seminars and meetings in 2022-23
For the first time since 2019 we are beginning an academic year without any covid restrictions in place, so the hope is that many of us will be able to meet in person Thursday lunchtimes. To maintain accessibility, the option to attend via Teams will be provided wherever possible,
Seminar series - everyone welcome! As title suggests, all are welcome to attend Seminar series events. See note above how to request an invite to the Teams meeting.
Reading Group - everyone welcome! All are welcome to attend Reading Group events. We select and discuss readings of interest to the group.
Work in progress These meetings are open to UCL staff and post-graduate research students. Through work-in-progress meetings we aim to provide a supportive environment in which to develop research, teaching and other projects in mathematics education from initial ideas right through to publication.
Team meeting These meetings are for IoE Mathematics Education staff only. The SiG time-slot is a convenient time for staff to come together to support each other and discuss administrative matters. These meetings mainly occur at the start and end of term.
Autumn term
15 September 2022 12.30-14.00 Informal team meeting
facilitated by Jeremy Hodgen
Location: room 804 (provisional) and Teams
Opportunity to catch up after the summer break and hear about each other’s teaching and research plans for the coming year. During this session we will also start thinking about how we might research some our own practice within the ITE and Masters’ programmes.
22 September 2022 12.30-14.00 Work in progress
Melissa Rodd
Location: physically in rm 804
Three LSNGT* mathematical personas and associated artwork
This session will be given over to an exhibition of artwork that has been inspired by my meetings with three post-graduate research students from the *London School of Geometry and Number Theory (LSGNT). It follows on from the one I gave in May this year; an edited selection of slides from that seminar outlines the background to the project is available here.
Some of the artwork displayed are collaborative pieces with a particular student, some are my solo effort and some art work will be done during the session using some ‘maths-art prompts’ for sig participants to interact with (if they want). There will not be a formal seminar - not a powerpoint in sight - but I will give introductions to the artworks and encourage play and discussion and THIS is the link to the project website.
29 September 2022 12.30-1400 Seminar series - everyone welcome!
Jørn Ove Asklund and colleagues from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NNTU)
Location: tbc and online via Teams
The use of technology in teacher education
We will present a project we are working on developing a program that simulates a classroom discussion. This programme is for teacher educators and students to practice/discuss and reflect upon the choices a teacher has to make leading a classroom discussion.
We will also briefly present on our work on primary teacher education and interdisciplinary teaching. We are currently developing a programme for further education for teachers of grades 1-4 focused on interdisciplinary teaching between mathematics and language.
6th October2022 12.30-1400 Reading Group then work in progress
Location: Room 944 and online via Teams
Part 1
Kim, H. J. (2019). Teacher learning opportunities provided by implementing formative assessment lessons: Becoming responsive to student mathematical thinking. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 17(2), 341-363.
This paper has been chosen for two reasons, first, because it looks at an approach for developing responsive teaching in the classroom, and second, because makes extensive use of a classroom resource that that will be recognised by anyone familiar with Standards Unit materials
Part 2
Forward planning - bring your ideas for SIG sessions for the remainder of the year.
13th October 2022 12.30-14.00 Team meeting
Suman Ghosh, Richard Cowley, Nick McIvor
Location: room 944 and online via Teams
The Maths Education offer at the IOE: Algebra
Suman, Richard and Nick will lead a discussion on how algebra is treated on the undergraduate Mathematics Education module, the PGCE course and the MA. How do the approaches vary and what can they learn from each other? it is hoped that this will be first in a series of sessions taking a more holistic view of the Mathematics Education offer at the IOE.
20th October 2022 12.30-14.00 Team meeting
Cosette Crisan
Location: room 944 and online via Teams
Making the most of the MA in Maths Education
Planning ahead for the new cohort, including a discussion about how to integrate the optional What is Education and Understanding Research modules more effectively, and considering putting together a list of potential topics/methods for the Dissertation/Report module.
We will also be looking at how to enhance opportunities for our current students and recent alumni to contribute to the SIG and the wider maths teaching community.
3rd November 2022 12.30-13:50 Work in progress
Nick McIvor and Jennie Golding
Location: room 944 and online via Teams
BSRLM preview
Two members of the team will share the presentations they will be making at the forthcoming BSRLM conference
Primary children’s perspectives on the roles of reflection, challenge and explanation in resource-rich classrooms. Jennie Golding
Drawing on a 2019-22 study of teaching and learning using DfE match-funded ‘mastery’ resources, Power Maths, termly data was collected from twenty broadly representative primary schools. Nine of those schools gave access to teachers’ and children’s views on their ‘new normal’ during the 2021-22 session. This presentation focuses on children’s responses in those 9 schools to two Power Maths pedagogical devices, ‘Reflect’ (designed to support lesson-synoptic conceptual grasp) and ‘Challenge’ (an end-of-lesson task drawing on deeper target learning). In at least seven of the nine schools, children usually responded positively, articulating the learning potential of wrestling with such tasks, suggesting that the use of well-structured curriculum resources can support high quality thinking.
Can lesson observations alongside stimulated response interviews provide insight into some of the ways in which skilled mathematics teachers improvise during lessons? Nick McIvor
This presentation assumes that expert teachers of mathematics often adapt their plans while teaching to address the emerging needs of their students. It shares some early findings from a PhD study drawing on observation and interview evidence from one London secondary school, making some tentative suggestions about the relationship between improvisation as understood in the theatre, and the kind of responsive teaching that is often associated with expert practice.
10th November12.30-1400 Reading Group
Location: online via Teams due to planned tube driver strike
Climate change and mathematics teaching
Richard Barwell (2013) The mathematical formatting of climate change: critical mathematics education and post-normal science, Research in Mathematics Education, 15:1, 1-16, DOI: 10.1080/14794802.2012.756633
Following a brief introduction by Suman Ghosh, there will be a discussion of paper's content and significance. This is the first in a planned series of sessions looking at how the Mathematics Education community might productively respond to the climate crisis.
17th November 2022 12.30-13:50 Work in progress
facilitated by Nick McIvor
Location: room 944 and online via Teams
What tools do we use to carry out our research?
From recording and transcribing interviews to formatting reference lists, for every stage of the research process there is a plethora of gadgets and software applications claiming to make the job easier. This session provides an opportunity for postgraduates and members of the Maths Education team to pool their knowledge about they have found to be effective. Topics to be discussed will include - but are not restricted to - transcription tools for converting audio into printed text, software applications for processing both qualitative and quantitative data (e.g. NVivo, SPSS) and reference management systems such as Endnote and Mendeley. Come to share your knowledge and ask questions.
24th November 2022 NO MEETING - industrial action
1st December 2022 16.30-1800 Work in progress - note changed time
facilitated by Nick McIvor
Location: online only via Teams
Dissertation presentations by 21/22 Maths Education MA graduates (part 1)
Three graduates who submitted A-grade dissertations present their findings and answer questions about their research and writing processes.
The impact of the use of a Dynamic Geometry System, GeoGebra, on mathematical teaching of exponential and logarithmic functions: the case of Chinese teachers.
Yihan Zhu
Semi-structured interviews and video-based observations were used to collect data which was then analysed in the light of the instrumental orchestration theory using thematic analysis. The positive impact such of using dynamic geometry systems is then discussed alongside their limitations.
What do 11-16 year old pupils attending an alternative provision in the UK perceive as their mathematics self-concept and influencing factors?
Rita Pescatelli
Using semi-structured interviews and the analytical approach of Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). This study found that interaction with others and perceived constraints such as the time necessary to complete mathematical work, were at the core of pupils' perception of their mathematical abilities
How can guided reflection help GCSE resit students develop their problem-solving skills?
Sandy Mackay
Students were involved in individual problem-solving tasks followed by group discussion and reflective journaling. Themes emerged from a grounded approach to the analysis of the qualitative data and led to the theoretical grouping of students with similar levels of engagement.
8th December 2022 12.30-1400 Seminar series - everyone welcome!
Yvette Solomon of Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and OsloMet University, Norway
Location: Room C3.09 and online via Teams
Making decisions about attainment grouping in mathematics: teacher agency and autonomy in Norway
The Norwegian education system has deep roots in humanist traditions which frame education as preparation for participation in a democratic society. Teaching in whole class mixed groups is therefore not only a tradition but an ideology which is protected by the law, so it is perhaps surprising that a significant number of Norwegian schools have introduced attainment grouping, particularly in mathematics. Norway’s performance in international tests is of course a driver: grouping is seen as a means of raising students’ marks in general and is argued to benefit under-performing higher attainers in particular. However, teachers in Norway have a very high degree of autonomy, and our findings from the Inclusive Mathematics Teaching (IMaT) project funded by the Norwegian Research Council confirm this. In this seminar I will talk about teachers’ decision-making about grouping with a particular focus on their exercise of agency within a context which is clearly very different from that in England.
Find the paper at: https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2022.2135014
Yvette Solomon is Professor of Education at Manchester Metropolitan University and Professor of Mathematics Education at OsloMet University, Norway.
Spring term
12th January 2023 1700-1830 Work in progress - note changed time
facilitated by Nick McIvor
Location: online only via Teams
Dissertation presentations by 21/22 Maths Education MA graduates (part 2)
Three graduates who submitted A-grade dissertations present their findings and answer questions about their research and writing processes.
Writing in the mathematics classroom
Lisa Chalmers
Despite an abundance of literature advocating writing in the mathematics classroom, the practice is not widely implemented. This dissertation describes what happened when a teacher asked her students to write about their mathematics.
Creativity in the mathematics classroom
Mark Finnemore
How might creativity can be defined and even measured in the mathematics classroom? This question is addressed using interview data from teachers of mathematics and the so-called 'creative' subjects alongside pupil focus groups. It also considers the question of how creativity might be fostered in the classroom.
ScratchJr: Developing Pattern Awareness through a Programming Approach
Madina Howard
A 'pedagogy of power' is how Seymour Papert (2000) characterised the learning opportunities presented by LOGO. Scratch and ScratchJr are the contemporary descendants of LOGO, but there are few studies of the efficacy of a ScratchJr programming approach to elarning mathematics in earlier primary phases. This study explores how a group of Year 1 learners engage in meaning-making about patterns with ScratchJr through an analysis of their responses and strategies.
19th January 2023 12.30-1400 Seminar series - everyone welcome!
Alf Coles of the University of Bristol
Location: Room 537 and online via Teams
Teaching and learning mathematics in the new climate regime: towards a socio-ecological practice of mathematics education
In this talk, Alf will set out of the theoretical thinking, provoked by the new climate regime we have entered, that is being done by a group of scholars under the broad label of a socio-ecological practice of mathematics education. Among this group there is a belief that we cannot continue engaging in mathematics education in a business as usual manner, given the scale of change occurring around us. Socio-ecological practices include a dialogic approach to ethics (with ethics viewed as more significant than ontology or epistemology), a move away from taking the individual as the unit of learning, and taking social and ecological issues as un-separable. These practices will be exemplified briefly with four projects on which Alf has worked. One project was funded by the GCRF and focused on primary school curriculum innovation in Mexico, and second is on-going work, linking teaching to global challenges, on the University of Bristol’s secondary PGCE course, a third is a small-scale study on the practices of mathematics teacher educators relating to climate justice, and a fourth is curriculum re-imagining taking place in collaboration with the group Teach The Future.
2nd March 2023 12.30-1400 Work in progress
Jeremy Hodgen, UCL
Location: Room G1, 24 Woburn Place
Responding to reviewers' comments from journal submssions
9th March 2023 12.30-1400 Work in progress
Laurie Jacques, UCL
Location: Location: Room G1, 24 Woburn Place
Using NVIVO to code qualitative data
In this session I will provide a brief overview of how I used NVIVO to support the coding process for my PhD data. The data comprised transcripts from collaborative discussions when teachers were working collaboratively and from research lessons, both captured during lesson studies. I will share my NVIVO 'project' to exemplify some of the different features of NVIVO that I used as part of the coding and analysis of the data. Thereafter I will provide some practical opporunity for those in attendance to create a new project, upload some data, construct some codes and explore the data.
Those attending should have a device with them with the lastest version of NVIVO downloaded and an NVIVO account set up. NVIVO can be accessed for free for UCL staff and PGRs from the UCL Software Database.
23rd March 2023 12.30-1400 Work in progress
Woburn Square (24) - PHD Seminar Room G1
Research Interests Update
This will be an informal session for Maths SiG participants to update one another on their current research interests, upcoming research projects or publications, conference participation. Open to IOE Maths team and PG students and researchers and anyone else interested in mathematics education research activity within the group.
30th March 2023 12.30-1400 TBC
6th / 13th April Easter Break
20th April 2023 12:30-1400 Work in progress
Room: Bedford Way (IOE) W2.05
Getting to know some new AI research assistants - testing their “AI mettle”!
Prof Alison Clark-Wilson, UCL Knowledge Lab
Alison will share early experiences of the use of some emerging AI-powered research tools… Come with a few variants of research questions and an open mind!
27th April 2023 12.30-1400 Work in progress
Room 537
4th May 2023 12:30-14:00 Seminar series - anyone welcome
Room 537
EQuALLs - Equity and Quality in Local Learning Systems
Dr Catherine Gripton and Prof Andrew Noyes, University of Nottingham
Moves to a new public management model in England has remodelled the schooling landscape changing Continuing Professional Development and Learning (CPDL) structures for primary mathematics. The impact of shifts to increased school autonomy and regional curriculum hubs has been unclear. We report on our Wellcome-funded investigation into equity and quality in primary mathematics CPDL, sharing findings that local offers are experienced as fragmented and incoherent. Substantial differences between localities have implications for subject leadership, curriculum resources and knowledge exchange. We argue that a more concerted focus on strengthening local learning landscapes is needed for mathematics CPDL equity and quality to improve.
Project website: https://equalls.uk/
11th May 2023 12:30-14:00 Work in progress - anyone welcome
Room 537
The Lexicon Project: Possible insights for (our own) practice in mathematics teacher education
Professor Jill Adler
In this session we will discuss the Lexicon Project, as illuminated in the two shared papers we have all read. The aim of the project involved documenting the pedagogical-didactical terminology reasonably shared by mathematics teachers representing ten richly diverse educational cultures and languages. The papers selected provide some background to and illustrations of parts of the lexicons in selected countries, and also what has been involved in engaging with professional lexicons in systematic ways across languages and cultures. Jill will give a brief introduction to the project, and how this relates to her work, including the ZDM issue in which the second paper has been published. The remaining and more substantial time will be for all of us in the SIG as a group to discuss how the Lexicon project might inform our research and practice.
18th May 2023 12:30-14:00 Work in progress - anyone welcome
Room 537
Analysis of different representations of fractions in two 4th grade Danish textbooks
Julie Vangsøe Færch
This session will be presented by a visiting doctoral student from Denmark. In this session, Julie will provide a short introduction to the Danish education system and overview of her doctoral work and a presentation of an analysis of different representations of fractions in two 4th grade Danish textbooks (or a work in progress of a framework for formative assessment of the mathematical representation competency).
29th June 2023 12:30-14:00 Seminar series - anyone welcome
Using innovative research methods to examine student perspectives
Leverhulme Visiting Professor Jodie Hunter, Massey University
Room B5.21
There has been increasing awareness of the need for educators to develop and use innovative research methods to build on the voices of diverse groups of early years and primary age children. This requires methodological tools and instruments that are appropriate to use with young children and their families, and which support the identification of non-cognitive factors that have an influence on mathematical development within primary schooling. These tools and instruments need to be suitable for diverse participants across different cultural contexts and socio-economic backgrounds and provide opportunities for educators to take an expanded view of learning settings. In New Zealand and the Pacific region, Professor Hunter leads a programme of research using innovative methodology to focus on student experiences in home, community, and school settings.
In this seminar, we will examine the use of photo-voice and photo-elicitation interviews to position young children and their families to identify and document home and community experiences and activities that involve mathematics. A second key focus will be the use of mixed method approaches to investigate non-cognitive factors that influence equitable engagement in mathematics including values, attitudes, disposition, and well-being. This will include purposefully adapted and designed mixed method approaches including the use of open-response items with mathematical learning statements to investigate values and well-being (for example, to measure the value of utility, “It is important to do maths that is useful for my life outside of school”), drawings, and flexible interview approaches.