Is Mathematics Education a Research Domain?
Supervisor: Patricia Cretchley
Description: This course looks at the styles of reporting and investigations used in the body of literature on Mathematics Education, and stimulates debate on their suitability and value, these questions being potentially the most damaging source of tension between professional Mathematicians and Education specialists. Questions on whether the field is indeed a research domain, and appropriate methodologies, if so, are debated. The 1997 International Council for Mathematics Instruction Study on the search for identity in Mathematics Education, and current literature literature in related fields in the social sciences and humanities, form the basis for this course, alongside the views of publicly sceptical and even scornful Mathematicians, for example, the influential Lyn Steen, Past-President of the American Mathematics Society. The debate takes cognisance of current pressures on academics and teachers to publish their work, and focuses on positive ways in which Mathematicians can help guide and develop the growing new body of literature, given that in many countries, teaching and the training of pre-service teachers is now largely in the hands of educators who have often been exposed to qualitative methods and reports and in-depth case-studies, rather than scientific studies which are often beyond their control, in their search to understand how people think and learn.
Prerequisites: TBA
Main text: TBA
Some potential study topics
| What is Maths? Ron Addie | Attitude and belief Patricia Cretchley | Computer Algebra Ed Patricia Cretchley | Assessment issues Patricia Cretchley |
| Education research? Patricia Cretchley | Bridge gaps Patricia Cretchley | Gender equity Patricia Cretchley | Teaching geometry Patricia Cretchley |
| Math history Patricia Cretchley | Gen Lin Models Peter Dunn | Bayesian stats Paul Fahey | Survey sampling Ashley Plank |
| Maths Methods Tony Roberts | Quantum Computing Tony Roberts | Water waves Tony Roberts | Games theory Tony Roberts |
| Parallel numerics Tony Roberts | Hydro stability Sergey Suslov | Math Biology Sergey Suslov | Banach spaces Oleksiy Yevdokimov |
| Fundamental Maths Education Oleksiy Yevdokimov | Number history Oleksiy Yevdokimov |