What are the essential components of a doctorate program in mathematics education or didactics of mathematics concerning research, coursework, seminars, and collaboration? The purpose of this study was to learn from doctoral students across the world about how their programs in mathematics education are preparing them for research and teaching in mathematics education; how their programs provide academic research and writing support; and what they view as missing from their experiences. Online surveys, along with follow-up interviews from a subset of survey respondents, indicated that doctoral students from 17 different countries stressed the importance of international collaboration, examining fundamental theories of learning mathematics, and identified a need for more support with academic writing.
LINK
Nowadays, digital tools for mathematics education are sophisticated and widely available. These tools offer important opportunities, but also come with constraints. Some tools are hard to tailor by teachers, educational designers and researchers; their functionality has to be taken for granted. Other tools offer many possible educational applications, which require didactical choices. In both cases, one may experience a tension between a teacher’s didactical goals and the tool’s affordances. From the perspective of Realistic Mathematics Education (RME), this challenge concerns both guided reinvention and didactical phenomenology. In this chapter, this dialectic relationship will be addressed through the description of two particular cases of using digital tools in Dutch mathematics education: the introduction of the graphing calculator (GC), and the evolution of the online Digital Mathematics Environment (DME). From these two case descriptions, my conclusion is that students need to develop new techniques for using digital tools; techniques that interact with conceptual understanding. For teachers, it is important to be able to tailor the digital tool to their didactical intentions. From the perspective of RME, I conclude that its match with using digital technology is not self-evident. Guided reinvention may be challenged by the rigid character of the tools, and the phenomena that form the point of departure of the learning of mathematics may change in a technology-rich classroom.
LINK
The purpose of this study was to learn from university faculty with a doctorate in mathematics education from across the world about how programs in mathematics education should prepare doctoral students for research and teaching in mathematics education. Online survey responses indicated that 99 mathematics education university faculty from 33 different countries stressed the importance of providing doctoral students with opportunities to examine and compare fundamental theories of learning mathematics; examine current and historical research in the field of mathematics education; and develop broad and deep knowledge of the big ideas ages 2-20 years (i.e., grades preK-14) mathematics.
LINK
Explicit language objectives are included in the Swedish national curriculum for mathematics. The curriculum states that students should be given opportunities to develop the ability to formulate problems, use and analyse mathematical concepts and relationships between concepts, show and follow mathematical reasoning, and use mathematical expressions in discussions. Teachers’ competence forms a crucial link to bring an intended curriculum to a curriculum in action. This article investigates a professional development program, ‘Language in Mathematics’, within a national program for mathematics teachers in Sweden that aims at implementing the national curriculum into practice. Two specific aspects are examined: the selection of theoretical notions on language and mathematics and the choice of activities to relate selected theory to practice. From this examination, research on teacher learning in connection to professional development is proposed, which can contribute to a better understanding of teachers’ interpretation of integrated approaches to language and mathematics across national contexts.
DOCUMENT
We are well into the 21st century now and the urgency for lifelong learning is growing especially regarding numeracy. There are major societal and policy pressures on education to prepare citizens for a complex and technologized society, in literature referred to as “21st century skills” (Voogt & ParejaRoblin, 2012), “global competences” (OECD, 2016a) or “the 4th industrial revolution” (Schwab, 2016). International research has demonstrated the economic and social value of literacy and numeracy knowledge and skills (Hanushek and Wöbmann, 2012; Grotlüschen, et al. 2016). With respect to numeracy (and/or mathematics) education, we explore the implications of these pressures to the mathematical demands at individuals living and working in modern life, and what is expected from numeracy education as society moves further into the 21st century. New means of communication and types of services have changed the way individuals interact with governments, institutions, services and each other, and social and economic transformations have in turn, changed the nature of the demand for skills as well.
DOCUMENT
Introduction: The contemporary scientific literature indicates that numeracy is a multifaceted concept. The ongoing societal and technological transformations underscore the imperative to re-evaluate the attributes characterizing a numerate individual and the strategic initiatives that policymakers should devise and implement to ensure that individuals are not marginalized from participation in public and private domains due to their lack of numeracy proficiency. Numerous empirical investigations on numeracy consistently affirm its pivotal role in enabling individuals to engage autonomously across diverse contexts within their daily lives. However, numeracy’s fundamental role has often been neglected in our societies. The present study scrutinizes the overarching challenges associated with numeracy, particularly emphasizing the challenges regarding healthcare, finance, and the critical utilization and interpretation of data awareness. Methods: A two-phase research framework was adopted to address this inquiry. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to discern the prevalent challenges regarding numeracy awareness. Subsequently, two illustrative case studies were undertaken in Slovenia and Spain to contrast and deliberate upon the insights derived from the literature review. Qualitative research methods were employed to engage in a nuanced exploration of the gathered data. Results: This empirical analysis deduced guidelines aimed at enhancing awareness and ameliorating some of these challenges. Discussion and Conclusion: We conclude that making visible the awareness that adults already have about numeracy in aspects of their lives, such as finance, health, or the use and critical interpretation of data, can give policymakers and curriculum developers clues to design effective numeracy programs to address the multifaceted challenges confronting contemporary society, both in the immediate and foreseeable future.
LINK
The pace of introduction of new technology and thus continuous change in skill needs at workplaces, especially for the engineers, has increased. While digitization induced changes in manufacturing, construction and supply chain sectors may not be felt the same in every sector, this will be hard to escape. Both young and experienced engineers will experience the change, and the need to continuously assess and close the skills gap will arise. How will we, the continuing engineering educators and administrators will respond to it? Prepared for engineering educators and administrators, this workshop will shed light on the future of continuing engineering education as we go through exponentially shortened time frames of technological revolution and in very recent time, in an unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. S. Chakrabarti, P. Caratozzolo, E. Sjoer and B. Norgaard.
DOCUMENT
Individuals with autism increasingly enroll in universities, but little is known about predictors for their success. This study developed predictive models for the academic success of autistic bachelor students (N=101) in comparison to students with other health conditions (N=2465) and students with no health conditions (N=25,077). We applied propensity score weighting to balance outcomes. The research showed that autistic students’ academic success was predictable, and these predictions were more accurate than predictions of their peers’ success. For first-year success, study choice issues were the most important predictors (parallel program and application timing). Issues with participation in pre-education (missingness of grades in pre-educational records) and delays at the beginning of autistic students’ studies (reflected in age) were the most influential predictors for the second-year success and delays in the second and final year of their bachelor’s program. In addition, academic performance (average grades) was the strongest predictor for degree completion in 3 years. These insights can enable universities to develop tailored support for autistic students. Using early warning signals from administrative data, institutions can lower dropout risk and increase degree completion for autistic students.
DOCUMENT
In the wake of neo-liberal informed global trends to set performance standards and intensify accountability, the Dutch government aimed for ‘raising standards for basic skills’. While the implementation of literacy standards was hardly noticed, the introduction of numeracy standards caused a major backlash in secondary schools, which ended in a failed introduction of a high stakes test. How can these major differences be explained? Inspired by Foucault’s governmentality concept a theoretical framework is developed to allow for detailed empirical research on steering processes in complex systems in which many actors are involved in educational decision-making. A mixed-methods multiple embedded case-study was conducted comprising nine school boards and fifteen secondary schools. Analyses unveil processes of responsibilisation, normalisation and emerging dividing practices. Literacy standards reinforced responsibilities of Dutch language teachers; for numeracy, school leadership created entirely new roles and responsibilities for teachers. Literacy standards were incorporated in an already used instrument which made implementation both subtle and inevitable. For numeracy, schools distinguished students by risk of not passing the new test affirming the disciplinary nature of schools in the process. While little changed to address teachers main concerns about students’ literacy skills, the failed introduction of the numeracy test usurped most resources.
DOCUMENT
The design of health game rewards for preadolescents Videogames are a promising strategy for child health interventions, but their impact can vary depending on the game mechanics used. This study investigated achievement-based ‘rewards’ and their design among preadolescents (8-12 years) to assess their effect and explain how they work. In a 2 (game reward achievement system: social vs. personal) x 2 (game reward context: in-game vs. out-game) between-subjects design, 178 children were randomly assigned to one of four conditions. Findings indicated that a ‘personal’ achievement system (showing one’s own high scores) led to more attention and less frustration than a ‘social’ achievement system (showing also high scores of others) which, in turn, increased children’s motivation to make healthy food choices. Furthermore, ‘out’-game rewards (tangible stickers allocated outside the game environment) were liked more than ‘in’-game rewards (virtual stickers allocated in the game environment), leading to greater satisfaction and, in turn, a higher motivation to make healthy food choices.
LINK
