- Seven 45-minutes Lectures given by the invited experts (with 30-minutes additional discussions with the lecturer, prepared by small group discussions); before the Summer School, each expert will circulate (by internet) a summary of his/her talk, pointing out relevant issues to be discussed. In addition, a daily meeting with the plenary speakers will be included in the programme.
- Nine two-hour sessions in seven parallel Thematic Working Groups. The Thematic Working Groups will meet every day (at least once). They will start from the participants’ papers and will address (amongst others) the following “leading questions”: How to choose research problems and research questions? How to refer to and use existing literature and frame own research? How to position theory in own research? How to construct an appropriate research methodology? How to identify, present and interpret research results? How to disseminate research findings so that they have real impact in schools and society? Specific attention will be paid to each participant’s special needs.
- One 90-minutes Discussion Group Session. It will be devoted to topics of common interest – possibly including the above “leading questions”.
- One 90-minutes Informal Discussion Group Session. It will be devoted to issues that are relevant to individual YERME participants’ needs, self-organized by YERME.
Topics
The topics for the 2022 Summer School Thematic Working Groups (TWGs) are:
- TWG 1: Mathematics teacher knowledge, practice, and professional development
Expert: Stefan Zehetmeier, Associate Professor, University of Klagenfurt, Austria Stefan.Zehetmeier@aau.at
The study of mathematics teachers’ professional learning has been a central focus of research over recent decades. Various research activities and projects regarding this topic are being published and discussed. Within YESS12 TWG1, we will focus on mathematics teacher education, professional development and teachers’ knowledge and practice. TWG1 offers a communicative and critical forum for the discussion of these and other related issues, which will allow diverse perspectives and theoretical approaches and which will contribute to the development of our knowledge and understanding as researchers, educators and practitioners. In our TWG, we will promote exchange and networking, we will discuss our research interests and ideas, and we will create a supportive and collegial environment, with the aim to enable joyful learning with and from each other. - TWG 2: Teaching and learning mathematics at the primary and pre-school level
Expert: Marianna Tzekaki, Emeritus professor, Department of Early Childhood Education, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece tzekaki@auth.gr
The aim of the group “Teaching and Learning mathematics at a primary level” is to address issues related to mathematics education of early years and first grades of primary education and to pose questions starting from participants’ papers that will be discussed during the meetings. Exchanges between participants will provide a deeper insight concerning mathematical education in the early years, including working with initial mathematical ideas, developing educational programs, organizing mathematical tasks, preparing teaching situations, etc.The participants of this working group will first give a short presentation of their research and then work with the other participants, examine ideas, experiences and discuss questions, focusing mainly on critical issues concerning their studies such as research questions, theoretical frameworks, main aspects of methodology and data presentation.
- TWG 3: Teaching and learning mathematics at the secondary level, including the transition between elementary and secondary level
Expert: Michal Tabach, Full Professor, Department of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology, School of Education, Tel-Aviv University, Israel tabachm@tauex.tau.ac.il
According to the ERME spirit, the group work will be based on the “3Cs” - Communication, Cooperation, and Collaboration. Communication: each student will be able to present the current state of her PhD work to the group members, and to get feedback from the group; each student will be able to act as a critical friend to others. Cooperation and Collaboration: the group members share a common research focus, hence they will be able to learn from one another about theoretical perspectives relevant to their field of study, methods for data analysis, presenting results, share dilemmas and more; working as a group for substantial time has a potential to create academic network and friendship between the participants beyond the YESS12 meeting. The group will reflect on plenary activities, to let the participants a chance to think on the talks given by experts. If time permits, other academic skills will be addressed, e.g., presenting your work, creating social network. - TWG 4: Teaching and learning mathematics at the upper secondary and university levels
Expert: Olov Viirman, Senior lecturer/Associate Professor at Department of Education Uppsala University, Sweden olov.viirman@edu.uu.se
As the name indicates, this TWG focuses on issues concerning mathematics education at the upper secondary and university levels. This is a diverse field, in terms of research foci as well as choice of theories and methods. Most topics in mathematics education are potentially relevant to this TWG, to the extent that they concern upper secondary and/or university mathematics. Relevant topics include, for instance, the teaching and learning of specific mathematical topics, such as calculus, algebra and geometry, as well as more advanced mathematical topics at the university level, and the teaching practices of secondary and university mathematics teachers, including innovative approaches, use of digital tools and assessment. Other areas of interest include transition issues, from secondary to university education, within university, and from university to the world of work; mathematics as a service subject at university level; and the teaching and learning of mathematics in vocational programmes in secondary school. Research on collaboration between mathematics education researchers and practicing teachers/mathematicians is also of interest for this TWG, as well as issues of inclusion, equality, and access in secondary and university mathematics education. - TWG 5: Information technologies in mathematics teaching and learning
Expert: Jana Trgalova, Associate Professor at Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, France, jana.trgalova@univ-lyon1.fr
This group focuses on research issues related to digital technologies and resources in mathematics learning, teaching and teacher training. These issues include design, use and evaluation of technologies and resources. Particular attention is paid to highlighting specificities of digital technologies and resources and discussing their contribution to mathematics education. Based on the participants’ PhD projects, the relevance of theoretical and methodological frameworks with respect to the research aims is addressed.During the TWG sessions, large space will be given to presentations and discussions of all participants’ research projects. Each participant will benefit from the feedback from critical friends, from all other participants as well as from the group leader. Specific sessions will be organized to address issues that will emerge from the participants’ questions and needs.
- TWG 6: Proof, proving, problem solving, and modelling in mathematics education
Expert: Andreas Moutsios-Rentzos, Assistant Professor, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, moutsiosrent@primedu.uoa.gr
Proof and proving lie at the heart of contemporary mathematics, whilst problem solving and modelling render mathematics a system that is open and in constant interplay with other disciplines and everyday life. In this TWG, we shall address the complexity and the interplay of proof, proving, problem solving, and modelling in mathematics education of various educational and non-educational levels and contexts from diverse perspectives (e.g., cognitive, affective, sociocultural, epistemological, interdisciplinary, curricular, textbooks and instructional materials etc), with a particular focus on topics relevant to the participants’ projects. Through a series of collective and individual reflective activities, presentations and discussions, the participants of TWG6 will be given the opportunity to constructively re-visit crucial theoretical and methodological aspects of their projects. - TWG 7: Preservice teachers’ training in mathematics
Expert: Tamsin Meaney, Professor, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway, Tamsin.Jillian.Meaney@hvl.no
In this TWG, we will focus on the complexity linked to mathematics teacher education. In recent years, education has become a field that is seen, particularly by politicians, as needing improvement both at the school level and at the teacher education level. This constant requirement for change highlights what issues are considered as being problematic and in need of change and by whom. The roles of mathematics preservice teachers and teacher educators are often brought into these discussions, both as problems and solutions to these issues. Consequently, we welcome contributions that investigate all aspects of preservice teachers and teacher educators’ experiences with mathematics teacher education. This could include, for example, investigations of preservice teachers’ pedagogical mathematical knowledge or how different actors within teacher education, such as preservice teachers, teacher educators, practicum teachers interact to construct localized versions of mathematics teacher education. Contributions could also include discussions about the methodologies and theoretical framing of participants’ PhD projects that explore issues to do with mathematics teacher education.
