Geoff is emeritus professor of mathematics education at the University of Nottingham, where his research currently focuses on the mathematically disadvantaged and collaborative lesson research. In the long tradition of task design and development at Nottingham he has always had a focus on curriculum and assessment that connects mathematics to its use beyond mathematics as a domain of study. Over many years he has been involved in curriculum and assessment specification that has promoted the potential application of mathematics in situations that arise from work, study and society.

Designing a connected curriculum: working to humanise mathematical activity at the boundaries of social practices

This article explores important issues in the design of architectures for learning (Wenger, 1998). I draw on our research team's evolutionary design of a comprehensive approach to learning for teachers and students. Our work is informed by sociocultural theories of learning that put human engagement in mathematics central and consider mathematical thinking at the boundaries between different social practices. 

My concern here is how we might reconsider mathematics as having meaning and utility for learners and problematise what it means to teach in such a curriculum (re)design. In doing so I exemplify an approach that has emerged from our work over the last 15 years that has paid attention to making mathematical activity visible in ways that allows students and teachers to engage in dialogic discussion of their own and each others’ learning and understanding of mathematics.

Dr. Mairéad Hourigan is an associate professor in the Department of STEM Education in Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. She is a mathematics teacher educator who works with pre-service primary teachers, in-service teachers and graduate students.  Her research interests include mathematics education; STE(A)M education; the nature of educational transitions; characteristics of pre-service and in-service teachers; and the nature and effects of models of teacher education. Mairéad is a member of the editorial board of ‘The Teacher Educator’. She is currently engaged in various research projects including Japanese Lesson Study; DIGging STEM! Design-, inquiry- and games-based approaches to STEM learning; Studio LAB encounters: Becoming STEAM educators; and Teachers’ Professional Journeys (TPJ): A longitudinal study of teachers in their first decade.

From last place to first: Repositioning the M in integrated STEM. Using contemporary research as a guide to navigate curriculum change

Agreement exists that all learners need access to quality STEM education in an ever-changing world. There is a call for more integrated approaches to STEM learning that reflect the nature of society’s wicked problems. Acknowledging Irish STEM education policy’s ambitious vision for integrated STEM education for over a decade, its capacity to affect change was limited in the absence of compatible curriculum guidance. However, as we move closer to the embedding of a formal STEM curriculum at primary level that champions attention to STEM disciplines alongside integrated STEM, it is timely to pause and consider the role of mathematics within integrated STEM. This paper discusses the body of research focused on the challenges and possibilities in relation to meaningful mathematics integration. The literature supports a retrospective review of various cases, units of STEM inquiry, developed alongside pre-service and practicing Irish primary teachers, examining the role assumed by mathematics, the integrity of mathematics included, alongside potential for enhancement. To conclude, key learnings from contemporary research inform discussions regarding critical features of quality STEM teacher education at this crucial juncture.

MEI 20 years on: Doors opened

Thérèse Dooley; Seán Close; Dolores Corcoran

The First National Conference on Research in Mathematics Education (MEI 1), with a theme of ‘Opening Doors’, was held in September 2005. The brainchild of Dr Seán Close, it sought to bring together those who had an interest in mathematics education research in Ireland to discuss recent research and developments, to consider future directions for such research in Ireland, and to improve linkages and encourage research collaboration among mathematics education communities. In this presentation, we give an overview of the national and international mathematics education contexts that both drove and served these aims. We also examine some of the research foci of the papers that were published in the proceedings of MEI 1 and consider the extent to which they are reflected in mathematics education policy and practice today. At the conclusion of the session, we will invite the audience to share their reflections and thoughts on the doors that MEI has opened over the past twenty years.