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The authors describe the benefit of launching mathematics lessons in ways that engage young learners. Short, meaningful introductions can motivate and focus students. Some features of interesting launches are drawn from Ben Dixon's Foundation classroom.

The purpose of this article is to report how Year 6 teachers used geometric reasoning tasks to foster students' mathematical attitudes and dispositions by encouraging communication as students constructed mathematical meaning for themselves. The Year 6 teachers implemented two tasks to provide a rich mathematical assessment opportunity incorporating knowledge of students' reasoning and learning dispositions.

In this article, the authors from Monash University and the University of Sydney have collaborated to present a research-informed model to support the planning and teaching of mathematics, using a student centred structured inquiry approach.

The fear of making mistakes and avoidance of risks can create disabling anxiety and limit learning opportunities. However, it is possible to teach mathematics in ways that not only reduce student agency but also have the effect of excluding some students. This article proposes approaches that are intended to both foster student decision making and a sense of inclusion in classroom learning. It describes some characteristics of classrooms that may go some way to minimising student anxiety without reducing the opportunities for cognitive activation. There are three parts that are discussed: features of tasks posed, pedagogical approaches, and classroom culture.

Multiplication and division are complex constructs for young children to understand. In this article, the authors explore young children's ability to visualise and make groups of objects before they had formally been introduced to multiplication and division. The results provide some valuable insights into students' early understandings of multiplicative ideas.

In this article, the authors emphasise the importance of purposeful mathematical discussion and using sequences of connected, cumulative, and challenging tasks in advancing students' spatial reasoning in the early years of schooling.

This article reports on a project which involved introducing challenging tasks in the early years' classrooms of twenty Victorian primary schools. The obstacles teachers encountered and how they overcame those obstacles are discussed.

The authors describe a mathematics lesson designed to allow students to use their own thinking to solve elapsed time problems. Their approach emphasises student-centered structured inquiry, and follows a 'Launch, Explore and Summarise' format.

One of the challenges facing teacher educators is providing our pre-service teachers (PSTs) with authentic experiences that cross the boundaries between Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and the classroom. An additional challenge facing the mathematics teacher educator, is addressing and deepening PSTs' mathematical content knowledge (MCK), which has been raised as a concern in the literature (e.g., Anthony, Cooke, & Muir, 2016). Practice-based strategies have been shown to be effective in bridging the perceived gap between theory and practice (Anthony, et al., 2016), integrating learning of knowledge for teaching (Clarke, Grevholm, & Millman, 2009) and deepening mathematical content knowledge. This article describes how teacher educators used students' work samples to introduce PSTs to the Smith and Stein (2011) five practices; anticipating, monitoring, selecting, sequencing and connecting. For the purpose of this article, the authors have chosen to focus on selecting and sequencing. In doing so, they engaged the PSTs in an act of teaching, which also revealed insights into their own mathematical content knowledge. It is anticipated that this approach could be adapted for use by other teacher educators or as a stimulus in staff meetings by primary teachers and school mathematics leaders.

It is not uncommon in many Australian primary schools for a teaching staff member to undertake the leadership or coordination of mathematics in his or her school. Some research (e.g., Cheeseman & Clarke, 2005) suggests that coordinators and leaders play an important role in the leadership and management of mathematics teaching and learning in primary schools. Contemporary Teaching and Learning of Mathematics (CTLM) was a research and professional development project designed and facilitated by staff from Australian Catholic University (ACU, Melbourne Campus) and funded by the Catholic Education Office Melbourne (Clarke et al., 2012). CTLM was a five year project (2008 to 2012 inclusive) that aimed to improve mathematics teaching and learning practices in participating schools. Four intakes of schools A large focus of the project concerned the provision of professional development sessions, facilitated through plenary (lecture) sessions and workshops. These sessions were designed to enhance teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching (Ball, Thames & Phelps, 2008) which is a specialised blend of subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge related to mathematics learning and teaching. During their participation in CTLM, schools were required to appoint a staff member to undertake the leadership role of the School Mathematics Leader (SML). This leader had the task of supporting classroom teachers as changes in mathematics teaching and learning practices were enacted within the school communities. For many of these leaders, this was the first time that they were required to undertake leadership responsibilities of this nature. They played a vital role in leading the implementation of CTLM practices, strategies and philosophies in their schools. This article by Matt Sexton and Ann Downton explores the beliefs of one group of School Mathematics Leaders. The authors also provide some useful questions for leaders of mathematics to reflect upon.