MADIF9 Panel Informing Teaching Through Research

1. The Open University Maths Dept University of Oxford Dept of Education Promoting Mathematical Thinking MADIF9 PanelInforming TeachingThrough Research John Mason MADIF9 Umeä Sweden 2014

2. 1. What responsibility do we as researchers have to not only research practice, but also help improve practice? • Difference between • Doing social-science research using Maths Edn as a research domain • Doing Maths-Edn research in order to improve the experience of learners of mathematics • To inform future practice • Need to support practitioners in becoming sensitised to noticing opportunities to act freshly, and to enrich their reprtoire of possible actions and their affordances

3. Should we, more than we do, try to develop methods, programs, perspectives and perhaps policies that also can be implemented in large scale? Cause & Effect not appropriate to Maths Edn So Engineering specific actions is not feasible Human beings can be good at sensitive response to situations Professional J udgement needs to be developed & supported by policy • For students to trust teachers, teachers must trust students; • For teachers to trust students, teachers must feel trusted by management; • For management to trust teachers, management must feel trusted by government and parents; • For students to respect the professional judgement of teachers, teachers must respect the humanity, the personhood, the qualities that students bring to school • For teachers to respect students, teachers must feel professionally respected by management; • For management to respect teachers, management must feel respected by government and parents;

4. 3. Assuming we do involve ourselves in large scale projects, if they go wrong and our principles, methods, programs, policies etc become misrepresented or lead to unintended consequences, what are our responsibility as researchers? Large-Scale projects are forms of social action So researchers are also social agents, and hence must take responsibility for enacting their project with full concern for the social and psychological wellbeing of all participants, mindful of possible unintended consequences Paradox: in order to take full responsibility, socal agents have to let go of control and empower those involved so that they in turn can take responsibility ‘research’ & ‘evaluation’cannot be pure, but must work within what happens This requires adjustment to what it means to provide evidence of ‘effectiveness’.

5. Researchin Maths Edn & in Social Sciences Scale Mathematics Ways of Working: on mathemtics with students Present moment Expertise is about knowing-to-act in-the-moment (when pre-paring, paring, or post-paring) Expertise isartistic creativeresponsivehuman Zone of Possible Action: What is logically, culturally, conceivably possible What is materially, culturally, conceivably constraining