New Directions and Methodologies in Mathematics Education Research

What can be more practical than a good theory?
Dr Igor’ Kontorovich

ABSTRACT

Many of the decisions that we make as mathematics teachers and researchers are driven by our (often tacit) assumptions about how students learn and think. Reviewers often mention theoretical issues when evaluating journal manuscripts and research theses. This interactive talk will give an overview of the key role that theory has gained in the field of mathematics education in the last two decades and discuss practical considerations for selecting a theory (or theories) to frame research work. Participationist and discursive theories will be the focus of the discussion.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Dr Igor' Kontorovich is an Associate Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Hong Kong. His academic experience includes the University of Auckland (New Zealand), Simon Fraser University (Canada), and the Technion (Israel). His research concerns the processes of mathematics learning and teaching mostly at the secondary and university levels. Additionally, his research strives to offer theoretically grounded and empirically validated findings to improve mathematics education for all students, and was generously funded by international and local funding agencies. The findings have been shared in more than one hundred research publications.