA was also allocated two meeting time slots during the ICME program. One was
used for a meeting of the MERJ Editorial Board, and the other for a lively and successful reception to
mark the international launch of Research in Mathematics Education in Australasia 2008-2011, the
eighth edition of MERGA’s four-yearly review of research. The book attracted strong interest from
our international colleagues at the conference. As the Australian delegate to the ICMI General
Assembly, which was held the day before ICME opened, I also provided a report on MERGA’s role
and activities to this international group.
Also in relation to international liaisons, in March this year I represented MERGA and AAMT at the
Friends of Mathematics Education (FOME) meeting in Berlin. This is a European initiative that aims
to raise awareness of initiatives in mathematics education funded by charitable foundations and nongovernment organisations, the goals of these initiatives, the methods used and their effects. The
organisers were Günter Törner and Celia Hoyles. The program included a time slot for me to report
on Australian initiatives led by AAMT or MERGA relating to one of the meeting themes,
“Transforming the mathematics teaching profession”. A report on the meeting was published in the
MERGA newsletter.
A second responsibility of the President’s portfolio is to maintain liaison with other organisations with
interests in mathematics education or educational research. Over the past year this involved
representing the Mathematical Sciences Cluster on the Board of Science and Technology Australia
(STA), and representing MERGA on the Australian Council of Heads of Mathematical Sciences
(ACHMS) and the Australian Academy of Science’s National Committee for the Mathematical
Sciences (NCMS). STA runs the annual Science Meets Parliament event in Canberra, when scientists
– including those in the mathematical sciences – lobby parliamentarians about issues of national
importance in their disciplines, including mathematics education. Amy MacDonald (early career
member) and Gloria Stillman (Executive member) were MERGA’s delegates to SmP in 2012, and I
attended as an STA Board member. A report on SmP was published in the MERGA newsletter.
MERGA’s strategy for identifying and including an early career member in SmP is well regarded by
the STA Board.
ACHMS represents the Heads of Mathematics Departments (or equivalent) in Australian universities,
and Presidents of mathematical societies. This is an informal group that meets once each year to
discuss issues relating to mathematics teaching and research in universities. Members are also
interested in school mathematics education and mathematics teacher education, and this interest is
formally demonstrated through an invitation for the MERGA President to join the Executive
Committee of ACHMS. Membership of this group gives the MERGA President valuable
opportunities to discuss educational issues with senior mathematicians and to find much common
ground in the process.
Membership of the NCMS is restricted to eight representatives, although additional people may be
granted observer status. The main work of this Committee over the past year has been to begin
process of preparing a Decadal Plan for the mathematical sciences. Various sub-committees have
been established to work on different parts of the plan. Kim Beswick is chairing the sub-committee on
mathematics and statistics education in schools and colleges, and I am a member of the overall
Steering Committee guiding development of the plan.
Returning to MERGA Executive matters, Bobbie Hunter retires from the Committee at this year’s
AGM after a long and successful term as Vice-President (Conferences). Her knowledge and
experience in this role are highly valued and will be sorely missed. At the end of 2012 Vince Geiger
retired as Secretary when he was appointed associate Editor of MERJ, and Catherine Attard was coopted into this role. I would like to thank Bobbie and Vince for their sterling service to MERGA, and
Catherine for so willingly stepping up to the role of Secretary. I also thank all members of the
MERGA Executive for their unflagging support and their dedication to serving MERGA.
Merrilyn Goos
MERGA President
ATTACHMENT 2
2013 Annual Report VP (Research)
MERGA International Research Development Scheme (MIRDS)
The purpose of this bursary is for MERGA to contribute to the development of mathematics education
research particularly in the Australasian region by providing financial assistance to international
researchers who have limited access to financial support to attend and present a paper at the annual
MERGA conference. This scheme aligns with MERGA’s goal of extending our Australasian outreach
and establishing a stronger regional presence while acknowledging the financial constraints affecting
participation that may be experienced by researchers in developing countries in the region. MERGA is
offering up to two "MERGA International Bursaries" to support the attendance of 2 researchers from
overseas at each annual conference.
This year there were applicants from Africa, Pakistan and Indonesia. Two applicants were selected for
this year’s bursaries. This was the first year the bursaries were awarded. We anticipate this scheme
will be well supported by applicants in the future so please advertise widely and early.
Research Awards
This is another opportunity to remind members of the two research awards for established researchers.
These are the MERGA Career Research Medal and the MERGA Research Award. The MERGA
Career Research Medal is to be awarded as required (not necessarily annually or singly) to a longterm and active MERGA member who has made a sustained and distinguished contribution to
research in mathematics education in Australasia and internationally. The award of this medal reflects
MERGA’s pride in a MERGA member’s outstanding research. Nominations will be accepted at any
time of the year. Three nominations have been received to date this year.
The MERGA Research Award is for an individual (or a team of researchers) who has made an
outstanding contribution to mathematics education research in the previous 3 years. Nominations for
the MERGA Research Award must be submitted to the VP (Research) by 1 November each year. This
was changed to the later date last year hoping the change might encourage more applicants. One
nomination was received in 2010 but this has been our only nomination since this award began.
Again, can I encourage you to consider nominating yourself or someone else or a team for this award
for next year.
The Early Career Award is now being handled by this portfolio. It was again well supported.
Review panels have met during the year or will meet during the conference to process these
nominations and any awards will be announced during the conference. Forms and advice on how to
make nominations for both major research awards are available from the website or email me at:
gloria.stillman@acu.edu.au
Beth Southwell Practical Implications Award
The Beth Southwell Practical Implications Award was again handled by the VP (Research)
portfolio for 2013. The Award was strongly contested this year. There was a very strong and
diverse field of applicants. This award is judged by a panel of 2 MERGA members and 2
AAMT nominees. The 2013 Beth Southwell Practical Implications Award has been won by
Peter Gould for his paper entitled, Changes in Students’ Notation When Fractions Exceed
One-whole. I recommend his plenary lecture. All applicants who were unsuccessful received
feedback from the judging panel as they appreciate the effort the applicants put into their
papers.
Panel Members
I would like to thank those members who have agreed to participate in reviewing panels this year.
These members have generously given their time and expertise. Each year it becomes more difficult
to find willing volunteers as our workloads in tertiary or related organisations increase. In several
panels these members remain anonymous but it is becoming more and more imperative that we
provide opportunities for the research of our members to be recognized by suitable measures of
esteem.
PIA Book
John Malone has been helping me canvas the idea of a book arising from the PIA. The idea is that a
professional publication by a commercial publisher be produced. All potential authors have been
enthusiastic about the idea. MERGA's philosophy is that research in the area of mathematics
education should have relevance for practitioners founded in rigorous academic research. MERGA
believes that its members should overcome the well-known 'research-practice gap' by
demonstrating the value of their work, not simply through its publication in academic journals that
the busy teacher will not read, but by demonstrating the impact that the research has in the
mathematics classroom in publications such as the one envisaged. The draft proposal is that original
PIA papers for the period to about 5 years from the expected publication date be reprinted and then
a synopsis of what impact this research has had for each. The five year limit isn’t to exclude people
but to give each paper the chance to have had an impact. It is anticipated that a progress and futures
planning meeting will be held at MERGA with as many of the potential authors as possible who are
attending. Please keep an eye out for a notice on the conference noticeboard.
Publication in Proceedings
Just a reminder that acceptance of a research paper for the proceedings also requires you to come and
present it for it to be published. These are research outputs recognized by many tertiary institutions
both in Australia and overseas to a greater or lesser extent so the complete process needs to be
followed in keeping with international conference etiquette.
Gloria Stillman
June 5, 2013
ATTACHMENT 3
MERGA VP (Conferences) Annual Report to the AGM: July 2013
Bobbie Hunter
I begin this report with thanks to all the different people who have supported me in the
role of VP(Conferences) over the past six years. I begin first with Bob Perry who mentored
me into this role particularly because it also involved a change in the reviewing process. I
also want to include both Judy Mousley and Merrilyn Goos in their President roles who have
always been available to refer questions to and also to ensure that MERGA policy is adhered
to. I also want to thank all the other members of the MERGA executive who have been on a
similar journey to me. But I also want to say a big thank you to all the different people in
Australasia who have so willingly over the years headed up Panels and been panel members.
I look back over the years as this new reviewing process has bedded in and want to say how
much I respect the way in which the different groups have responded. This is evidenced by
the way in which consistently over the past six years the acceptance rate for papers to be both
published and presented has ranged between 70% and 80%.
This year being no different the acceptance rate is 77%. This is illustrated in the
following explanation and tables. Nine panels were convened using mathematics education
researchers with appropriate expertise across Australasia. Each paper was independently
reviewed by two panel members, and then the panels met as part of the process and discussed
assessments and produced a single consensus report that provided the author(s) with detailed
feedback. Over the six years the panels have been consistent about writing joint reviews and
as has happened in previous years some panels have adapted the meeting process and in some
cases conversations have occurred through video link and Skype. The Early bird submission
process continues to be a strong support for our new writers as well as more experienced
writers who want to take advantage of an earlier submission time. In 2013 there were 35
papers submitted in this process. Some were accepted on the first review with small revisions
and the remainder were returned to the author/s with extensive feedback. This process
resulted in an eventual 94% acceptance rate for this group. Again we have used the same
location for this early bird panel to build expertise in this group.
The first table indicates that 111 papers were sent to review panels. 62% of the papers were
accepted for publication and 38% for presentation only. Note that the numbers in row 1 for the Early
Bird papers was made after they were re-submitted in the second round of reviewing. There were 3
review panels (G, H & I) which (mostly) dealt with re-reviews and so do not contribute substantially
to the first table.
The second table indicates that, after a second review by a different Review Panel and the Editors
overall 77% were accepted for pub, and 23% for presentation only. The editors also contacted some
Early Bird submitters to resubmit with the changes. The final column is a summary of papers which
moved from presentation only to publication, and the largest figure here is 8 for the Early Birds.
Authors of papers which were moved from presentation only to publication and presentation were
given the opportunity to edit their paper to address some of the concerns of the reviewers. You will
also note that Group C had the lowest rate of %Publications in table 1, but the papers when re-
reviewed by another panel and then looked at by the editors only one change was made and so the
initial judgements made by this panel were, on the whole, confirmed.
First reviews
Total
# for Pub
# for pres
%Pub
%Pres
Group EB
35
25
10
71%
29%
Group A
12
8
4
67%
33%
Group B
17
10
7
59%
41%
Group C
12
4
8
33%
67%
Group D
15
8
7
53%
47%
Group E
18
12
6
67%
33%
Group G
1
1
0
Group I
1
1
0
TOTAL
111
69
42
62%
38%
After 2nd reviews
plus editors
contacting EB
Total
# for Pub
# for pres
%Pub
%Pres
pres to pub*
Group EB
35
33
2
94%
6%
8
Group A
12
8
4
67%
33%
0
Group B
17
13
4
76%
24%
3
Group C
12
5
7
42%
58%
1
Group D
15
9
6
60%
40%
1
Group E
18
15
3
83%
17%
3
Group G
1
1
0
Group I
1
1
0
TOTAL
111
85
26
77%
23%
15
Now, specifically I want to thank the wide group of people who collaborated so well to
organise a different sort of conference in Singapore. The 2012 MERGA 35 Conference held
in Singapore was the first of what hopefully set a precedence for MERGA to go beyond
Australia and New Zealand. Particular thanks go to the organising team which consisted of
Dr Ang Keng Cheng (Head and advisor), Dr Jaguthsing Dindyal and Dr Cheng Lu Pien (cochairs). The rest of the team was comprised of Mr Chan Chun Ming, Eric (Secretary), Dr Yap
Sook Fwe (Logistics), Dr Ho Weng Kin (Food & Social Programme), Mrs Low-ee Huei
Wuan (PR & Accommodation), Dr Koay Phong Lee (PR & Accommodation), Dr
Berinderjeet Kaur (Scientific Programme), Dr Ng Swee Fong (Floating Member +
Proceedings), Dr Teo Kok Ming (Treasurer), Ms Cynthia Seto (AST & MOE representative).
My thanks on behalf of the MERGA executive and community go to all the different people
involved in this very successful conference held at the National Institute of Education (NIE),
Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.
MERGA 37, 2014 returns to a more central Australian city being set in Sydney and being led by a
collaborative team which includes Paul White, Mary Coupland, and Judy Anderson. Sydney has been
a popular city for past MERGA conferences and so we look forward to returning there to enjoy
MERGA 37.
Thank you again for your support. Bobbie Hunter
ATTACHMENT 4
VP Publications Report July 2013
1. Publications Activities 2012-2013
MERJ
MERJ has now into its third year of publication by Springer. Details of the increase in the number of
papers submitted, the country of origin and the acceptance rates appear in the report below from the
Editor-in-Chief. Changes to the Editorial team and the Editorial Board and the process of reviewing
are also explained. An important issue for MERJ is building a case for ISI ranking with two issues
that members can directly help with – first that of subscribing to the issue alert with Springer and
promoting MERJ papers for citation, and second, turning around reviews of manuscript quickly. The
report from the Editor-in-Chief also notes the special and focus issues.
MTED
There has been a change of editorial team with Jenni Way, Janette Bobis, and Judy Anderson stepping
down at the end of 2012. They have made a major contribution to the journal during their tenure as
editors, with the MERGA community benefitting from their strategic approach to establishing two
issues a year – one general and one special. The new team of editors, Colleen Vale, Leicha Bragg, and
Gaye Williams took over at the beginning of 2013. They have reviewed the Editorial Board, and
published two issues – the Special Issue for 2012 and the first issue of 2013. The 2013 Special Issue is
in progress. Details of all the above as well as submission patterns are included in the report from the
Editorial team. A call for future special issues will be made in July. An important question for MTED
that will be discussed at the conference is the possibility of publishing manuscripts online first.
Research in Mathematics Education in Australasia 2012-2015
A call for expression of interest from individuals or teams of editors for the next MERGA 4-yearly
review to be published in 2016 has recently been circulated to members. As with previous recent
reviews, it is anticipated that it will be published by Springer to coincide with the ICME 2016
conference. It is anticipated that the Editorial team will be announced early July to coincide with the
conference.
Sincere thanks to the Editorial teams and the Publication Committee for their work in maintaining a
number of fine publications of which MERGA members can be proud.
Joanna Higgins
VP (Publications) June 2013
2. MERJ: A report from the Editors
As MERJ is now fully on line with Springer and reports are generated on a calendar year, this report
reflects the activities for 2012.
There has been a marked increase in the number of papers submitted. A summary of the can be see in
the table below. What is clear is that there has been an increase in the number of papers being
accepted but a marked increase in the time it is taking for papers to go through the acceptance process.
This is largely due to the number of papers that are requiring revision and often a second revision. It
is also dependent on the capacity of the reviewers to turn the papers around in a timely manner. The
marked change in the acceptance rate is also a reflection of the change in authors submitting to MERJ
– we now have many strong authors publishing in MERJ so that more papers are being accepted. This
is a very promising turnaround in the journal.
2012
2013
Total no of papers submitted
61
96
Acceptance rate
10%
38%
Av number of days for final accept
105
270
Av number of days for final reject
52
99
There has also been a marked change in the submission of papers by country of origin. While there
have been approximately 21 different countries of authorship in MERJ for both 2011 (22) and 2012
(21), there has been a significant increase in the number of authors from Australia (2011 – 15, 2012
28) with New Zealand remaining relatively constant (3,4 respectively). The biggest change has been
in authorship from USA which has increased from 11 to 26. South Africa and the Netherlands both
increased from 0 to 4 in the same time period.
Editorial Board
The Editorial Board is reviewed annually and we welcomed a number of new members – Helen
Forgasz (Aust), Wolff-Michael Roth (Canada), Peter Gates (UK), Daya Jagthising (Singapore), and
Yoshi Simazu (Japan). We thanked out-going members – Joanne Mulligan, Helen Doerr, Berinderjeet
Kaur, Chap Sam Lim, Marizta Binit Puteh and Rudolf Straesser. The Board will be reviewed again at
the meeting in July. The editorial board serves an important role in maintaining the quality of the
journal and ensuring international standing of the journal.
Editorial Team
We thank Ray Brown for his work with MERJ in the transition from a professional publication to a
commercial publication with Springer. This has been greatly appreciated. Vince Geiger has taken the
new role in the team. Peter Grootenboer will be standing down at the end of this year and we are
seeking a new member of the editorial team. As this is a key consideration in the ISI ranking process,
editors need to have a strong standing in the research field.
ISI ranking
Over the past few years we have been progressively building strategies to enable a strong case for ISI
rankings and we are moving close to this process. This is an important step for the journal. To enable
this to be successful, the journal needs to have quality papers from an international pool of
researchers, papers to be cited and for quality management of the review process. Two challenges for
the journal are to increase citation rates which can be achieved in a number of ways. This involves the
inclusion of both authors and papers that will be cited; and for people to subscribe to the issue alert so
that readers are aware of the papers being published. We would encourage MERGA members to
support MERJ by subscribing to the issue alert option with Springer. We also need to promote MERJ
papers for citation. We have currently moved to a process where papers included in MERJ are from
the Australasian region, include the citation of Australasian papers (including MERJ papers), and that
authors should make efforts to ensure that the papers are suitable for teh Australasian context. This is
helping to include MERJ citations. The second challenge is the turnaround of papers. This has been
particularly challenging in the current context where reviewers are very busy. We seek the support of
MERGA members to be proactive in accepting papers for review quickly, turning the papers around
quickly and if there are second reviews of papers (i.e. papers that have required a major review are
returned to the original reviewers for re-considering the paper). This is integral to the quality of the
management of reviews.
Special Issues and Focus Issues
In 2013, these two issues were Mathematics education with/for Indigenous peoples and Language
Issues and mathematics respectively. The 2014 Special issue is being coordinated by Shelley Dole and
her team. The Focus issue will be on Identity and mathematics Education. Papers for the Focus Issue
can be submitted on-line as per instructions on the Website. These two publications are important
tools for increasing citation rates and members are encouraged to submit papers. Expressions of
Interest for editors of the Special Issues are being called for and can be submitted through the on-line
instructions.
Thanks
The Editorial team would like to thank all reviewers of papers, and our Editorial board members. The
journal’s success is very dependent on the capacity of reviewers to undertake the peer review process.
In the current educational context where there are significant demands on academics, we are vey
cognisant and appreciative of the time that reviewers spend on considering papers for review.
Robyn Jorgensen
Editor-in-Chief, MERJ
3. MTED Report: A report from the Editors
This is the first annual report from the new team of MTED editors. We wish to sincerely thank the
former editors Jenni Way, Janette Bobis and Judy Anderson for their editorship of this journal. They
provided us with a very organised set of files, documents and procedures and met with us to explain
the practices that they had developed. Jenny, Janette and Judy have continued to provide advice as we
learn the ropes and how to deal with various issues. Jenny and Judy have now also accepted the
invitation to join the MTED Editorial Board. During their term as editors of MTED they substantially
increased researchers’ interest in this journal as submission of manuscripts increased substantially
during the term as editors. They have set a high standard and we hope to maintain this interest in the
journal among researchers and look forward to the new OJS system and the possibilities of publishing
manuscripts online first.
At the time of taking over editorship in January, 2013 we contacted all the existing Editorial Board
members to confirm their on-going commitment and to identify expertise needed for the board. Some
took this opportunity to announce that they wished to retire from the Editorial Board. The members of
the MTED Editorial Board who stepped down this year are:






Emeritus Professor John Malone, Curtin University
Associate Professor Andy Begg, Auckland University of Technology
Professor Stephen Lerman, South Bank University (UK)
Associate Professor Chien Chin, National Taiwan Normal University
Associate Professor Judith Zawojewski, Illinois IT (USA)
Assoc. Prof Len Sparrow, Curtin University of Technology, and former editor of MTED.
We join with the MERGA Executive, membership and readers of MTED in sincerely thanking them
for their contribution to MERGA, mathematics education research in the field of teacher education
and development, and MTED through their support and promotion of the journal through its early
years in Australasia and internationally.
We also join with the MERGA Executive in welcoming and congratulating the following mathematics
education researchers on their appointment to the MTED Editorial Board:
 Professor Mike Askew, Monash University
 Associate Professor Cynthia Nicol, University of British Columbia, Canada
 Associate professor Keiko Hino, Utsuoniya University, Japan
 Associate Professor Jennifer Way, University of Sydney
 Associate Professor Judy Anderson, University of Sydney
 Dr. Robyn Averill, Victoria University of Wellington, NZ
We will hope to be able to increase the number of Editorial Board members in the near future.
Since last year’s report two issues have been published: the special issue for 2012 which was
unfortunately late getting finalised and the first issue for 2013.
Volume 14(2) was special issue for 2012, Evidence-based approaches to developing content
knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge in pre-service mathematics teacher education.
The Volume 15(1), the 2013 general issue will have been forwarded to the printers for type-setting
and printing by the annual conference.
The 2013 special issue, Japanese Lesson Study: A model for whole-school teacher professional
learning is currently underway. It is being edited by Susie Groves and Brian Doig (Deakin
University). Eight (8) Expressions of Interest were received. At the time of writing this report the
majority of papers for accepted EOIs had been submitted and were undergoing the review process.
As can be seen by the figures in Tables 1 and 2, MTED continues to attract a steady flow of
submissions from both local and international researchers. The acceptance rate has remained stable in
recent years at approximately 30%.
At the time of writing this report there were a further 3 papers under review. We also have five (5)
papers ready for publication not able to be included in Vol. 15(1).
We will be discussing the possibility of publishing these manuscripts online first with the VP
Publications and the Publications Committee and the possibility of publishing a third issue each year
at the meetings during the Annual Conference. Alternately in the interim, the Special Issue could be
published as Vol. 16(1) early in 2014, so that manuscripts already accepted for a general issue can be
published this year online and in print.
With the support of VP Publications we will be calling for Expressions of Interest for the next special
issue of MTED about the time of the Annual Meeting and Conference of MERGA.
Table 1. MTED Manuscript submission data, Volumes 7 – 14(1) (2005-2013)
Year
published
Total #
submissions
# Rejected
prior to
review
#
Rejected
#
Accepted
%
Accepted
2
9
5
31%
Vol 12(1)
2010
16
Vol 12(2)
2010
Special Issue: Leadership of reform in mathematics education
Vol 13(1)
2011
Special Issue: Sustaining and Scaling up Teacher Learning
Vol 13(2)
2011
15
0
11
4
27%
Vol 14(1)
2012
17
1
11
5
29%
Vol 14(2)
2012/13
Vol 15(1)
2013
Special Issue: Evidence-based approaches to developing
content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge in preservice mathematics teacher education
29*
3
8
15
31%
* 3 manuscripts currently under review;  only 3 of these manuscripts will be published in Vol.
15(1), the remainder will be published in Vol. 15(2) or 16(1).
Table 2. MTED Authorship of submitted manuscripts general issues (2005-2012)
# Authors of submitted
manuscripts but not accepted
# Authors of published articles
Total #
authors
Australasia
International
Australasia
International
Vol 12(1)
4
7
2
4
17
Vol 13(2)
3
10
2
6
21
Vol 14(1)
4
8
5
2
19
Vol 15(1)*
15
15
3
7
40
Total
26
40
12
19
97
* Six (6) manuscripts will be published in this issue; a further 5 manuscripts have been accepted for
publication in the next general issue.
Assoc. Prof. Colleen Vale (Chief Editor)
Dr. Leicha Bragg
Dr. Gaye Williams
ATTACHMENT 5
MERGA Vice President’s (Development) Report to the AGM: July 2013
Awards and Bursaries
The Beth Southwell Practical Implications Award for 2012 was presented to Michael Cavanaugh at
the 35th MERGA conference in Singapore. In 2012 and 2013, the judging for this award was
coordinated by the VP (Research).
The 2012 Early Career Research Award was won by Annie Mitchell. All applicants received written
feedback including a collated response from the judges. From 2013 the judging of this award will be
coordinated by the VP (Research).
In 2013, three teacher bursaries of $600 each were awarded to teachers to enable them to attend
the 2013 Conference.
Newcomers’ Function
A Newcomers’ Function was held on the first day of the conference in July 2012. Approximately 30
attendees had the opportunity to meet other MERGA members and received advice about
publishing in academic journals from Jenni Way and Robyn Jorgensen. This year we have decided to
offer a workshop in addition to the Newcomers’ Function so that more time could be spent on
networking and meeting MERGA members. The workshop, ‘How to Manage your Supervisor’ is
aimed at Research Higher Degree students. In 2012, we trialled a ‘buddy’ initiative to assist with
making new members and attendees feel especially welcome. Feedback from participants indicated
that this was appreciated and should be continued. An evaluation survey was sent to all newcomers
after the conference and seven responses were received. All respondents were very positive about
all aspects of the new members’ workshop. While no suggestions for further activities were
received, the responses indicated that participants appreciated most the times in the workshop
where they could meet and talk with others.
Response to Decadel Plan
The Decadel Plan is being developed by the Australian Academy of Science through its National
Committee for the Mathematical Sciences. It consists of three broad components:



An assessment of the current state of the mathematical sciences in Australia
A description and prioritisation of opportunities for the future (2015-2025), and
An outline of strategies to achieve these priorities
MERGA was invited to put forward a submission to the plan and in particular provided commentary
from members on strengthening the supply and support of teachers of mathematics and statistics
and closing achievement gaps in mathematics and statistics. Thank you to those members who
provided feedback. For more information about the plan and to view submissions, see
http://mathscidecadalplan.org.au/
Projects with AAMT
In my role as VP (Development), I am currently representing MERGA in the AAMT coordinated
Connect with Maths Project. This project aims to build a dynamic education community to support
Australian teachers of mathematics in intuitive, personalised and flexible ways. Teachers will access
a range of networks and activities that support quality contemporary learning in the context of
implementation of mathematics in the Australian Curriculum. More information is available at
http://www.aamt.edu.au/Activities-and-projects/Connect-with-Maths
Tracey Muir, 7th June 2013.
ATTACHMENT 6
2013 Annual Report (VP Communications)
New to the role
Much of my first six months in this role has been devoted to trying to come to grips with what is
required and how best to do what needs to be done, in the context of ongoing teaching and
researching. I think I’m much closer to understanding the role now than six months ago.
MERGA Newsletter
The format for the regular newsletter has been changed somewhat and feedback about it has been
positive. MERGA members seem to like the format with minimal text and most of the information
being in attached documents. It’s good that members have been forwarding items of interest for
publication in the newsletter and everyone is encouraged to continue to do so. News of
conferences, seminars, webinars, forums etc. is most welcome, as is news of new publications that
members might have written or know about. As well, we welcome information about new theses.
Potential new members
Everyone is urged to be on the lookout for potential new members. MERGA is not a large community
and its members (unfortunately) are not ageless! We need a continued ‘supply of new blood’ to
ensure a strong membership and of course, new ideas and ways of doing things are always needed
and welcome. So if you know of anyone who might be interested in joining MERGA, ask them to sign
up. We all know what a great organisation MERGA is and what we all gain from it.
AARE Special Interest Group (SIG)
In December 2012, I raised the idea of approaching the Australian Association for Research in
Education (AARE) to establish a SIG for Mathematics and Science Education Research. This was put
to the MERGA executive as well as to some MERGA members after having initially ‘sounded out’
AARE SIG convenors. As a result, we decided to formally approach AARE earlier this year. AARE
requires at least fifteen active members to commit to the SIG for two years before it can be ratified.
Our intentions were published in the AARE newsletter with a call for expressions of interest.
Unfortunately, less than ten responses were received. Hence, plans to establish a Mathematics &
Science SIG have been abandoned for this year.
Given that I received strong expressions of support from a group of about ten MERGA members, I
am hopeful that we might be able to mount a concerted effort following MERGA 36 in an attempt to
get a SIG proposal ratified well before the 2014 AARE Conference. The benefits of having another
forum for our research in the form of an AARE SIG are clear, primarily as AARE conferences are held
approximately six months after MERGA so there is a reasonable time between the two events.
I ask members interested in participating regularly in an AARE SIG for Maths & Science Education
Research to contact me, including those of you who have already indicated support. There will be an
item in a MERGA newsletter in the near future about this.
MERGA Website
I am about to commence the task of reviewing the MERGA website with the view to compiling
suggestions for redeveloping it to maximise its use to members. To this end I am seeking members
who might be interested in being involved in a working party to look into this issue. One aspect of
the website that has already come under discussion is the sort of repository needed for past
newsletters and information sent out to members, what such a repository might contain and how it
might be accessed.
Chris Hurst – VP Communications