Call for Papers for Special Issue of Research in Mathematics Education (RME): Mathematical Connections in the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics
Special Issue Editors
| Dr Carol Murphy
University of Tasmania |
Dr Vesife Hatisaru
Edith Cowan University |
Assoc Prof Helen Chick
University of Tasmania |
Rationale
Broadly defined, a mathematical connection is a relationship between two or more mathematical ideas (Businskas, 2008). Whilst extra-mathematical connections refer to relationships between mathematical and non-mathematical contexts, the focus of this RME Special Issue is on intra-mathematical connections formed between ideas, concepts, theorems, procedures, or representations within mathematics (Gamboa et al., 2021).
Research suggests that making such connections within mathematics supports student learning (e.g., Askew et al. 1997; Cole & Sinclair, 2019; Coxford, 1995; Toh & Choy, 2021), and many national curricula, such as the USA (Common Core State Standards, 2022), Australia (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2022) and England (Department for Education, 2021), emphasise the value of mathematical connections. Despite these acknowledgments, there is a need to understand more fully the connections students make; how connections are used in the classroom to support students’ learning; and how teachers recognise connections as an aspect of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK).
For this RME Special Issue, we invite submissions (7000-8000 words) from a range of empirical methodologies and theoretical studies that provide further insights into the nature and role of mathematical connections in the teaching and learning of mathematics.
Interested authors should submit their expression of interest in the form of an Abstract (400-500 words) emailed to rme@bsrlm.org.uk by 1 September 2022. Please include the names and institutions of all authors as part of the expression of interest.
Topics of interest
We welcome contributions from a wide range of mathematical topics and from different research and theoretical perspectives and from a range of contexts such as school sectors (K to 12) and higher education. Contributions might relate but are not limited to:
- The types of connections made and how they are attained (e.g., connections between conceptual and procedural knowledge or between materials, representations, and images).
- The use of physical and/or digital representations.
- Teacher and pre-service teacher pedagogical content knowledge.
- Learning experiences of students.
- Teaching practices and classroom-based research.
- Theoretical perspectives (e.g., sociocultural, dialogic, embodied cognition).
Timeline:
- Abstract deadline: 1 September 2022
- Abstract decisions: 1 November 2022
- Submission of papers: 15 April 2023
- Publication: July 2024
References:
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (2022). The Australian Curriculum: Mathematics. https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/teacher-resources/understand-this-learning-area/mathematics
Askew, M., Brown, M., Rhodes, V., Wiliam, D., & Johnson, D. (1997). Effective teachers of numeracy: Report of a study carried out for the Teacher Training Agency. London: King’s College, University of London.
Businskas, A. M. (2008). Conversations about connections: How secondary mathematics teachers conceptualize and contend with mathematical connections [Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Simon Fraser University, Canada].
Coles, A., & Sinclair, N. (2019). Re-thinking ‘Concrete to Abstract’ in mathematics education: Towards the use of symbolically structured environments. Canadian Journal Science Mathematics and Technology Education, 19, 465–480. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42330-019-00068-4
Common Core State Standards Initiative (2022). Standards for Mathematical Practice. CCSSO http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Practice/
Coxford A. F. (1995). The case for connections. In P. House, & A. F. Coxford (Eds.), Connecting mathematics across the curriculum (pp. 3–12). NCTM.
Department for Education (2021) National curriculum in England: Mathematics programmes of study. Gov.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-mathematics-programmes-of-study/national-curriculum-in-england-mathematics-programmes-of-study
Gamboa, G.d., Badillo, E., Couso, D., & Márquez, C. (2021). Connecting mathematics and science in primary school STEM education: Modelling the population growth of species. Mathematics, 9, 2496. https://doi.org/10.3390/math9192496
Toh, T. L., & Choy, B. H. (2021). Mathematics – connection and beyond. Yearbook 2020 association of mathematics educators. World Scientific. https://doi.org/10.1142/12279