MEC seminar - 16 June 2021

40 mins Presentation + 20 mins Q&A: Prof. Camilla Gilmore “Mathematics learning difficulties in children and adolescents born preterm” (Loughborough University, UK)

Two to three children in an average sized primary school class are likely to have been born preterm. Increasing preterm birth rates and improved survival rates means that many more preterm children will enter the education system in the coming years. Preterm birth can have lifelong consequences for the developing child and mathematics learning may be an area of particular difficulty. I will present results from a longitudinal study of mathematics learning in children born very preterm (< 32 weeks gestation) that investigated the specific nature and underlying causes of mathematics learning difficulties associated with very preterm birth. Children took part at ages 8-10 and 12-14 years. I will also report on the development, evaluation and uptake of an e-learning resource designed to give education professionals information about the educational consequences of preterm birth and provide suggestions about how to support children in the classroom. 

15 mins: Break

40 mins Presentation + 20 mins Q&A: Prof. Manu Kapur “Productive Failure” (ETH Zurich, Switzerland)

Abstract: There is now a substantive body of research that demonstrates the effectiveness of Productive Failure (PF) for learning novel concepts. I will start by describing what PF is, and situate the case for PF both theoretically and empirically. I will then report findings from a recent meta-analysis to delineate boundary conditions for how, when and why PF succeeds, ending with thoughts on when productive failure fails.