Elizabeth Oldham

Trinity College Dublin | TCD · School of Mathematics

This paper brings together the history of Computer Science Education in Ireland. It aims to plot Ireland's road-map leading to the implementation of formal Computer Science Education in schools. This road map starts with the first notions of introducing secondary school children to computing in the 1970s up to the roll out of a nationwide Computer...

This volume contains the papers presented at the International Symposium Innovative Teaching Practices held from August 14-18, 2023, in The Queen’s College, Oxford, UK. The Mathematics Education for the Future Project is an international educational and philanthropic project founded in 1986 and dedicated to innovation in mathematics, statistics, sc...

The launch of a Computer Science curriculum specification in upper secondary schools in Ireland in 2018 was a landmark and a historic development in Irish education. Addressing the historical policy decisions adopted towards establishing the specification, this paper presents an analysis of developments from the 1970s as revealed in key policies an...

Ten years on from the introduction of the “Project Maths” initiative, this study aims to explore how it may have changed “common practice” in terms of pedagogical approaches within the Irish Leaving Certificate Higher level classroom, and to identify the main factors that influence teachers’ choice in this regard. A mixed-methods approach to data c...

In view of the current focus on computational thinking in schools, professional development is needed so that teachers can help students acquire the requisite skills. Enhancing teachers' confidence is one important aspect. This article describes a project which offers teachers a playful, supportive introduction to computer programming, using the la...

This volume contains the papers presented at the International Conference Building on the Past to Prepare for the Future held from August 8-13, 2022, in King’s College, Cambridge, UK. It was the 16th conference organised by The Mathematics Education for the Future Project - an international educational and philanthropic project founded in 1986 and...

The focus of this chapter is on mathematics education and, in particular, a curriculum initiative, “Project Maths”, that predated the current round of junior cycle reform in Ireland. Project Maths was a major reform of post-primary mathematics education in Ireland and involved changes to what students learnt in mathematics, how they learnt it and h...

The concept of a function is crucial in both mathematics and science education. Appropriate teaching of the concept is therefore very important, and an understanding of the knowledge of functions possessed by prospective teachers of science and mathematics is highly desirable. The present study was instigated by the Association for Teacher Educatio...

This poster explores the complex process of integration of 21st Century (21C) teaching and learning practices into mathematics classrooms, reporting on mathematics teachers’ perceptions of the predictors for, and barriers to, their integration in European post-primary schools. Data are drawn from teachers’ responses to a questionnaire for an Erasmu...

In response to calls for integration of "21st Century" (21C) teaching and learning practices into classrooms, this paper examines some mathematics and science teachers' perceptions of the predictors for, and barriers to, such integration in second-level schools (for students typically aged around 12 to 18). Data are provided by responses to a quest...

There have been calls for decades by many educational writers and commentators for a new model of learning to facilitate what is generally described as twenty-first-century learning. Central to this challenge is the required shift in responsibility for who leads and owns the learning – from teacher to student. Such a shift requires a pragmatic peda...

In view of the current focus on computational thinking in schools, professional development is needed so that teachers can help students acquire the requisite skills. Enhancing teachers' confidence is one important aspect. This article describes a project which offers teachers a playful, supportive introduction to computer programming, using the la...

Concern about children’s mathematics performance in Ireland and elsewhere has prompted a range of responses from researchers, policymakers, educators and the media. While policy-level responses in Ireland include revising curricula and implementing a numeracy strategy that calls for increased tuition hours, teachers have also drawn on a wide array...

This paper describes the current developments in computing in schools in England and Ireland, in the light of a historical account of educational computing since its early days in the 1970s. In England, the recent (2014) introduction of a “rigorous” computing curriculum was justified by politicians in the United Kingdom to address a digital skills...

Although teacher education and the teaching profession in Ireland have undergone considerable structural change, some inertia in the structures persists, affecting teacher education and posing barriers to the introduction of desired school curricula, such as Computer Science. Thus the question is posed: where is there significant structural inertia...

The idea that teachers need both to know their subject and to be skilled in teaching it is of long standing. However, Shulman’s seminal papers in the 1980s provided a focus and a language for discussing the balance that might be struck between the two aspects in teacher education programmes. In particular, his constructs content knowledge (CK) and...

Learning about ratio has been identified as problematic for many students and at least some teachers of mathematics, pointing to a need for appropriate teacher education in the area. In 2011, the Science and Mathematics Education RDC at ATEE initiated a multiple case study of prospective teachers’ content knowledge of ratio for teaching mathematics...

Abstract : Many recent curriculum reforms aim to address shortfalls with regard to student engagement with mathematics by harnessing the affordances of technology, social constructivist pedagogies, contextual scenarios, and/ or approaches aligned with Realistic Mathematics Education (RME). However, these may not sit well within a conventional class...

For mobile—or indeed any—technology to play a meaningful role in learning, it must be used within an appropriate pedagogical framework. There is general acceptance in the mobile learning literature that the affordances of mobile technology align well with contextual, constructivist and social constructivist peda-gogies (Patten, Arnedillo Sánchez, &...

Computing is experiencing a resurgence of interest in schools, and this has led to the emergence of computational thinking as a key 21st century skill forming part of the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) agenda. In England, Ireland and many other countries, industry demands better prepared graduates to develop solutions using t...

Abstract: This paper explores the mathematical identity of students in teacher education programmes. The work was conducted by a team of researchers from five institutions in the island of Ireland, and was part of the study “Mathematical Identity using Narrative as a Tool” (MINT). The chief aim of MINT was to propose an efficient protocol for third...

Abstract: The concept of ratio has been identified as problematic for many students and at least some teachers of mathematics. The need to address this area of teachers’ content knowledge for teaching through appropriate teacher education has been acknowledged. In 2011, in an attempt to address this issue, the Science and Mathematics Education RDC...

Abstract: The issue of including programming in school curricula has recently returned to prominence in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The project “The Programming Studio” aims first to determine teacher readiness for teaching programming courses and then to facilitate pilot groups of teachers in mastering a programming language...

In this paper, questions raised in the 1980s with regard to mathematics education are discussed, and ways in which the corresponding issues are regarded in 2013 are considered. The extent to which the ‘1980s’ questions are still relevant to Ireland at present, in particular during the rollout of the curriculum initiative ‘Project Maths,’ is examine...

This paper offers a discussion of the attention given to ratio and related concepts in Irish mathematics curricula. Examination of Irish and other data from comparative international studies, and of the place given to the topics in Irish curriculum documents and textbooks, leads to a suggestion that they are under-emphasised. A small-scale study of...

This paper reports on-going research into how the affordances of off-the-shelf technologies can be aligned with relevant mathematics pedagogy, to create transformative learning experiences with the potential to overcome some of the well-known impediments to mathematics teaching and learning. From a systematic analysis of recent literature on digita...

Three calculator tests were administered to a national sample of 1,469 Irish students in Grade 9the last cohort to study mathematics without calculators (Phase 1). Three years later, the same tests were administered to a similar sample with calculators (Phase 2). Scores on a test of calculator-inappropriate items showed no significant change over t...

In this paper the authors report on pre-service teachers' self-rated levels of competency when using ICT and on its possible relationships with elements of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and with classroom usage of technology. The research is both qualitative and quantitative in its approach and is based on administration of an online questi...

In the context of the increased faith by governments in the reform of mathematics and science teaching as the basis for economic development, this chapter examines pedagogy of mathematics in Ugandan secondary schools. The study involved data collection in 16 secondary schools based on a purposive sample in four different regions of Uganda. Focusing...

The study reported in this paper investigates the mathematical identity of a group of ‘prospective teachers’: undergraduate students of mathematics who undertook elective modules on mathematics education and classroom experience. They were required to write mathematical autobiographies, the protocol for which was drawn from another study, in this c...

This paper describes a model for computer programming outreach workshops aimed at second-level students (ages 15-16). Participants engage in a series of programming activities based on the Scratch visual programming language, and a very strong group-based pedagogy is followed. Participants are not required to have any prior programming experience....

This paper examines changes in mathematics curriculum and assessment over the period 1986 to 2006. First, the context is set by considering aspects of mathematics education at both international and national level. Then, for appropriate groups of revised Irish syllabuses, problems that prompted the revisions are identified; constraints under which...

This small-scale study reports on ongoing research into the perceptions of beginning teachers (BTs) in three areas: their views on problems in second level mathematics education; their professional development needs; and their preparedness for teaching. The study is using a mixed-method approach involving self-reporting and interviews. The BTs cons...

The aim of this paper is to illustrate that Froebel’s ideas can be implemented through ICT in the Irish classroom of the 21st century. Papert’s idea of “hard fun” is considered in relation to play. The focus here is on the experiences of student teachers. All students in 2nd year in Froebel College, preparing to be primary teachers, study the Logo...

The performance of Irish students on the mathematics assessment of PISA 2003 is considered from the standpoints of the Irish mathematics curriculum and current issues in mathematics education. An examination of contrasting approaches to mathematics education is followed by a description of the historical roots of the Irish mathematics curriculum an...

The study reported in this paper addresses the task of enabling preservice teachers in Ireland to experience problem-solving activities in mathematics and problem-based methods of teaching the subject in schools. The issue has been highlighted by the recent revision of the Irish primary school curriculum and current review of the second-level curri...

This paper examines the evolution of large‐scale cross‐national studies, from the original First International Mathematics Study (FIMS) to the current Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The paper addresses two questions: can the studies help us to critique our curricula; and can they help us to critique our classroom methods, di...

Ways in which the results of PISA 2000 for mathematics can contribute to our understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of mathematics education in Ireland are considered. Explanations of Ireland's performance are sought in terms of the study's distinctive scope and style. Since these reflect 'realistic mathematics education' (RME), a philosophy...

This study, on approaches to mathematics education, aims to identify curricular frameworks that are robust across cultures and education systems. Lesson ideas of Irish and Dutch pre-service teachers were studied to identify the selections of: (1) the basic aspects of the concept of area; and (2) the real-life contexts, shapes, and manipulatives cho...

This study investigated prospective teachers’ ideas about teaching mathematics before student teaching. Researchers in five countries asked prospective teachers to plan a lesson on “area;” they then conducted videotaped interviews. Transcripts of the interviews were analysed in terms of the prospective teachers’ content knowledge. Broadly similar r...