MEC seminar - 29 September 2021

40 mins Presentation + 20 mins Q&A: Dr. Hugo Lortie-Forgues  “Communicating the uncertainty of educational effects to educators” (Centre for Mathematical Cognition, Loughborough University)

Abstract: In the last decade, there has been a growing effort to produce high-quality evidence in education and make this information easily accessible to educators. Despite the considerable expenses associated with this effort, very little attention has been devoted to evaluating whether this information is presented to educators in a way that maximises their ability to make informed decisions. An important limitation in the way interventions’ impact is currently communicated is that the uncertainty surrounding estimates of interventions’ effects is often not transparently reported. In the presentation, I will explain why this matters, and present preliminary findings suggesting that reporting uncertainty more transparently could benefit educators.

15 mins: Break

40 mins Presentation + 20 mins Q&A: Prof.Jinfa Cai “Research on Teaching Mathematics Through Problem Posing: Looking Back and Looking Ahead” (Department of Mathematics, University of Delaware, US)

Abstract: Problem posing, the process of formulating problems based on a given situation, is an essential practice in mathematics and other disciplines. Although this is acknowledged in policy documents, problem posing is neither substantively nor consistently included in the school mathematics curriculum. In this presentation, I first examine the call for problem posing in school mathematics (planned curriculum), then discuss, in turn, problem posing as it is represented in textbooks (intended curriculum) and the role of teachers as curriculum re-designers to implement problem posing in classrooms (enacted curriculum).  I will end with the presentation by looking back what we know regarding teaching through problem posing and looking ahead for research on.