Southeast Asia RegionalStandards for Mathematics
Teachers (SEARS-MT)

INTRODUCTION
The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO) has uniquely represented the collective aspirations ofthe Southeast Asian region in education and capacity building. The focus on education has accelerated the momentum toprovide quality education for the next generation of leaders and human resource needs of the region. The emphasis on
mathematics and science education underpins this agenda. Considering this, the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Educationin Science and Mathematics (RECSAM) has outlined the Southeast Asia Regional Standards for Mathematics Teachers(SEARS-MT).

METHODOLOGYPURPOSE

Collaborative inquiry approach

To document a set of standards that describes thequalities that a mathematics teacher in the SEAMEO
region should attain in the 21st century.

First workshop:		

12 - 14 March 2013
at SEAMEO RECSAM, Penang

Seminar:“Benchmarking Quality: Are
Teachers a Precious Assetor a Big Problem?” by
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Allan White“Professional Competenceand Professional Community inMathematics Education” by
Prof. Dr. Takuya Baba

“Understanding and Teaching Mathematics inSoutheast Asian Classrooms: Challenges andOpportunities for Practice and ProfessionalDevelopment” by Prof. Dr. Mohan Chinnappan.

70 educators from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand attended the seminar.
Second Workshop:

International consultants and country experts included Brunei
Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
the Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam

2 – 5 July 2013 at
SEAMEO RECSAM, Penang

1
International consultant,country representatives
and RECSAM staffs

2Workshop session

REFERENCES
Standards for Excellence in Teaching 			Mathematics in Australian Schools (Australian 		Association of Mathematics Teachers, 2006),
Professional Teaching Standards (NSW 			Institute of Teachers, 2005), the Malaysian 			Teachers Standards (Ministry of Education, n.d.), andTeaching Competency Standards in 			Southeast Asian Countries (SEAMEO 			INNOTECH, 2010).

34Interaction between
consultant and participants

Presentation from country
representative

RESULTS
Four dimensions and its standard and 		indicators of SEARS-MT were identified:(1) Professional Knowledge(2) Professional Teaching(3) Personal and Professional Attributes(4) Professional Communities

Table 1STANDARDS

Dimension 1: Professional Knowledge and its Standards and Indicators

Knowledge ofMathematics

Knowledge ofthe discipline ofmathematics

Knowledgeof Students

Knowledge ofmotivational andengagement levels ofstudents for learning
mathematics

Knowledgeof Students’
Learning ofMathematics

Knowledgeof IntellectualQuality

IN
Knowledge of howD
students’ priorIknowledge impacts onClearning
ATO
R
Knowledge ofS
strategies forsupporting creativity
and innovation

Knowledge of ICT
integration in theteaching and learning

Knowledge ofICT

Table 2

Knowledge ofmathematics
curriculum

Knowledge of making relations
between mathematics and otherdisciplines

Knowledge of physical, social
and intellectual developmental
characteristics of the students

Knowledge of socioeconomics, cultural,ethnic and religious backgrounds of students

Knowledgeof students’conceptions andmisconceptions
about mathematics

Knowledge ofpotential difficulties
faced by the students
in learning particularmathematics
concepts

Knowledge ofthe applicationof learning andinstructional
theories in theteaching ofmathematics

Knowledge ofthe repertoireof effective
teaching
strategies

Knowledge ofstrategies fordeveloping students’higher order thinking
skills in mathematics

Knowledge formaking complex
relations between andrepresentations ofcore topics

Knowledgeof supporting
students todevelop complex
mathematicalthinking anddecision-making

Knowledge ofcross-curricular
relations withmathematics

Knowledgeof students’knowledge anduse of ICT

Knowledgeof application/
softwaredevelopment
specifically onmathematics
lessons

Knowledge of
how particular
software supports
a mathematics
concept

Knowledge of use of
ICT to model context
and solve problems

Dimension 2: Professional Teaching and Learning Process and its Standards and Indicators

Engage andenrich students inmathematical thinking
through discourse

Mathematical
Tasks andDiscourse

STANDARDS

Knowledge of
key concepts,procedures, andprocesses thatare relevant tomathematics

Planning for
Learning
Process
Implementing
teaching
strategies

Monitoring,assessmentand evaluation

Reflection ofteaching andlearning

IN
DI
CA
T
O
RS

Communicate thinking
through various
means ofrepresentations andreasoning

Plan for an effective and safe learning
environment to cater to the diversity of all
students
Use of effective
communicationand promotion ofclassroom discussion

Provide on-going,
constructive andpurposeful feedback
for learning

Facilitate student use of
conjecturing, reasoning,proving, modelling,
and verifying to solve
mathematical tasks

Incorporate a variety of commercial and self-developed
learning resources and instructional materials withappropriate teaching strategies

Use of strategies tochallenge students’
thinking and engage
them actively

Manage the learning
environment effectively

Develop and use arange of appropriate
assessment tasks andstrategies

Regularly
assessand report
student
learning
outcomes

Document the reflection of teaching practicepost-lesson analysis

Provide students withmathematical activities,
problem solving tasks
and real-life investigations
to meet the needs of all
students

Analysestudents’learning
throughassessment

Negotiate mathematicalmeaning and modellingmathematical thinking andreasoning

Utilise theperformancedata to informteaching
practice

Maintain ongoing andinformative
records
of student
progressand learning
outcomes

Utilise the record of reflection for self-improvement

Table 3

Dimension 3: Personal and Professional Attributes and its Standards and Indicators

Personal
attributes
ST
AN
DAR
DS

Personal
professional
development

Personal
responsibilities
towards
community

Table 4IN
DICATORS

Exhibit enthusiasm
and confidence forboth mathematics andteaching mathematics

Show a conviction thatall students can learn
mathematics

Commit to setting highachievable standards for themathematics learning of each
student

Exhibit care andrespect to students
and colleagues

Commit to lifelong
learning and personal
development

Enhance theirunderstanding ofmathematics andskills in mathematics
teaching

Have informed views on
relevant current trends inmathematics education
including knowledge ofnational priorities andassociated policies

Participate in a rangeof professional
activities

Contribute to thecommunities relevant totheir professional work

Advocate formathematics learningin their school and intheir wider community

Facilitate effective
communication with parents/
careers and stakeholders
regarding students’ learningand progress

Create opportunities
for mathematics
learning beyond theclassroom

Dimension 4: Professional Communities and its Standards and Indicators

Professionalethics

ST
ProfessionalA
N communities atschools
DAR
ProfessionalD
S communities
outside schools

IN
DICA
TORS

Adhere to the codes ofconduct

Demonstrateprofessionalism

Practise professional autonomy (e.g. willingness toperform duty above expectation)

Enrich the educational context for students (e.g.
co-curricular activities, advisor for mathematics
club, mathematics competition, mathematics
project)

Participate in the school-based professional learning
community (e.g. mentoring, lesson study, action
research, journal contribution)

Affiliate with professional organisation (nationaland local government, international organisation,private company, journal publication)

Take part in professional community networking among
practitioners of schools, educational institutes, and/oruniversities

CONCLUSION
As a regional initiative, the SEARS-MT would be especially beneficial for the developing nations in the region which may
not have the capacity to develop their own teachers’ standards at the moment. Future research could be extended bydeveloping local descriptors in the context of each SEAMEO member country.

For further details please contact:
The Director, SEAMEO RECSAM,
Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah,
11700 Gelugor, Penang, MALAYSIA
Tel: 60-4-6522700 Fax: 60-4-6522737
E-mail: director@recsam.edu.my
URL: http://www.recsam.edu.my